further major aspect of this volume is the concern with foundational issues. There is a recognition by many of the contributors that underlying the three strands of history, literature and theology, are deeper epistemological and ontological issues, that shape the way we think about literature and history. Craig Bartholomew argues that modern biblical interpretation has been shaped philosophically from the start and that depth analysis and renewal must take account of the role of philosophy if we are to move forward. Bartholomew suggests that some of the contemporary proposals about a theological hermeneutic for biblical interpretation have not yet addressed this issue sufficiently. He is concerned to open up the question of the relationship between theology and philosophy in biblical interpretation. Seitz, by comparison, argues that concern with general hermeneutics may miss the really central theological issues!

Issues of language are central to postmodernism and especially postmodern notions of the literary. Neil Beaton MacDonald looks at how philosophy of language might help biblical interpretation, especially in terms of Scriptural typology. And Colin Greene argues that the philosophy of history has been deeply influential in historical criticism and that a renewal of biblical interpretation must involve developing an adequate theology of history.

This interplay between philosophy and the three main strands, history, literature and theology, can be illustrated as follows:



If these three strands of history, literature and theology, and the underlying philosophical and theological issues are taken seriously, what sort of biblical hermeneutic might result? Al Wolters’ chapter on confessional criticism is a major attempt at mapping out a unified and yet nuanced biblical hermeneutic which integrates the above strands. Thorsten Moritz critically analyses Tom Wright’s critical realist hermeneutic which is another recent attempt at a unified hermeneutic. Karl Möller argues for a renewed historical criticism. And Dan Beeby pleads for a place in the sun for a missional hermeneutic alongside other approaches. Beeby’s paper, of course, with its missional concern, takes us back again to the foundational issues that shape hermeneutics at the deepest levels.

Overall these resulting proposals can, I suggest, be visualised as follows:



None of these areas are uncontested. One of the joys of the Cambridge consultation was the high level of expertise involved, and the responses to papers that are included in this volume give the reader a good sense of how debate might proceed with respect to these issues.

The series of themes that The Seminar plans to address in forthcoming consultations are as follows:

2000: philosophy and theology of language and biblical interpretation.
2001: the use of the Bible ethically and politically – a dialogue with Oliver O’Donovan.
2002: history, philosophy and theology of history, and the Bible.
2003: the story of the Bible: biblical theology and biblical interpretation.
2004: reading a book of the Bible in relation to key hermeneutical issues.
2005: reading the Bible canonically.
2006: the Bible and the academy: the view both ways.

This agenda is flexible and will require revision as The Seminar does its work. Readers of this volume will recognise how the above themes take up many of the issues addressed in the chapters that follow. This year (2000) The Seminar will explore in depth the question of language and biblical interpretation. Language is central to postmodernism and current hermeneutics, and the results of our consultation, to be held at Redeemer College in Ontario, Canada, will be published as Volume 2 of The Scripture and Hermeneutics Series. Walter Brueggemann’s retrospect alerts us to the importance of ideological readings, and these will feature in our 2001 consultation on the use of the Bible ethically. Several of our papers raise the historical issue and this will be our focus in 2002. And so on, and so forth!

Issues are already surfacing that we will also need to address, issues that do not fit easily into the above agenda. In my opinion, a central issue is that of the relationship between a strictly theological hermeneutic for biblical interpretation, and issues of general hermeneutics and philosophy. Then, we have received a proposal that we should include a consultation devoted entirely to the question of a missional hermeneutic. This picks up on Dan Beeby’s chapter. Contemporary missiology is a fascinating area and one can easily see the value of an interface between biblical hermeneutics and missiology.

It should be clearly noted that we desire to make the connections between hermeneutics and actual exegesis wherever possible. In this volume that connection is most apparent in Al Wolters chapter on confessional criticism and in Chris Seitz’s discussions of readings of Daniel. We are working to ensure that actual exegesis is always kept in mind as the goal of our process.

The opportunities are immense! And thus far, the process has been exhilarating. This first volume goes forth with our hope and prayer that The Seminar and its publications will contribute to a reopening of the Book for our cultures at the outset of this new millennium.

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