Conservative Protestant views of Scripture have not moved much beyond the fundamentalist-modernist controversies of the early twentieth century. Today, discussions must evolve and become transparently conversant with recent scholarly developments. Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Authority of Scripture provides contemporary reflections on the most pressing challenges facing inerrancy today. Whatever your current position, this volume will deepen your understanding of the authority of Scripture. TABLE OF CONTENTS and CONTRIBUTORS: Foreword by William Abraham / ix Editor's Preface by Carlos R. Bovell / xvii Historical Perspectives 1 No Creed but the Bible, No Authority Without the Church: American Evangelicals and the Errors of Inerrancy --D. G. Hart / 3 2 The Subordination of Scripture to Human Reason at Old Princeton--Paul Seely / 28 3 The Modernist-Fundamentalist Controversy, the Inerrancy of Scripture, and the Development of American Dispensationalism --Todd Mangum / 46 4 The Cost of Prestige: E. J. Carnell's Quest for Intellectual Orthodoxy--Seth Dowland / 71 5 "Inerrancy, a Paradigm in Crisis"--Carlos R. Bovell / 91 Biblical Perspectives 6 Inerrancy and Evangelical Old Testament Scholarship: Challenges and the Way Forward--J. Daniel Hays / 109 7 Theological Diversity in the Old Testament as Burden or Divine Gift? Problems and Perspectives in the Current Debate--Richard Schultz / 133 8 "But Jesus Believed That David Wrote the Psalms . . ." --Stephen Dawes / 164 9 Some Thoughts on Theological Exegesis of the Old Testament: Toward a Viable Model of Biblical Coherence and Relevance--Peter Enns / 183 10 Inerrantist Scholarship on Daniel: A Valid Historical Enterprise? --Stephen Young / 204 11 The Implications of New Testament Pseudonymy for a Doctrine of Scripture--Stanley E. Porter / 236 Theoretical Perspectives 12 Issues in Forming a Doctrine of Inspiration--Craig Allert / 259 13 How Evangelicals Became Overcommitted to the Bible and Wha Can Be Done about It--J. P. Moreland / 289 14 Biblical Authority: A Social Scientist's Perspective --Brian Malley / 303 15 Authority Redux: Epistemology, Philosophy of Science, and Theology--Christian Early / 323 16 Scripture and Prayer: Participating in God --Harriet A. Harris / 344 17 "A Certain Similarity to the Devil": Historical Criticism and Christian Faith--Gregory Dawes / 354 18 Critical Dislocation and Missional Relocation: Scripture's Evangelical Homecoming--Telford Work / 371 List of Contributors / 397

The notion that the Bible is inerrant in everything it teaches is something those with conservative upbringings are conditioned to take for granted. However, after being exposed to scholarship in biblical studies and other disciplines, some draw the unexpected conclusion that inerrancy as a doctrine is in dire need of serious revamping. Unfortunately, inerrantist politics and culture are making the constructive, restorative process impossible to intitiate. In Rehabilitating Inerrancy in a Culture of Fear, Carlos Bovell offers a synoptic overview of the issues to be addressed if inerrancy is to survive as a viable bibliological option.

This study overturns core conceptions regarding Calvin revising what we know about Calvin, history, tradition, and our own situation.

"Almost invariably, media stories with the word evangelical in their headlines are accompanied by a familiar stock photo: a mass of middle-class worshippers with eyes closed, faces tilted upward, and hands raised to the sky. Yet, despite the fact that worship has become symbolic of evangelicalism's identity in the twenty-first century, it remains an understudied locus of academic inquiry. Historians of American evangelicalism tend to define the movement by its political entanglements (the "rise of the religious Right"), and academic trajectories (the formation of the "evangelical mind"), not its ecclesial practices. Theological scholars frequently dismiss evangelical worship as a reiteration of nineteenth-century revivalism or a derivative imitation of secular entertainment (three Christian rock songs and a spiritual TED talk). But by failing to engage this worship seriously, we miss vital insights into a form of Protestantism that exerts widespread influence in the United States and around the world. Evangelical Worship: An American Mosaic models a new way forward. Drawing together insights from American religious history and liturgical studies, and putting both in conversation with ethnographic fieldwork in seven congregations, this book argues that corporate worship is not a peripheral "extra" tacked on to a fully-formed spiritual/political/cultural movement, but rather the crucible through which congregations forge and negotiate the contours of evangelicalism's contested theological identity"--

Do the writings of the church fathers support a literalist interpretation of Genesis 1? Young earth creationists have maintained that they do. But are we correctly representing the Fathers and their concerns? This study from Craig Allert resets our understanding of early Christian interpretation and considers whether contemporary evangelicals may be more bound to modernity in our reading of Genesis 1 than we realize.

Misusing Scripture offers a thorough and critical evaluation of American evangelical scholarship on the Bible. This strand of scholarship exerts enormous influence on the religious beliefs and practices, and even cultural and political perspectives, of millions of evangelical Christians in the United States and worldwide. The book brings together a diverse array of authors with expertise on the Bible, religion, history, and archaeology to critique the nature and growth of "faith-based" biblical scholarship. The chapters focus on inerrancy and textual criticism, archaeology and history, and the Bible in its ancient and contemporary contexts. They explore how evangelicals approach the Bible in their biblical interpretation, how "biblical" archaeology is misused to bolster distinctive views about the Bible, and how disputed interpretations of the Bible impact issues in the public square. This unique and timely volume contributes to a greater understanding and appreciation of how contemporary American evangelicals understand and use the Bible in their private and public lives. It will be of particular interest to scholars of biblical studies, evangelical Christianity, and religion in the United States.

The papers in this volume focus on some of the ways in which God's people have been rejected and exiled throughout history so as to become a diasporic people. They also discuss the ways God's scattered people have had to deal and cope with the resulting alienation as they have sought after God. Articles and responses treat exile and diaspora in the Old Testament, in Second Temple Judaism and Jewish Christianity, and in the Acts and the writings of Paul, paying attention to insights from the emerging discipline of diaspora studies. A final section offers a case study of the modern Filipino diaspora phenomenon, including the mobility of Filipino Christians, and discusses the implications of such diasporas for the mission of the church in the world today.

Jehoiachin reigned a mere three months before Nebuchadnezzar took him into exile. He was one more Judean king who did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and his one recorded action as king was to surrender to the Babylonians. How significant can a king be whose reign ended when it had scarcely begun? Remarkably, unlike his uncles, Jehoahaz and Zedekiah, Jehoiachin did not disappear after his removal. Instead, he became the focus of ongoing prophetic discussion about the monarchy, his rehabilitation by Evil-Merodach was a turning point in the exile, and his offspring was eventually identified as the future of David’s line. The attention paid to Jehoiachin in the canon is the seed of Patton’s study. Why is there such interest in a king who was so insignificant politically and who—literarily speaking—is a rather flat character? What significance do particular biblical books attribute to him, and why? If we expand our purview to the Bible as a whole, another reason for investigating Jehoiachin emerges. The exile was one of the most significant events in the history of Israel. In its midst, Jehoiachin occupies an important position as both one of the last kings of Judah and one of the first exiles. Are there ways in which biblical writers capitalize on Jehoiachin’s unique position for their broader theological purposes? Going one step further, in Hope for a Tender Sprig, Patton pursues not only the diversity of the Bible but also its unity, suggesting that “salvation history” is useful for conceiving the unity of the Bible, especially when we are concerned with a historical figure such as Jehoiachin. If the various books of the Bible bear witness to one grand storyline, what is the significance of Jehoiachin within that story? In the light of the canon as a whole, can we synthesize the various perspectives on Jehoiachin and articulate his distinctive role in this grand narrative? These questions beg many others. What do we mean by “canon”? What grounds do we have for considering the canon as a unity, and why should we consider “salvation history” a valid paradigm for understanding it as a whole? What is the relationship of salvation history to “real” history, and is this even a valid question? What role will extrabiblical evidence (some of which concerns Jehoiachin directly) play in our investigation? Patton addresses these issues and arrives at a comprehensive biblical-theological reflection on Jehoiachin’s significance.

In this comprehensive introduction to the apostle Paul, Stanley Porter devotes serious consideration both to the background and major contours of Paul’s thought and to the unique contributions of each of his letters. Porter begins by introducing the Pauline tradition and outlining the basics of Paul’s life, the chronology of his ministry, and his several imprisonments. Porter then discusses the background to Paul’s thought, examines some of the major themes of his writings, and treats issues concerning the Pauline epistles, such as pseudonymity and canon. Finally, Porter delves into all thirteen of Paul’s letters individually, placing them within their historical contexts and examining critical issues relating to the content and interpretation of each letter. The result is a thorough, balanced treatment of one of the most important figures in Christianity.

In Paul and Pseudepigraphy, an international group of scholars engage open questions in the study of the Apostle Paul and those documents often deemed pseudepigraphal. This volume addresses many traditional questions, including those of method and the authenticity of several canonical Pauline letters, but they also reflect a desire to think in new ways about persistent questions surrounding pseudepigraphy. The focus on pseudepigraphy in relationship to Paul affords a unique opportunity to address this innovative inclination, not readily available in studies of New Testament pseudepigraphy in general. Regarding these concerns, new approaches are introduced, traditional evidence is reassessed, and some new suggestions are offered. In addition to Pauline letters, treatments of related non-canonical Pauline pseudepigraphs are included in discussion.