Dr. Clark,
Thank-you for your response, and your links to the essays.
Quote:
Originally posted by R. Scott Clark
It's a chicken and egg thing. Do we have our hermeneutic because of our theology or our theology because of our hermeneutic? The truth is probably that there is a reciprocal relation between the two. No one can say anymore, "I'm just reading the Bible..."
|
I understand what you're saying, though I have a pretty authoritative source that leads me to believe that the chicken did indeed come first...
I don't know if its the same thing, but lately I've been thinking that finding the truth in the scriptures involves (at least) two ways of looking at the scriptures. One way is through hermeneutics whereby you look at the scripture passages closely, as if through a microscope. You examine the text, using whatever tools you have at your disposal, to unlock hidden meanings.
The second way is by just reading the Bible from a 'bird's-eye view', reading large portions of scripture to try and see general themes in the scriptures. The two should work hand-in-hand.
Quote:
Originally posted by R. Scott Clark
The short story is that Dispensationalists are convinced that national Israel is at the center of God's redemptive activity and they read the Bible in that light.
Covenant theology reads the Bible to say that Christ (the Christ of the Covenants) is at the center of redemptive history and that Israel, as it were, works for Christ. God's relations to national Israel were intentionally temporary and illustrative of his plan to redeem all his people through the obedience of his Son.
|
When stated that way, the choice between theologies is simple. In a way, though, isn't dispensationalism grounded in the covenants and God's faithfulness to keep his covenant promises? CT and dispensationalism differ in who the recipients are, but both agree that God is faithful and, because of this attribute, He will fulfill whatever promises he made as part of the covenant.
The bottom line is that God made covenants with 'his people'. God is faithful to keep the covenant promises he made to 'his people'. As you mentioned in the first essay, its important to determine who 'his people' (ie., who is Israel) are.