Old Testament Introduction Southern Methodist College Bi 521, Fall 2011

Visiting Lecturer in Old Testament Studies Dr. David M. Battle

Old Testament Introduction

A survey of the Old Testament text, authorship, and its canonical development. Special emphasis will be devoted to the destructive nature of higher critical theories.

Old Testament Introduction

Three Emphases

as divine revelation to humanity. as a collection of human assertions about God. as a reflection of humanitys struggle with God.

Objections to OT as Revelation

The Moral Objection: The Theodicy Objection: The Scientific/ Philosophical/ Mythological Objection:

Hermeneutical Periods
Ancient Hermeneutics Modern Hermeneutics Post-Modern Hermeneutics

Ancient Hermeneutics
Antioch: Typological Interpretation
Plain reading meaningful Christological

Origen (Alexandrian School): Allegorical

Body:
Plain reading

Soul:
Moral teaching

Spiritual:
Spiritual teaching

Ancient Hermeneutics
The Medieval Church favored the Allegorical Hermeneutical Method. Many devotional writers and early Protestants favored the Typological Method. These methods are theologically based.

Modern Hermeneutics
Historical-Grammatical: Historical-Critical Methodologies:
Lower Criticism: Textual Analysis Higher Literary Criticism:
Source Criticism Tradition Criticism Form Criticism Redaction Criticism Rhetorical Criticism Canonical Criticism

Modern Hermeneutics
Basic Approaches

Structuralism:

Diachronic Studies:
Synchronic Studies:

Modern Hermeneutics
Critical Orientation

The modern scholars assert that the autonomous investigator can discover historical reality by the systematic use of scientific methods or critical thought.

Modern Historical Criticism Critical Orientation

Not necessarily ancient history
Heavy on historical reconstructions
Of the religious development of Israel. Of the pre-history of the text.

Modern Hermeneutics
Critical Orientation Textual:
the text has an intended meaning that can be known in its various stages of development. Meaning can be found by the autonomous scholars who critically studies the texts.

Post-modern Approaches
Post-modernism denies scholarships ability to know historical realities with any certainty.

Post-modern Methods
Reader Response Criticism Ideological Criticism
Feminist Criticism Liberation Theologies

Psychoanalytic Criticism Canonical Imagination

Post-modern Agendas
The reader appeals to the cultural authority of the text to advocate for an ideology.
The reader deconstructs the rationality of the text in order to undermine a perceived oppressive authority within the text.

Summary
Allegorical and Typological methods seek to transmit the teachings of the Church through the Old Testament. Critical Methodologies seeks to free itself from Church dogma by analyzing the text to discover its historical origins. Post-Modern seek to use the text to overturn or support a given ideology.

Conclusion
The great divined in Biblical Scholarship is between those who accept the Bible as divine revelation and those who reject it.
Merely a human book.
Free Spirit Canonical Revelation

Bible as Merely Human Book

There is great diversity of thought, but most would agree that the Bible is a collection of works that reflect the theological assertions of various men. Maximalists: Grant the biblical text a high degree of historicity. Minimalist: Grant the biblical text little historicity. Both approach the Bible as primarily a human book.

Bible as Canonical Revelation

Pre-critical position: The Bible is the rule for faith and practice.
Allegorical Typological (Christological) Historical Grammatical

Bible as Canonical Revelation

Response to critical scholarship: The Bible is the inerrant word of God.
Historical Literary Hermeneutics
Accepts the canonical claims of the Faith Accepts the historical claims of the text. Interprets within the given historical context. Interprets according to the literary genres of the various contexts. Interprets according to grammar.

The text has an intentional meaning that can be known.

Concluding Remarks
The Christian scholar will never be in tune with his contemporaries.
He must affirm the authority of Scripture. While conducting sound and accurate studies.

The Christian Scholar and Ancient Scholarship

Agreement:
We work for the good of the Christian Church. We affirm the doctrines of the faith as delivered by the Apostles and Canonical Prophets.

Disagreement:
The institutional church is not the final arbiter of truth. We cannot neglect the plain reading of the text.

The Christian Scholar and Modern Scholarship

Agreement:
The text has an intended message.

Disagreement:
Naturalism Speculative reconstructions

The Christian Scholar and Post-modern Scholarship

Agreement:
Emphasis on the existent text. The text is meant to be applied.

Disagreement:
Truth is not founded in community. Human centrism