Encountering the Living God in Scripture: Theological and Philosophical Principles for Interpretation
Overview
This work gives a philosophical and theological account of the belief that Scripture enables people to encounter the life-giving reality of God. The authors examine the biblical foundations for this belief as given in a variety of witnesses from both Testaments and explain the philosophical and theological underpinnings of Christian exegesis. What results is a contemporary statement of the traditional belief that Scripture can put its readers in transforming contact with the living God.
Encountering the Living God in Scripture sums up and makes accessible the teaching of revered senior scholar and teacher Francis Martin. Aimed squarely at students, the book assumes no advanced training in philosophy or theology and will work well in Bible, interpretation, and doctrine of Scripture courses.
Key Features
- Explores how we can view God’s Word as being addressed to us
- Shows how we can read the Scriptures as our response to the God who speaks to us
- Examines the interpretive habits of Saint Antony of Egypt, Saint Augustine of Hippo, Saint Francis of Assisi, and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
Contents
Part 1: Fides
- The Word of God: Power and Presence
- The Word of God in the Inspired Speech of the Prophets
- The Word of God in the Inspired Speech of the Apostles
- The Word of God in Inspired Written Discourse
- Conclusion to Part 1
Part 2: Quaerens Intellectum
- God and the World: The Distinction
- The Metaphysics of the Created World
- Creation, the Bible, and the Question of Transcendence
- Creation and the Communion of Mind, Words, and World
- The Mediation of Divine Reality through the Biblical Text
- Encountering the Living God in Scripture: The Holy Spirit and Spirituality
- Conclusion to Part 2
Top Highlights
“The Distinction also entails a noncompetitive relation between God and creation. Since God exists in total perfection apart from the world, it is not true either that God needs the world or that the world adds anything to God’s perfection or that God rivals things for time, space, or causal power. Moreover, as the Chalcedonian definition of the incarnation entails, God does not destroy the natural integrity and powers of those things with which he becomes involved. Not only is God intimately present to all created things, but also his presence and causal activity to his creatures is nonviolent.” (Pages 123–124)
“The doctrine and metaphysics of creation thus entail that all things exist continually in relationship with the Creator God. In this light, we can think of all things as having an inner, vertical dimension to their being. From the depths of their being, all things exist in continuous relationship with God, and much of this relationship, though real, remains hidden from empirical observation. Particular aspects of this dimension only come to light when they are revealed.” (Page 154)
“Since Luke uses the language of ‘power’ with reference to Jesus’s messianic tasks of healing and exorcism (both of which he performs by his speaking), it seems warranted to view his messianic task ‘to bring good news’ (Luke 4:18) as likewise infused with the power of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus proclaims the good news (or teaches the Word of God), he does so in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’s word has causal power because it is his word as the Lord and Messiah, and as such, it is infused with the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Pages 33–34)
Praise for the Print Edition
If only every Catholic biblical scholar and theologian—as well as every bishop, priest, and seminarian—would read this book. The message of the book is simple: read Scripture in faith, and experience the transformative, divine power and presence of the living, incarnate Word, as communicated by the scriptural Word. With exegetical, philosophical, theological, and spiritual profundity, this book solves a lot of problems. A new day has dawned in Catholic biblical scholarship!
—Matthew Levering, James N. and Mary D. Perry Jr. Chair of Theology, Mundelein Seminary
Wright and Martin make a profoundly compelling contribution to theological interpretation. This book proffers a taste of the sweetness of the power and presence of Jesus in the Scriptures. It explains how mind, word, and world harmonize to ground the self-revelation of God. And it uncovers the mystery of Christ that inheres in the realities that the Bible presents. Eminently readable yet deeply informed, Encountering the Living God in Scripture goes to the very heart of the link between sacramental reading and participatory ontology.
—Hans Boersma, J. I. Packer Professor of Theology, Regent College
William Wright’s book—inspired by the work of Fr. Francis Martin and a fitting tribute to his memory—is a welcome and needed contribution. It fills a gaping lacuna in biblical scholarship, providing a solid theological and philosophical underpinning to what Scripture itself claims to do: namely, mediate an encounter with the living Word of God. This book delivers on its promise to explain clearly ‘how the Bible works.’ I highly recommend this volume to anyone who reads and studies the Bible in order to grow in faith and be transformed.
—Thomas D. Stegman, SJ, dean and professor of New Testament, Boston College School of Theology and Ministry
Product Details
- Title: Encountering the Living God in Scripture: Theological and Philosophical Principles for Interpretation
- Authors: William M. Wright IV and Francis Martin
- Publisher: Baker
- Publication Date: 2019
- Pages: 272
- Christian Group: Catholic
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Topic: Hermeneutics and Interpretation
About the Authors
William M. Wright IV (PhD, Emory University) is professor of theology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is the author of Rhetoric and Theology: Figural Reading of John 9.
Francis Martin (1930-2017; SSD, Pontifical Biblical Institute) was a beloved priest and scholar who served in many academic and pastoral settings. He founded Father Francis Martin Ministries and taught at the Dominican House of Studies. He was also a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, DC, and served as chaplain of the Mother of God Community in Gaithersburg, Maryland.