Ten Theology Books to Watch For – October 2024

Mere Christian Hermeneutics: Transfiguring What It Means to Read the Bible Theologically

Kevin Vanhoozer

( Zondervan Academic )

In 1952, C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity eloquently defined the essential tenets of the Christian faith. With the rise of fractured individualism that continues to split the church, this approach is more important now than ever before for biblical hermeneutics.

Many Christians wonder how to read the text of Scripture well, rightly, and faithfully. After all, developing a strong theory of interpretation has always been presented by two enormous challenges:

1. A variety of actual interpretations of the Bible, even within the context of a single community of believers.
2. The plurality of reading cultures—denominational, disciplinary, historical, and global interpretive communities—each with its own frame of reference.

In response, influential theologian Kevin J. Vanhoozer puts forth a “mere” Christian hermeneutic—essential principles for reading the Bible as Scripture everywhere, at all times, and by all Christians.

To center his thought, Vanhoozer turns to the accounts of Jesus’ transfiguration—a key moment in the broader economy of God’s revelation—to suggest that spiritual or “figural” interpretation is not a denial or distortion of the literal sense but, rather, its glorification.

Irenic without resorting to bland ecumenical tolerance, Mere Christian Hermeneutics is a powerful and convincing call for both church and academy to develop reading cultures that enable and sustain the kind of unity and diversity that a “mere Christian hermeneutic” should call for and encourage.

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Reading the Bible Latinamente: Latino/a Interpretation for the Life of the Church

Ruth Padilla DeBorst, M. Daniel Carroll R., Miguel G. Echevarría

( Baker Academic )

The Bible is important to Latino/a Christians living in America, playing a central role in their lives and churches. These believers have unique experiences and backgrounds that influence the way they read, understand, and apply Scripture. Reading the Bible Latinamente encourages these readers to recognize and embrace their social location and lived realities in reading Scripture. Three prominent evangelical Latino/a scholars and ministry practitioners combine their diverse experiences and expertise in biblical studies, theology, and missiology to provide an accessible resource that speaks to the lives of everyday people.

The authors discuss biblical interpretation from the Latino/a diaspora and provide examples from both New and Old Testament texts. Topics include reading in community and wrestling with identity and mission in the diaspora. Latino/a students and lay readers will be encouraged in their own reading of the Scripture and in the contributions they make to the North American and global church, while believers from other backgrounds will benefit from the perspectives and contributions of their Latino/a brothers and sisters.

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