Brad East is assistant professor of theology at Abilene
Christian University. He is the author of The Doctrine of Scripture
and the editor of Robert Jenson's The Triune Story: Collected
Essays on Scripture. His work has been published in Modern
Theology, International Journal of Systematic Theology, Scottish
Journal of Theology, and Pro Ecclesia, as well as The Christian
Century, Commonweal, The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Point,
and more.
Interpretation
"This book serves both as a charitable and analytical reading of
three distinct approaches to the use of the Bible in theology and
as a formidable proposal for the importance of one's understanding
of the church for one's interpretation of Scripture." Theologische
Literaturzeitung
"An analytically clear, erudite and constructive study of the
relationship between scripture and ecclesiology." The Expository
Times
"This volume is a work of constructive criticism, and Brad East has
mastered the genre." "How we understand the church determines how
we understand Scripture. Brad East grounds this basic claim in a
detailed examination of three key heirs of Barthian
theology--Robert Jenson, John Webster, and John Howard Yoder. The
corresponding threefold typology that results --church as deputy
(catholic), church as beneficiary (reformed), and church as
vanguard (believers' church)--offers much more than a description
of the ecclesial divides that undergird different views of
Scripture. East also presents a sustained and well-argued defense
of the catholic position: church precedes canon. At the same time,
East's respectful treatment of each of his theological discussion
partners gives the reader a wealth of insight into the various
positions. Future discussions about church and canon will turn to
The Church's Book for years to come."
-- Hans Boersma
Nashotah House Theological Seminary "Theologically informed,
church-oriented ways of reading Scripture are given wonderfully
sustained attention in Brad East's new book. Focusing on Karl Barth
and subsequent theologians influenced by him, East uncovers how
differences in the theology of Scripture reflect differences in the
understanding of church. Ecclesiology, East shows, has a major
unacknowledged influence on remaining controversies among
theologians interested in revitalizing theological approaches to
Scripture. With this analysis in hand, East pushes the conversation
forward, beyond current impasses and in directions that remedy
deficiencies in the work of each of the theologians he
discusses."
-- Kathryn Tanner
Yale Divinity School "In this clear and lively volume, Brad East
provides acute close readings of three theologians--John Webster,
Robert W. Jenson, and John Howard Yoder--who have all tied biblical
interpretation to a doctrine of the church. Building on their work,
he proposes his own take on how the church constitutes the social
location of biblical interpretation. In both his analytical work
and his constructive case, East makes a major contribution to
theological reading of Scripture."
-- Darren Sarisky
Australian Catholic University "If previous generations of students
and practitioners of a Protestant Christian doctrine of Holy
Scripture looked to books by David Kelsey, Nicholas Wolterstorff,
and Kevin Vanhoozer as touchstones, future ones will look back on
this book by Brad East as another. But there is no ecclesially
partisan polemic here. This book displays an ecumenical vision of
Scripture--one acutely incisive in its criticism, minutely
attentive in its exposition, and truly catholic and visionary in
its constructive proposals. It has the potential to advance
theological discussion among dogmaticians, historians of dogma, and
guild biblical exegetes alike. It is a deeply insightful treatment
of its theme that will shape scholarly--and, more insistently and
inspiringly, ecclesial--discussion for many years to come."
-- Wesley Hill
Western Theological Seminary "In the past I've argued that
determining the right relationship between God, Scripture, and
hermeneutics comprises the right preliminary question for
systematic theology: its 'first theology.' Brad East's The Church's
Book has convinced me that ecclesiology too belongs in first
theology. In weaving his cord of three strands (insights gleaned
from a probing analysis of John Webster, Robert Jenson, and John
Howard Yoder), East offers not a way out but a nevertheless welcome
clarification of where the conflict of biblical interpretations
really lies: divergent understandings of the church. This is an
important interruption of and contribution to a longstanding
conversation about theological prolegomena."
-- Kevin J. Vanhoozer Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
"For some theologians, it is Scripture that must guide any
theological description of the church. For others, the church's
doctrines are normative for interpreting Scripture. Consequently,
theologians have long tended to talk past one another. With unusual
brilliance, clarity, and depth, Brad East has resolved this aporia
by arguing that the locus of authority lay originally within the
people of God, and thus prior to the development of both doctrine
and Scripture. And so it is we, the people of God, who are prior,
and who undergird both, and thereby offer the possibility of
rapprochement on that basis. East's proposal is convincing, fresh,
and original: a genuinely new treatment that clarifies the real
issues and may well prepare for more substantive ecumenical
progress, as well as more substantive theologies. This is a
necessary book--vital reading for any theologian."
-- Nicholas M. Healy
St. John's University "All of the discussions in this book display
East's analytical rigor and theological sophistication. As one of
the subjects under discussion in this book, I will speak for all of
us and say that there are many times East is able to do more for
and with our work than we did ourselves. . . . I look forward to
seeing how future theological interpreters take these advances and
work with them to push theological interpretation in new and
promising directions."
-- Stephen E. Fowl
from the foreword
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