Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Authority of Scripture
Historical, Biblical, and Theoretical Perspectives
Edited by Carlos R. Bovell
Imprint: Pickwick Publications
Conservative Protestant views of Scripture have not moved much beyond the fundamentalist-modernist controversies of the early twentieth century. Today, discussions must evolve and become transparently conversant with recent scholarly developments. Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Authority of Scripture provides contemporary reflections on the most pressing challenges facing inerrancy today. Whatever your current position, this volume will deepen your understanding of the authority of Scripture.
TABLE OF CONTENTS and CONTRIBUTORS:
Foreword by William Abraham / ix
Editor's Preface by Carlos R. Bovell / xvii
Historical Perspectives
1 No Creed but the Bible, No Authority Without the Church:
American Evangelicals and the Errors of Inerrancy
--D. G. Hart / 3
2 The Subordination of Scripture to Human Reason at Old
Princeton--Paul Seely / 28
3 The Modernist-Fundamentalist Controversy, the Inerrancy of
Scripture, and the Development of American Dispensationalism
--Todd Mangum / 46
4 The Cost of Prestige: E. J. Carnell's Quest for Intellectual
Orthodoxy--Seth Dowland / 71
5 "Inerrancy, a Paradigm in Crisis"--Carlos R. Bovell / 91
Biblical Perspectives
6 Inerrancy and Evangelical Old Testament Scholarship: Challenges
and the Way Forward--J. Daniel Hays / 109
7 Theological Diversity in the Old Testament as Burden or Divine
Gift? Problems and Perspectives in the Current Debate--Richard
Schultz / 133
8 "But Jesus Believed That David Wrote the Psalms . . ."
--Stephen Dawes / 164
9 Some Thoughts on Theological Exegesis of the Old
Testament: Toward a Viable Model of Biblical Coherence and
Relevance--Peter Enns / 183
10 Inerrantist Scholarship on Daniel: A Valid Historical Enterprise?
--Stephen Young / 204
11 The Implications of New Testament Pseudonymy for a Doctrine of
Scripture--Stanley E. Porter / 236
Theoretical Perspectives
12 Issues in Forming a Doctrine of Inspiration--Craig Allert / 259
13 How Evangelicals Became Overcommitted to the Bible and Wha
Can Be Done about It--J. P. Moreland / 289
14 Biblical Authority: A Social Scientist's Perspective
--Brian Malley / 303
15 Authority Redux: Epistemology, Philosophy of Science, and
Theology--Christian Early / 323
16 Scripture and Prayer: Participating in God
--Harriet A. Harris / 344
17 "A Certain Similarity to the Devil": Historical Criticism and
Christian Faith--Gregory Dawes / 354
18 Critical Dislocation and Missional Relocation: Scripture's
Evangelical Homecoming--Telford Work / 371
List of Contributors / 397
Carlos R. Bovell is a graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary and the Institute for Christian Studies, Toronto. He is the author of Inerrancy and the Spiritual Formation of Younger Evangelicals, By Good and Necessary Consequence: A Preliminary Genealogy of Biblicist Foundationalism, and Rehabilitating Inerrancy within a Culture of Fear.
"This collection of essays is a bold and high-quality reflection on how to hold to a 'high view' of Scripture once the notion of 'infallibility' is perforce given up. Since my entire life has been outside the orbit of the question of infallibility, much of this is new to me. I have learned a great deal from the judicious, disciplined, honest way in which Scripture is approached here. The wise foreword by William Abraham that functions as an overture is itself of enormous value and prepares the way for the thoughtful, critical, well-informed analyses that are to follow."
-Walter Brueggemann
Columbia Theological Seminary
"In recent years major questions about the nature of Scripture have been raised, questions which have given rise to academic and ecclesiastical warfare, with some urging continued defense of inerrancy and others advocating its complete abandonment. The time is ripe for the appearance of studies that explore this troubled landscape in new ways and try to explain how it all has come about. Carlos Bovell has assembled an impressive collection of essays that do just that. Major theological seminaries and major figures are treated in these interesting and thought-provoking essays. Anyone interested in the doctrine of Scripture and how it is debated today must consult Bovell's book."
-Craig A. Evans
Acadia Divinity College, Nova Scotia
"From the foreword and preface, one might imagine this collection of essays was mounting a sustained attack on the doctrine of the inerrancy of Scripture. To be sure, several contributors do reflect considerable dissatisfaction with the effects of certain common forms and uses of inerrancy. But other chapters are more nuanced, including a minority written by inerrantists who propose how the doctrine can be framed and used as more of a help than a hindrance in the academy and church. All who care about how best to articulate a high view of Scripture should benefit from this anthology."
-Craig L. Blomberg
Denver Seminary