Mere Christian Hermeneutics

Table of Contents

Introduction: An Experiment in Biblical-Theological Criticism

• The Experiment: From Methods of Criticism to Criticism of Methods
• Divine Address: “Today, If You Hear His Voice . . .”
• Human Answerability: “. . . Do Not Harden Your Hearts”
• Ascending the Mountain: The Plan of the Book

Part 1: Reading the Bible in and out of Church

The Divided Domain of the Word

Chapter 1: Forming Reading Cultures: From Biblical Literacy to Gospel Citizenship

• Interpretive Communities, Constitutions, and Covenants
• Biblical Interpretation and the Formation of Christian Culture
• On the Making of Reading Cultures: Three Historical Examples
• Toward What Kind of Reading Culture?

Chapter 2: Exegesis in a Toolshed: A Conflict of Reading Cultures

• C. S. Lewis: Taking Biblical Interpreters to the Toolshed
• C. P. Snow: The Two Cultures
• Crosscurrents of Biblical Interpretation: A Brief History of a Recurring Tension

Chapter 3: Biblical Studies and Theology as Polarized Reading Cultures: The State of the Question

• Epochal Polarization: When Modern Biblical Interpreters Lost Interest in Theology
• Disciplinary Polarization: The Divided Domain of Biblical Interpretation
• Beyond Polarization: Taking Biblical Studies and Theology Back to Church

Part 2: Figuring Out Literal Interpretation

The Letter of the Text

Chapter 4: Defining Sensus Literalis (Part 1): From Grammatical Sense to Eschatological Reference

• Philology: Reading the Letter with Loving Attention
• Literality (Part 1): Construing the Sense of the Letter
• Literality (Part 2): Toward Which Frame of Reference?
• Framing Literal Interpretation: Of Secular and Sacred Imaginaries 
• Framing Isaiah; Framing Hebrews: Is the Literal Always Earth-Bound?

Chapter 5: Defining Sensus Literalis (Part 2): From the Figural to the Trans-figural

• Tactics vs. Strategy: Where the Conflict Really Lies
• Mere Christian Figuration: Beyond Typology and Allegory
• Grammatical-Eschatological Exegesis and the “Trans-figural” Literal Sense
• A Reformed Catholic Paradigm: Christoscopic Interpretive Vision

Part 3: Transfiguring Literal Interpretation

The Light of Christ

Chapter 6: Shedding Light on Literality: Light Wrought

• Framing Creation: On Reading Genesis 1:3 Literally
• “What Light through Yonder Cosmos Breaks?” Genesis 1:3 in the History of Exegesis
• Making Known: A God-Bespoke Economy of Light

Chapter 7: The Transfiguration of Christ: Light Revealed

• The Meaning of Transfiguration and the Transfiguration of Meaning
• The Transfiguration in the Synoptic Gospels
• The Transfiguration in the History of Exegesis
• Transfiguration Transposed: The Glory of Christ in the Fourth Gospel
• The Transfiguration as Interpretive Framework: Five Theses

Chapter 8: Transfiguring the Literal: Light Refracted

• “The Prophetic Word Made More Sure”: Does Transfiguring Mean Reading Backward?
• A Tale of Two Mountains: Sinai and Tabor
• Letter and Spirit: Paul’s Reading of Moses’ Veiled Glory
• The Letter Unveiled: Transfiguring Interpretation Glorifies the Literal Sense

Chapter 9: Transfiguring the Reader: Light Reflected

• Wrestling with Texts (and Other Readers): The Struggle for Understanding
• Wrestling with God? Reading Jacob at Jabbok
• Varieties of Spiritual Interpretation
• With Unveiled Faces: Reading by Lamb-Light

Conclusion: Beatific Lection: Transfiguring Christian Reading Cultures

• The Experiment’s Results: A Summary Mountaintop Report
• “Listen to Him”: Attending to (and Answering) Light
• Whose Song Is It? On Seeking (and Finding) Christ in the “Wrong” Places
• An Ongoing Ascent: Mere Christian Hermeneutics as Witness and Worship

Praise for Mere Christian Hermeneutics

'Mere Christian Hermeneutics puts theological interpretation on the offensive side of the ball. The various critical approaches spawned by the historicist hegemony of the last two centuries come with their methods and variegated vis-and agrave;-vis. The temptation is to situate theological interpretation within this scholarly fray, maneuvering it in conversation with or over against these competing options. Vanhoozer doesn't play by these rules because the stakes are too high. If God is the authorizing agent of all Scripture, Old and New Testaments, then everything changes. This confession of faith places all methods and approaches in service of this organon of Scripture's nature. From Vanhoozer's vantage point, Holy Scripture remains on the short side of the Mount of Transfiguration if readers are canonically unaware and redemptively irresponsible. Mere Christian Hermeneutics calls on its readers to ascend the mount of a transfigured text, to see Jesus just as he is. The church and its members--and academics too!--would do well to go hiking with Professor Vanhoozer up this mountain. Who knows? Perhaps we will be transfigured as well. I certainly hope so.' ―Mark Gignilliat, professor of divinity, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University

'Biblical scholars treat all sorts of theological themes. Why then is historical-critical biblical scholarship not enough by itself? In this major study, the eminent theologian Kevin Vanhoozer answers this question. With the erudite rigor and gentlemanly patience for which he is known, he sifts through a vast array of approaches and arguments. I love his emphasis on Christ's transfiguration, an event that literally reveals the theophanic and eschatological power of God's Word in history, requiring the eyes of faith and calling forth divine-human communion.' 
―Matthew Levering, James N. Jr. and Mary D. Perry Chair of Theology, Mundelein Seminary

'For nearly three decades Kevin Vanhoozer has been the leading evangelical scholar of Christian theological interpretation of Scripture. With this volume he finally delivers what so many of us have been waiting for: the mature fruit of his long labors. Vanhoozer understands that church, theology, and hermeneutics all need each other as fellow creatures and servants of God's living word. In this 'reformed catholic' proposal, we see all the puzzle pieces brought together by a lover and lifelong student of Christ's powerful speech. It is a fitting completion of Vanhoozer's 'mere Christian' trilogy; it will immediately become a touchstone for pastors, theologians, and biblical scholars. Above all, it directs readers' gaze to the face of Christ, shining with the Spirit's light. The glory that once shone on Tabor through the human flesh of Jesus is one and the same as the glory that shines even now through the human words of Scripture. Vanhoozer helps us to see what was true all along: namely, that transfiguration encapsulates our life with God through his word--whether spoken aloud, written in ink, or incarnate in flesh and blood.' 
―Brad East, associate professor of theology, Abilene Christian University

'I select one highlight among many luminous points in this book: Mere Christian Hermeneutics offers a reformed catholic paradigm for reading divinely inspired, canonical Scripture in the context of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church and within a christological, historically attuned, and eschatologically oriented Protestant framework. And this is only one theme it rehearses. Could this be Kevin Vanhoozer's most brilliant book yet? Tolle, lege, crede!' 
―Gregg R. Allison, professor of Christian theology, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

'In Mere Christian Hermeneutics, Kevin Vanhoozer constructs a bridge across the modern divide between exegesis and theology. He suggests a rapprochement that presses for engagement with both literal and spiritual ('transfigural') readings. With his characteristic engagement and facility with ancient and modern interpreters of Scripture, Vanhoozer problematizes disinterested readings and seeks to demonstrate the existential stake all readers have in biblical interpretation. A bold clarion call from an eminent scholar for Scriptural reading as a spiritual endeavor.' 
―Jeannine K. Brown, David Price Professor of Biblical and Theological Foundations, Bethel Seminary

'Kevin Vanhoozer once more draws deep connections between reading practices old and new, theological confessions catholic and reformed, and hermeneutical insights literary and 'literal.' The result: literal + figural = transfiguring interpretation. This theological tour de force is generously marked throughout by a wonderful wisdom and lyrical largesse. Case studies on light in Scripture raise, as it were, 'literally fascinating' questions. This book will not resolve all the church's fractured interpretive debates, but may it illuminate her pilgrimage through the ongoing struggles of biblical interpretation in our time.' 
―Richard S. Briggs, principal, Lindisfarne College of Theology

'Kevin Vanhoozer, a leading and generational pastor-theologian, invites us to consider how the transfiguration of Christ, an experiential-learning fieldtrip taken by Jesus' inner three disciples, serves as a novel and meaningful symbol for Christian hermeneutics. While these disciples were in many ways blindsided, this significant textbook helps us encounter the triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit, not on a literal mountaintop but in daily ascents to the Holy Scriptures where each member of the Godhead glitters theological brilliance onto the pages of our embodiment: honing our biblical and theological interpretation, transfiguring our desires, and transforming our agency closer to his likeness.' 
―Matthew D. Kim, professor of preaching and pastoral leadership, George W. Truett Chair of Preaching and Evangelism, Truett Seminary, Baylor University

'This is a state-of-the-art work in Christian theological hermeneutics. Vanhoozer not only clarifies a whole range of contested issues but also offers careful analysis, penetrating insights, and a constructive way forward. Mere Christian Hermeneutics is a creative yet biblically disciplined proposal worthy of close engagement by everyone who is serious about reading Scripture as the Word of God. This is a stellar contribution to Vanhoozer's promising 'mere Christian' theological project. Highly recommended!' 
―Uche Anizor, professor of theology, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University

'Vanhoozer ranges widely and thought-provokingly in this lucid and challenging book. It will surely become a landmark in discussions of what it means to read the Bible theologically.' 
―Walter Moberly, professor of theology and biblical interpretation, Durham University

'With so many of us concerned that we are facing a crisis in the formation of disciples today, Kevin Vanhoozer's rich and beautiful offering could not be more timely or important. Mining the robust biblical imagery of transfiguration, Vanhoozer offers a vision of biblical engagement in which we ourselves are transfigured and conformed to the image of Christ when we rightly read Scripture. At heart, Vanhoozer is issuing a much-needed call to churches and seminaries to do all we can to become theological reading cultures in which Christians are formed through Scripture to be literate citizens of the gospel who bear witness to the light of Christ in the world as they are transfigured into the likeness of Christ. This clarion call is a must-read for pastors, seminary professors and administrators, and all who care about deep Christian formation.' 
―Kristen Deede Johnson, dean and vice present of academic affairs, G. W. and Edna Haworth Professor of Educational Ministries and Leadership, Western Theological Seminary