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Augustine and Southern Baptists Part 5: Augustine’s Exegetical and Hermeutical Method by Dr. Jim Gifford
Dr. Jim Gifford This next-to-last post will examine the exegetical and hermeneutical method Augustine employs in constructing his teachings on grace and providence. Before I begin, I want to state my deep indebtedness to Donato Ogliari and his fine work Gratia et Certamen [Grace and Struggle]. Most of the real research in this section is his and I have only summarized it. One may wonder why this section comes later in this series of posts than his assumptions and the examination of the sources of those assumptions. It should be clear that the driving force behind Augustine’s theological construction that leads him to the precipice of determinism is neither Scripture nor the received tradition—rather it is his reaction to and accommodation to his pagan past. Now the Christian Augustine must be able to reconcile his imported assumptions with the teachings of the faith he now embraces. In order to do so, it seems he attempts to bend Scripture to fit his already-existing theological ideas, and seems content to read what he desires into the text of Scripture rather than draw his theological conclusions out of it. When it comes to biblical exegesis and theological reflection, Augustine certainly places the proverbial cart before the proverbial horse. The first text Augustine abuses is 1 Cor 4:7, “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” In its context, Paul utters these words as he chides…
2013-02-01 15:46:23
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