Biblical Authority After Babel
by Kevin Vanhoozer | Book Summary
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Author: Kevin Vanhoozer
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With the removal of a governing interpretive body such as Rome, many modern scholars have equated the Protestant Reformation with Babel, only "the Reformation resulted in a confusion not of languages but of interpretations, authorities, and interpretive communities" (p. x). This begs the question: Has the Protestant Reformation done more harm than good for the kingdom of God? A proper retrieval of the core principles of the Reformation, the five solas, leads not to interpretive anarchy, but instead to a deeper insight into the one true gospel. Resultantly, a "Mere Protestant Christianity" (p. 31) is developed, which retrieves "the solas as guidelines and guardrails of biblical interpretation" (p. 32) and restores "the place of the church in the pattern of theological authority" (p. 32). |
Kevin J. Vanhoozer is research professor of systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. A graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary (M.Div.) and the University of Cambridge (Ph.D.), he is widely regarded as one of the most influential theologians of his time. He has written or edited over twenty books including Hearers and Doers and the award-winning Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible. He also serves on various editorial boards and works as a consultant for The New Dictionary of Theology. He originally presented the contents of this book in 2015 at Moore College in Sydney, Australia as a series of lectures.
Biblical Authority After Babel
by Kevin Vanhoozer
[ Book Summary ]
| Author | Kevin Vanhoozer |
| Publisher | Brazos Press |
| Date | September 19, 2018 |
| Pages | 286 |
Overview:
The Protestant Reformation places a heavy emphasis on the priesthood of all believers and posits that the Bible alone is the sole source of infallible authority for the Christian. But what happens when individual believers, each reading Scripture under the supposed guidance of the Holy Spirit, disagree with one another?
With the removal of a governing interpretive body such as Rome, many modern scholars have equated the Protestant Reformation with Babel, only "the Reformation resulted in a confusion not of languages but of interpretations, authorities, and interpretive communities" (p. x). This begs the question: Has the Protestant Reformation done more harm than good for the kingdom of God?
A proper retrieval of the core principles of the Reformation, the five solas, leads not to interpretive anarchy, but instead to a deeper insight into the one true gospel. Resultantly, a "Mere Protestant Christianity" (p. 31) is developed, which retrieves "the solas as guidelines and guardrails of biblical interpretation" (p. 32) and restores "the place of the church in the pattern of theological authority" (p. 32).
Kevin J. Vanhoozer is research professor of systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. A graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary (M.Div.) and the University of Cambridge (Ph.D.), he is widely regarded as one of the most influential theologians of his time. He has written or edited over twenty books including Hearers and Doers and the award-winning Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible. He also serves on various editorial boards and works as a consultant for The New Dictionary of Theology. He originally presented the contents of this book in 2015 at Moore College in Sydney, Australia as a series of lectures.