Search The Scriptures

The Strangeness of God: Essays in Contemporary Theology Elizabeth Templeton Arthur James Limited, London, 1993; 173pp., £ 7.99; ISBN 0 85305 296 4 Templeton describes this book as 'fragments of thinking done over some fifteen years ... mostly since I stopped being "an academic"'. This latter phrase, perhaps, explains her description of this material as 'unacademic theology'. Certainly, these articles are likely to prove very difficult reading for those who are not academics! The Bishop of Durham, who would presumably classify himself as an academic, appears to have  found this book heavy going. His Foreword urges perseverance in reading this book, especially where the reader does not 'at first, make much sense of it'. In the Foreword, we read that  this book 'lies very much  within Christian Faith, taken for granted and pursued'. Some readers may wonder whether this begs the question: Can we take it for granted that this book gives us

I wrote this review article for the Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology _____ Holy Scripture: Revelation, Inspiration and Interpretation Donald G. Bloesch Paternoster Press, Carlisle, 1994; 384pp., £19.99; ISBN 0 85364 589 2  Reading this book caused me to look back over my own theological journey. In this extended review, I share some of its key elements. They may help others to think about the issues involved in our approach to Scripture as well as stimulating interest in the writings of Donald G. Bloesch. I first became aware of his name when, as a divinity student in the mid-1970s, I read his book The Evangelical Renaissance. Bloesch's approach to Scripture differed from the view I had become acquainted with through reading E.J. Young's Thy Word is Truth: Some Thoughts on the Biblical Doctrine of Inspiration. Bloesch presented a perspective which aimed at being evangelical without being fundamentalist. This is the approach he now argues in much greater detail