한국침례신학대학교 도서관

John Calvin and the non-literal interpretation of Scripture

초록/해제: 요약 : This dissertation examines the theological rules and practices of John Calvin's interpretation of Scripture, focusing on his New Testament commentaries. The thesis is that Calvin's theological rules or priorities of interpretation allow for and sometimes even require non-literal interpretation of biblical texts. The study seeks to clarify the dynamics of the exegetical method of one particularly important pre-critical interpreter, showing his internal consistency, his continuity with the tradition, and his distinctive characteristics.

초록/해제: 요약 : In the first chapter these rules are discerned from statements scattered within the commentaries and from the exegetical decisions made on individual texts. They are, principally, the interpretation of Scripture by Scripture, the active dependence on the Spirit in interpretation, seeking the ultimate goal of the saving knowledge of faith, seeking the immediate goal of the "genuine sense" intended by the authors, and seeking a useful meaning for faith and ministry.

초록/해제: 요약 : Five case study chapters follow, each focusing on a particular non-literal mode of interpretation practiced by Calvin: the search for the author's and character's unstated intentions, the construction of allegories, the discernment of types, the discernment of rhetorical devices in the text, and interpretation according to the categories of Calvin's theological system. In each case Calvin's treatment of a particular text will be examined in detail to show that his non-literal interpretation was not an aberration from his method but an application of his stated interpretive priorities and rules. Also in each case Calvin's exegesis of the chosen text will be compared with that of select interpreters from previous periods: From the Early Church, John Chrysostom and Augustine of Hippo; From the Middle Ages, Nicholas of Lyra and Denis the Carthusian; From Calvin's own era of Renaissance and Reformation, Desiderius Erasmus and Heinrich Bullinger. These comparisons will help to discern what in Calvin's method was in straightforward continuity with previous ages, and what was more distinctive to the Genevan reformer's individual approach.