Midterm Flashcards
Give 7 dates/periods/people in the brief history of Biblical Theology
- Through the 18th century, BT was practiced un-self-consciously
- Johann P. Gabler - 1787
- Georg L. Bauer, U of Altdorf - 1796
- Julius Wellhausen - 1878
- Revival/ “Golden Age” of BT - 1930-60’s
- Brevard S. Childs - 1970
- Geerhardus Vos - 1862-1949
(8) Today
Describe the discipline of Biblical Theology through the 18th century.
a. practiced un-self-consciously
b. within Scripture, by the OT/NT authors, then in the early church’s preaching, etc.
c. not as (1) a scientific discipline of itself nor (2) with the goal of a comprehensive theology
What was Johann P. Gabler’s contribution to the study of Biblical Theology?
- On March 30, 1787 at the U of Altdorf, Germany, Gabler delivered an address entitled “An Oration on the Proper Distinction Between Biblical and Dogmatic Theology and the Specific Objectives of Each.” (He was fed up with Dogmatic Theology. ‘We’ve stopped reading the Bible as the Bible!’
- Until this time, so Gabler asserted, BT had largely been subsumed under ST (proof-texting)
- Gabler’s address considered the “liberation” of BT
- BT would go on to be characterized by a rationalistic approach, eventually becoming a history of religion discipline.
Gabler didn’t end up going fully the right direction, but there was good and bad.
What was Georg L. Bauer’s contribution to the study of Biblical Theology?
- Wrote the first ‘OT Theology’ in 1796: A Biblical Sketch of the Religious Opinions of the Ancient Hebrews
- Bauer was the first to separate Old and New Testament theology
- OT theology = anti-supernatural history of the religion of the ancient Hebrews, evolving from a family god religion to that of a national god to a universal god (prophets, proverbs).
What was Julius Wellhausen’s contribution to the discipline of Biblical Theology?
- Published Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel
- Caused a revolution comparable to those of Copernicus and Darwin, setting the course of biblical studies
- Strictly evolutionary historical approach, involving various (oft conflicting) strands of traditions patched together (source criticism) The major stream of thinking is evolutionary. He was anti-catholic and anti-semitic. Sources:
a. J (Yahwist) 950 BC - Judah (“LORD”) southern kingdom
b. E (Elohist) 850 BC - Israel (“God”) northern kingdom
c. D (Deuteronomist) 600 BC - Jerusalem/religious reform (created and pretended to have discovered)
d. P (Priestly) 500 BC - Priests in Babylonian Exile (wrote stuff in trying to create power for themselves) - The focus is on discerning strands; unified theology became impossible
- Strands/sources multiplied ad infinitum, often involving circular reasoning (spend a lifetime discussing “P” and then have P1, P2, etc.)
- Challenges to Wellhausen’s “Documentary Hypothesis”/”Source Criticism” came in the late 20th century:
i. literary critics (secular or otherwise)
ii. R.N. Whybray, The Making of the Pentateuch (1987) was the most complete critique of the documentary hypothesis by a mainstream scholar: “The hypothesis can only be maintained on the assumption that, while consistency was the hallmark of the various documents, inconsistency was the hallmark of the redacktors”
David Klines wrote a peace on “source criticism is dead” in 2007. It has been sharply criticized even in the mainstream, but it lives on.
Describe the “Golden Age” of the discipline of Biblical Theology
- Post - WWI, awakening of confessional theology (K. Barth)
- Magisterial Old Testament theologies:
i. W. Eichrodt (1933-1939) - based upon the covenant concept
ii. G. von Rad (1959-60) - based upon historical creed/kerygma (Deut 26:5-9) - These OT theologies made a lasting contribution, but no consensus was achieved as to BT’s nature and purpose, method, center, etc., with higher criticism still eroding even the viability of the project
What was Brevard S. Childs’s contribution to the discipline of Biblical Theology?
- Published Biblical Theology in Crisis
- Promoted “Canonical Criticism,” dealing with the final form of Scripture. (left positive fruits, Morales thankful for)
- Emphasized the need for a Christian interpretation of the canon for the church
What was Geerhardus Vos’s contribution to the discipline of Biblical Theology?
- Published Biblical Theology in 1948
- Called the “father of Reformed Biblical Theology”
- noted that ST = circle, while BT = line
can be critiqued (almost heretical to say)
Describe the discipline of Biblical Theology today.
Many OT and NT theologies are being published, the approaches are so diverse that this period has been likened to that of the Judges with “each one doing what is right in his own eyes.”
To quote J.L. Morrow,
Genesis 1-3, “in its account of creation, presents the cosmos as one large temple, the Garden of Eden as the Holy of Holies, and the human person as made for worship.” Adam and Eve dwelt with God in the house of God. This was the goal of the creation of the cosmos.
- Discuss how creation is presented as a large temple and humanity’s purpose as worship. How does this idea relate to the lampstand and bread of the presence in the Tabernacle’s holy place?
Paragraph 2
Seeing the cosmos as a temple is a paradigm shift for many today, but it’s interesting to note that in Ancient Near East cultures, it was very common for temples to be thought of as microcosms of the great cosmos. If creation is the house of God in which we’re to dwell with God, then what is to be done when creation is defiled by sin and death and God cannot dwell with man there in harmony? The solution God provides is a miniature cosmos, a smaller space which can be kept clean from defilement and in which He can dwell with His people once more. This can be seen as the singular point of focus for all of the drama of Scripture: YHWH’s opening up the way for humanity to dwell in his Presence once more.
I. It can be seen throughout scripture that there is an analogous relationship between the cosmos and the temple…
A. The cosmos is described in architectural terms
1. Gen 7:11 “the windows of heaven”
2. Job 9:8 “He alone treads the heavens”
3. Job 26:11 “The pillars of heaven”
4. Ps 78:23 “the doors of heaven”
5. Ps. 104 – entire creation in architectural terms
6. Isaiah 40:22 “stretches like a curtain… spread like a tent”
B. The cosmos is a three-decked house (Exodus 20:4 – You shall not make for yourself a carved image…)
1. in heaven above
2. in Earth beneath
3. in Water under the earth
C. Creation narrative and Tabernacle speeches
1. Seven days of creation which are paralleled by seven divine speeches in Exodus for the building of the temple
2. There are parallels between God’s Genesis 1-2 declarations over creation and the declarations of Moses in Exodus 39-40 over the tabernacle
One of the most interesting parallels between creation and the tabernacle can be seen when paying attention to the lights…
A. Golden Lampstand shining on the bread – shining forward the blessing and glory of God on the people of Israel
1. portrayed visually God’s intention that His people should live continually in His presence
2. Aaronic blessing highlights this “shining” of God’s presence upon His people
3. ideal of Israel basking in the light of God’s presence
B. All of this is there to be seen in the creation account as well…
1. word ma’or = light, luminary is rare in the Bible – generally it refers to the lamps of the sanctuary
2. The chief function of the ma’or is for the sake of fixing the days of cultic celebration – so the “signs, seasons, days, and years” is never referring to the seasons of the year asin (winter, spring, etc.) but to cultic celebrations
II. There are many parallels between the Garden of Eden and the Holy of Holies and just a few will be touched on here.
A. the same word meaning “to walk to and fro” is used todescribe the divine presence in later tent sanctuaries
B. the cherubim guarding the eastward entrance indicates that it is viewed as a sanctuary (we see this in the guarding of the Holy of Holies in the later tabernacle and temples) – It is also common in ancient near eastern culture. Any ANE person seeing a cherubim recognizes a temple.
C. Tree of Life – menorah was a stylized tree of life
D. the verbs used to describe Adam’s job in Eden are only used together elsewhere in the Pentateuch “of the Levites” duties in guarding and ministering in the sanctuary
E. God clothing Adam has parallels to the clothing and ordaining of the priests
III. And so it can be seen clearly that from the very beginning, all of the pieces were in place for man to
give proper worship to God. For not only was it the intention for man to dwell in God’s presence continually (as shown by the golden lampstand shining on the loaves throughout the week), but one day in seven was sanctified as belonging to God. The Sabbath day is, quite significantly, the only thing sanctified in the entire book of Genesis.
The importance of this seven day pattern of worship can be seen in many ways in the creation account. The number 7 itself is very important with 7 words, or a multiple of 7 words occurring in a section. Also specific words or phrases occurring 7 times, or in mulitiples of 7 times. The emphasis is given by repetition, literary structure, syntax, and by the substance of it
If there’s a day of atonement for the miniature csmos then can there be a day of atonement for the big house? The answer is yes. The authors of Hebrews will walk us through that with the priesthood of Melchzedek and the Lord Jesus Christ so that through the work of Christ we don’t need the miniature cosmos anymore – we will dwell with God once again in the big house
(Q3 Gate liturgy)
Who may abide in Your tabernacle or dwell in Your holy hill according to Psalm 15?
Psalm 15: “LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change; He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.”
