The first modern study of Nicholas of Lyra, immensely influential fourteenth-century Franciscan biblical commentator. Fifteen essays on his masterpiece, the "Postillae super totam Bibliam," illuminate the remarkable achievement of this key thinker, from his knowledge of Hebrew to political ideas.
'Lucid, restrained, persuasive. If there is such a thing as the history wars, then Bain Attwood has struck a major blow for the peace process. Telling the Truth About Aboriginal History is unflinchingly fair, scholarly, and refreshingly accessible.' Hugh Mackay, social researcher and author 'Genuinely good Australian history is under serious attack and Attwood's book is a brilliant battlefield analysis.' Alan Atkinson, Australian Research Council Professorial Fellow 'Hard-hitting but always thoughtful, Bain Attwood's rich, informed, and powerful book. has much to say about the centrality of history and memory to debates on the future of social justice in democratic societies.' Professor Dipesh Chakrabarty, University of Chicago Once upon a time historical controversies were debated among a small circle of academic historians. Today they are the subject of intense 'history wars' fought out in parliament, court rooms, museums, newspapers, cafes and blog sites. Bain Attwood takes us to the heart of the conflict about the Aboriginal past in Australia. He tracks the growing popularity of history and weighs the consequences for the nature of historical knowledge and the authority of the historian. He asks why and how Aboriginal history has become central to Australian politics, culture and identity. He examines the work of historical 'revisionists' and tests their promise of historical truth. Finally, Attwood ponders how the traumatic history of frontier conflict might better be remembered - and mourned - and why telling the truth about history matters for the nation and for all of us.
This book explores the ways that Christians, from the period of late antiquity through the Protestant Reformation, interpreted the Bible according to its several levels of meaning. Using the five bodily senses as an organizing principle, Karlfried Froehlich probes key theological developments, traditions, and approaches across this broad period, culminating in a consideration of the implications of this historical development for the contemporary church. Distinguishing between "principles" and "rules" of interpretation, Froehlich offers a clear and useful way of discerning the fundamental difference between interpretive methods (rules) and the overarching spiritual goals (principles) that must guide biblical interpretation. As a study of roots and reasons as well as the role of imagination in the development of biblical interpretation, Sensing the Scriptures reminds us how intellectually and spiritually relevant the pursuit of a historical perspective is for Christian faith and life today.
This introductory guide, written by a leading expert in medieval theology and church history, offers a thorough overview of medieval biblical interpretation. After an opening chapter sketching the necessary background in patristic exegesis (especially the hermeneutical teaching of Augustine), the book progresses through the Middle Ages from the eighth to the fifteenth centuries, examining all the major movements, developments, and historical figures of the period. Rich in primary text engagement and comprehensive in scope, it is the only current, compact introduction to the whole range of medieval exegesis.
A key emphasis of Brevard Childs's distinguished career has been to show not only that the canon of Scripture comprises both Old and New Testaments but also that the concept of -canon- includes the way the Christian church continues to wrestle in every age with the meaning of its sacred texts. In this new volume Childs uses the book of Isaiah as a case study of the church's endeavor throughout history to understand its Scriptures. In each chapter Childs focuses on a different Christian age, using the work of key figures to illustrate the church's changing views of Isaiah. After looking at the Septuagint translation, Childs examines commentaries and tractates from the patristic, Reformation, and modern periods. His review shows that despite an enormous diversity in time, culture, nationality, and audience, these works nevertheless display a -family resemblance- in their theological understandings of this central Old Testament text. Childs also reveals how the church struggled to adapt to changing social and historical conditions, often by correcting or refining traditional methodologies, while at the same time maintaining a theological stance measured by faithfulness to Jesus Christ. In an important final chapter Childs draws out some implications of his work for modern debates over the role of Scripture in the life of the church. Of great value to scholars, ministers, and students, this book will also draw general readers into the exciting theological debate currently raging in the Christian church about the faithful interpretation of Scripture.
Focusing on the famous Medieval commentator Nicolas of Lyra and the anonymous Middle English biblical adaptation of the Gospel of John, the Cursor Mundi, this book examines the development of the analytical tools of biblical literary criticism showing how late Medieval commentators negotiated the paradoxical interdependence of the literal and spiritual senses, as transmitted by traditional and inherited vocabularies, through a focus on narrative structure. Mark Hazard combines an enlightening account of the actual practice of professional commentators, the history of Gospel interpretation and cultural history to reveal that remarkable shift in the treatment of the Bible that modern scholars would regard as having laid the groundwork for the historical-critical methods in biblical research. As such this book sheds light not only on the 14th century practice of biblical interpretation, but will also be of value to those currenlty engaged in reading and writing about the bible.
Surveys of the history of biblical exegesis and, in particular, the history of Apocalypse commentaries rarely fail to allude to Nicholas of Lyra O.F.M. (1270-1349) as the greatest biblical exegete of the fourteenth century. Late medieval and Reformation verses were written about him. Nicholas was born in the town of Lyre, near Evreux in Normandy. Since Evreux was a center of Jewish studies, he was able to cultivate his interest in Hebrew and to become thoroughly acquainted with the Talmud, Midrash, and the works of Rashi (Solomon ben Issac, 1045-1105). Lyra's attraction to Rashi's literal method would have a profound influence on his exegetical style.
During the Reformation of the sixteenth century, the role of the Bible in both Protestant and Roman Catholic branches of western Christianity was vital and complex. Drawing on new technologies such as movable type, this period saw extraordinary energy and enterprise put into the translation, interpretation, and publication of Christianity's sacred text. As a result, an increasingly broad section of the population, from scholars and clergy to laity and children, came to be involved in the reception of the Bible and its position in early modern religious expression. The Oxford Handbook of the Bible and the Reformation provides readers with a deeper understanding of the expansive history of the Bible as it was shaped, shared, and received across Christian traditions. Chapters explore the biblical canon, translation and print, the development of Reformation hermeneutics, the history of Bible commentators, and exegesis relating to key texts and theological themes of Reformation writing and discourse. Engaging the subject broadly, intricately, and robustly, the expertise of over fifty leading experts illuminates the early modern Bible's composition and position as scripture and, from the Renaissance era on, as a printed book. By including the contributions of radical reformers, Catholics, and women scholars, the Handbook presents a deep and wide-ranging account of the importance of the Bible's reach and authority among all western Christians.
A ground-breaking study that unveils, for the first time, the entirety of a founding Jesuit's theology. Revered as a founder of the Jesuit order, an accomplished preacher, a papal theologian at all three sessions of the Council of Trent, and the provincial of Naples, Alfonso Salmerón was a significant figure in the intellectual life and ecclesiastical affairs of the sixteenth century. His Commentaries represent one of the most ambitious theological-exegetical endeavours of the post-Tridentine period. Fr. Sam Zeno Conedera, SJ, brings long-overdue recognition to a foundational figure and key theologian of the order. Here, presented for the first time, is a detailed overview of Salmerón's writings and theology. It explores the author's creative use of history, his endeavour to integrate Scripture and tradition, and his exposition of the mysteries of the Christian faith. As Conedera shows, Salmerón's approach to controversial Reformation issues, such as the veneration of Mary, justification, the sacraments, and the nature of the Church, combined respect for tradition with innovation. Furthermore, his moral teachings offer profound insights into significant societal issues of the period, including public worship and the relations between the sexes. Salmerón's brief yet carefully crafted discussion of the Society of Jesus provides invaluable insight into the self-perception of the first generation of Jesuits. This book highlights the ways in which this exceptional figure enriches our understanding of early modern Catholicism and Jesuit history.
Starting from the theory of scriptural interpretation elaborated by Hugh of St. Victor, the Augustinian Canons of twelfth-century St. Victor in Paris were leading theorists and practitioners of scriptural exegesis. This volume contains translations of the exegetical theories elaborated in Hugh of St. Victors (d. 1141) Didascalicon, On Sacred Scripture and its Authors, The Diligent Examiner, and On the Sacraments (prologues); Andrew of St. Victors (d. 1175) prologues to select commentaries; Richard of St. Victors (d. 1173) Book of Notes and Apocalypse commentary; Godfrey of St. Victors Fountain of Philosophy; Robert of Meluns Sentences; and the anonymous Speculum on the Mysteries of the Church.