The thesis is a work in constructive Christian theology, and it asks what is happening in theological terms, when the Bible is being read. The answer for which it argues comes in the form of a doctrine of illumination, a metaphorical way of interpreting the soteriological efficacy of Scripture. Inquiring into the meaning and usefulness of a doctrine of illumination opens up a set of larger questions, such as the identity of the reader of the text, the nature of the Bible itself, and the character of the community in which the text is interpreted. I argue that illumination requires as its backdrop a certain theology of the reader, the text, and the church. The thesis falls into two major parts: the first dealing with a fourth century church father, Basil of Caesarea, and the second bringing Basil into dialogue with five important voices in the contemporary debate on theological interpretation of Scripture. Part I outlines Basil’s theological analysis of reading, and the presuppositions necessary to sustain it, and Part II makes a case that these insights constitute a helpful contribution to the discussion of theological interpretation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:509215 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Sarisky, Darren |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=33422 |
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