Donald McKim: Dictionary of Major Biblical Interpreters
Incidentally, I am not the first to question the selection of figures: Stanley Porter pointed out, in connection with the earlier version of the Dictionary (viz., the Handbook), that “[F. F.] Bruce is the only clearly evangelical scholar listed … in the category of twentieth-century European interpreters”, and couples this with the obvious claim that “Some might well say that this limited scope and inclusion is a major shortcoming of this handbook.”1 Stanley’s complaint about the exclusion of major European evangelicals immediately brings to mind P. T. Forsyth—a figure whom North Americans do not know as well as they should, and who, alas, is also missing from the Dictionary. (Happily, he is given the place he deserves in Hans Hillerbrand’s Encyclopedia of Protestantism.) Hopefully, future editions of this work will address this shortcoming.
Who will want to own this volume? In spite of the drawbacks, the volume as a whole will be a worthwhile investment for some. Students of the Bible will find more immediate value in lexicons, concordances, and Bible dictionaries. More serious students, however, will not want to be without this volume. Although it is a reference work, pastors and lay students will be especially rewarded by reading the entries on major figures of Church history. Indeed, one valuable use of this work would be to go through it and read the entry for each pre-1800 figure. That would allow the reader to gain a sense of belonging to a long history of biblical interpretation, and would present Church history through a somewhat different perspective from other works.
Reviewed by John C. Poirier
Preview Dictionary of Major Biblical Interpreters: books.google.com/books?id=oFLGroLOKq8C
Notes
1 Stanley E. Porter, “Hermeneutics, Biblical Interpretation, and Theology: Hunch, Holy Spirit, or Hard Work?” in I. Howard Marshall, Beyond the Bible: Moving from Scripture to Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004) 97-127, esp. 99 (with n. 3).
Category: In Depth, Summer 2009
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