Scripture as Communication: Introducing Biblical Hermeneutics - Softcover

Brown, Jeannine K.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801027888 ISBN 13: 9780801027888

Publisher: Baker Academic, 2007

Synopsis

Is the Bible just a book of ancient Israelite and Christian history and practices to be read? Or are we engaging in a more interactive practice when we study God's word? Jeannine K. Brown believes that communication is at the heart of what we do when we open the Bible, that we are actively engaging God in a conversation that can be life changing. By learning about how Scripture communicates, modern readers can extract much more meaning out of the text than they could if simply reading the Bible as though it was a list of rules or a collection of stories. In Scripture as Communication, Brown offers professors, students, church leaders, and laity a basic guide to the theory and practice of biblical interpretation, helping them understand our engagement with Scriptures as primarily a communicative act.

About this title

About the Author

Jeannine K. Brown (PhD, Luther Seminary) is professor of New Testament and director of online programs at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. She has served as a translation consultant for the New International Version, Common English Bible, and New Century Version and is the author of The Gospels as Stories and two commentaries on Matthew. She also contributed to The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary and is a coeditor of the revised Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels.

From the Back Cover

"A helpful introduction to biblical interpretation that begins in the right place--the question of the nature of the text--and stays in focus throughout. Brown's emphasis on meaning as communicative act enables her to take the best from several models of interpretation and to do justice to author, text, and reader alike. Moreover, because it strikes a judicious balance between attending to issues and particular New Testament texts, this book combines the best of both the theoretical and the practical hermeneutical worlds."
--Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

"Jeannine Brown has proven herself to be a reliable guide for those committed to serious engagement with Christian Scripture. Complex issues are clearly explained. Controversial issues receive fair-minded treatment. Talk about interpretation is coupled with examples of interpretation. Scripture as Communication will be attractive both to students beginning the journey of biblical interpretation and to those already well on the way."
--Joel B. Green, Fuller Theological Seminary

"This book contributes substantially to the current conversation within Christianity on interpretation theories and biblical hermeneutics. By grounding her communicative model in the incarnation, Brown convincingly combines truth and interpretive method, and she does so with impressive clarity and ease. Without any loss of depth, she clarifies complex ideas with the help of excellent illustrations that make this book accessible to anyone from pastors to students to experts in the field. A significant achievement!"
--Jens Zimmermann, Trinity Western University

"In an engaging and conversational style, Jeannine Brown addresses the complexities of hermeneutics and explains how an understanding of those complexities can help readers develop a healthy hermeneutical self-consciousness as they read Scripture, God's communicative act. She defines important terms and addresses major hermeneutical theories, providing a realistic appraisal of hermeneutical challenges while also offering positive, practical guidelines. Above all, Brown reminds us that reading Scripture is learning to discern a communicative act initiated by God."
--Peter Enns, Eastern University

"Brown has written an excellent text for hermeneutics classes that is clear and well organized and reveals a superb mastery of the material. Understanding texts as a form of communication rather than as art is a helpful correction to recent trends in interpretation."
--Robert H. Stein, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Edition details

• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0801027888
• ISBN 13: 9780801027888
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320