Scripture First: Biblical Interpretation that Fosters Christian Unity by Daniel B. Oden and J. David Stark

 

★★★★ ☐ The publisher has provided a copy for review. 

The six contributors advocate an ongoing development of hermeneutics, based on their examination of Protestant approaches since the Reformation. They examine history of how the community of faith has approached, appropriated, and corrected theology and biblical interpretation from the 1500s. They point out that church as ultimate authority - influenced by history and culture - is as unworkable as individual interpretation, sola scripture without the interaction of other believers. They advocate for hermeneutics that consider creeds, baptism, the apostolic emphasis on resurrection, and other core developments in the life of Christ's body, the Church universal as well as new waves of culture and scholarship.

Well worth considering for those interested in the development of hermeneutics and the failure of the American Restoration Movement to include the global and emerging church in its interpretation of scripture.