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8 - Holy Scripture

from Part I - Doctrines

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2022

By
Kevin J. Vanhoozer
Edited by
Michael Allen
Michael Allen
Affiliation:
Reformed Theological Seminary, Florida
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Summary

To describe the Bible as “Holy Scripture” is to identify it as set apart by a holy God for the purpose of generating and governing a “holy nation,” a description applied first to Israel (Exod. 19:6) and later to the church (1 Pet. 2:9). The word of God and the people of God exist in a symbiotic relationship, though there is some dispute over which has priority: Does the word of God proceed from the people of God or vice versa? Either way, a doctrine of Scripture must have recourse to more than history or sociology, for its main task is to say how both the word of God (the Bible) and the people of God (the Church) are of God. The present essay reflects theologically on the nature, attributes, purpose, and interpretation of the Christian Bible, examining each of these aspects in relation to God and God’s acts. Viewed theologically, Scripture is a human constituent in the communicative activity of the triune God: the voice, word, and breath that speaks forth the light, life, and love of God himself.

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Chapter
Information
The New Cambridge Companion to Christian Doctrine , pp. 119 - 138
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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References

Further Reading

Benedict XVI, (2010), Verbum Domini: The Word of the Lord (Boston: Pauline Books & Media).Google Scholar
Berkouwer, G. C. (1975), Holy Scripture (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans).Google Scholar
Carson, D. A., ed. (2016), The Enduring Authority of the Christian Scriptures (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans).Google Scholar
Crisp, O., and Sanders, F., eds. (2016), The Voice of God in the Text of Scripture: Explorations in Constructive Dogmatics (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic).Google Scholar
Gordon, J. K. (2019), Divine Scripture in Human Understanding: A Systematic Theology of the Christian Bible (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press).Google Scholar
Holcomb, J. S., ed. (2006), Christian Theologies of Scripture: A Comparative Introduction (New York; London: New York University Press).Google Scholar
Loughlin, G. (1996), Telling God’s Story: Bible, Church and Narrative Theology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).Google Scholar
Stylianopoulos, T. (1997), The New Testament: An Orthodox Perspective, Volume 1: Scripture, Tradition, Hermeneutics (Brookline, MA: Holy Cross Orthodox Press).Google Scholar
Swain, S. (2011), Trinity, Revelation, and Reading: A Theological Introduction to the Bible and Its Interpretation (London: T&T Clark).Google Scholar
Ward, T. (2009), Words of Life: Scripture as the Living and Active Word of God (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press).Google Scholar
Webster, J. (2003), Holy Scripture: A Dogmatic Sketch (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).Google Scholar

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