Scripture in Doctrinal Dispute (Doctrine and Scripture in Early Christianity, vol. 2)

by Frances Young

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2024

Overview

How did we get from Scripture to creed?

Historical criticism has revealed a gap between Scripture and the mainstream doctrines that define Christianity today. Not the least of these are the Trinity and two natures of Christ—widely accepted since the fifth century, but seemingly unfounded in historical readings of Scripture. How did these dogmas become so integral to the faith in the first place?

Frances M. Young tackles this monumental question in a culmination of decades of biblical and patristic research. The second of two volumes, Scripture in Doctrinal Dispute illuminates the role of biblical hermeneutics in the debates that forged Christian dogma on the nature of God. Young shows how the theological commitments to God as the sole creator of all else from nothing shaped fourth- and fifth-century disputes over Christology and the Trinity. Played out in the great councils of the fourth century and beyond, these conflicts drove the need to discern doctrinal coherence in Scripture. The different sides relied on different prooftexts, and the rule of faith served as the criteria by which scriptural interpretation was measured—thereby forming the basis of the creeds.

Nuanced and ecumenical, Scripture in Doctrinal Dispute completes Young’s magnum opus, closing the gap between Scripture and Christian tradition. Young’s magisterial study holds widespread implications for not only patristics but also exegesis and systematic theology.

Key Features

• Closes the gap between Scripture and Christian tradition
• Illuminates the role of biblical hermeneutics in the debates that forged Christian dogma on the nature of God
• Shows how the theological commitments to God as the sole creator of all else from nothing shaped fourth- and fifth-century disputes over Christology and the Trinity

Contents

• Foreword by David F. Ford
• Preface
• List of Abbreviations
• 1. Setting the Scene: Retrospect and Prospect
• 2. Three Names, One God? Part 1, Making Sense of Scripture
• 3. Three Names, One God? Part 2, Conceptual Thought and Biblical Hermeneutics
• 4. Two Natures, One Christ? Part 1, Diverging Exegeses
• 5. Two Natures, One Christ? Part 2, The Deployment of Scripture in Dispute
• 6. Doctrine and Scripture: Shaping and Reclaiming the Mystery
• Bibliography
• Indexes

Product Details

• Title: Scripture in Doctrinal Dispute
• Author: Frances Young
• Series: Doctrine and Scripture in Early Christianity
• Volume: 2
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 2024
• Logos Release Date: 2024
• Pages: 349
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Theology, Doctrinal › History--Early church, ca. 30-600; Church history › Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600
• ISBNs: 9780802882998, 0802882994
• Resource ID: LLS:SCRPTRCHRSTNT02
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-08-21T21:43:15Z

About Frances Young

Frances Young is emeritus professor of theology and formerly pro-vice-chancellor at the University of Birmingham. Her recent publications include Brokenness and Blessing: Towards a Biblical Spirituality, From Nicaea to Chalcedon: A Guide to the Literature and Its Background, and God’s Presence: A Contemporary Recapitulation of Early Christianity.