A Christological Hermeneutic by Donald G. Bloesch

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: Crisis and Conflict in Hermeneutics



Donald G. Bloesch, Ph. D., is Professor of Theology Emeritus, Dubuque Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa. Among his most significant publications are: Crumbling Foundations, Zondervan, 1984; The Future of Evangelical Christianity, Doubleday, 1983; The Struggle of Prayer, Harper & Row, 1980; Essentials of Evangelical Theology, Harper & Row, 1978-1979; Jesus Is Victor!, Abingdon, 1976; The Ground of Certainty, Eerdmans, I971; and The Reform of the Church, Eerdmans, I970. The following was Chapter 5 in Robert K. Johnston, The Use of the Bible in Theology: Evangelical Options, John Knox Press, 1985). The following was Chapter 5 in Robert K. Johnston, The Use of the Bible in Theology: Evangelical Options, John Knox Press, 1985).

This is a test of The discipline of biblical hermeneutics, which deals with the principles governing the interpretation of Scripture, is presently in crisis. For some time it has been obvious in the academic world that the scriptural texts cannot simply be taken at face value but presuppose a thought world that is alien to our own. In an attempt to bring some degree of coherence to the interpretation of Scripture, scholars have appealed to current philosophies or sociologies of knowledge. Their aim has been to come to an understanding of what is essential and what is peripheral in the Bible, but too often in the process they have lost contact with the biblical message. It is fashionable among both theologians and biblical scholars today to contend that there is no one biblical view or message but instead a plurality of viewpoints that stand at considerable variance with one an other as well as with the modem world-view. more