God-Centered Biblical Interpretation
by Vern Sheridan Poythress
[This book is published by Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, P.O. Box 817, Phillipsburg, New Jersey 08865-0817. It is posted on the internet by permission of the publisher. Print rights are retained by the publisher. You may order a printed copy from Presbyterian and Reformed by phone (800-631-0094) or on the internet (<http://www.prpbooks.com>). Or you may order from the Westminster Theological Seminary Bookstore by phone (888-987-2665) or on the internet (<http://www.wtsbooks.com>.]
Here is the information from the copyright page:
© 1999 by Vern Sheridan Poythress
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means--electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise--except for brief quotations for the purpose of review or comment, without the prior permission of the publisher, P&R Publishing Company,m P.O. Box 817, Phillipsburg, New Jersey 08865-0817.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Italics indicate emphasis added.
Composition by Colophon
Typesetting
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Poythress, Vern S.
God-centered biblical interpretation / Vern Sheridan Poythress.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-87552-376-5 (pbk.)
1. Bible--Hermeneutics. 1. Title.
BS476.P68 1999
220.6'01--dc21
To
my
Parents,
God’s
greatest blessing to me during the earliest times when he was at work
in my life
by Vern S. Poythress
1. The Challenge of Understanding the Bible
Christians reading the Bible
Strengthening the Foundations
2. God and Biblical Interpretation
The Trinity and the word of God
The word of God
Communication in the Trinity
Infinite meaning
The word of God
The Bible as covenantal
God’s speaking in other ways
The divinity of the word of God
Coinherence: God’s dwelling in his word
Imaging
Ontological and “economic” Trinity
Awe in the study of the Bible
Many purposes
Triunal purpose
Christ as the center of Scripture
5. The Triunal Character of Truth
Language as imaging God
Truth
Secular theories of truth
Truth as analogical
6. Meaning
Unity and diversity in content
A triad for meaning
Depth in import
Meaning and application
Divine and human in the Bible
Diversity in the mode of divine authorship
The concerns of scholars
Illustrations using analogy
Creativity
The diversity in the body of Christ
Positive role of scholarship
7. Terms
Terms and Naming
Word and thought
God speaking
Author, discourse, and reader
Misinterpretations as an aspect of divine war
God’s presence today
God’s truthfulness
God’s control
Smaller acts of communication
Explicit hermeneutical procedure
Further subdivisions
God’s work in the whole process
10. Alternative Hermeneutical Perspectives
An alternative perspective: God speaking to his people once for all
An alternative perspective: God speaking now
The nature of alternative models of interpretation
Explicitness in hermeneutics
The role of exemplars
Using analogy
A triad of attributes
12. History
Unity and diversity in history
Perspectives on history
An example in 2 Kings 14:5
Other kinds of connections
Classifying connections
The sin offering in Leviticus 9:8-11
Central connections and more distant connections
Analogy between historical events
An example of warfare: 1 Samuel 13:5
An example of praise: Ezra 3:11
Clustering of divine action
Grammatical-historical interpretation
The combatants
The root issue: idolatry
Subtle idolatry
Deceit and blindness
14. Global Distortion of Interpretation
Perspectives on communication
Knowing God the author of the Bible
Knowing God, in his connection with the central subject-matter of the Bible
Knowing God in order to know the addressees
Knowing God in interpreting Jesus’ parables
Knowledge even of “basic” meaning is affected
The quest for scientific, neutral objectivity in interpretation
Liberationist interpretation
Reader-response interpretation
Orthodox reactions
Pervasiveness of spiritual war
The destruction of would-be autonomous categories
Applying the expressive, informational, productive perspectives
16. Reforming the Ogden-Richards Triangle for Meaning
The Ogden-Richards triangle
The roots of linguistic distinctions
17. Differences in the Doctrine of God among Christians
Tacit and explicit knowledge of God
An example concerning divine sovereignty
Conclusions about differences in biblical interpretation
18. God Redeeming Interpretation
Rejecting worldly irrationalism
Rejecting worldly rationalism
Redemption