This essay considers the role of historiography in doctrinal criticism from a hermeneutical perspective and in light of postcolonial and postmodern criticisms. First, historiography is defined using a Gadamerian typology, providing the basis for an analysis of Kenneth Scott Latourette’s well-respected essay on Christian historiography. This reading of Latourette illuminates the dogmatic nature of the prejudices informing Christian historical scholarship. Finally, these insights are applied to doctrinal criticism, arguing that the relationship between doctrine and historiography is dialectical, rather than one element having dominance over the other. It concludes by suggesting a chastened, “two-tiered” approach to doctrinal criticism capable of responding to the charges mentioned and to current trends in global Christianity.
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Cf., e.g., Thiselton, The Hermeneutics of Doctrine, 3–109; James William McClendon, Doctrine, vol. 2, Systematic Theology (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1994), 21–63; Vanhoozer, The Drama of Doctrine; Alister E. McGrath, Understanding Doctrine: Its Relevance and Purpose for Today (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992); Alister E. McGrath, The Genesis of Doctrine (Oxford, Cambridge: Blackwell, 1990).; Most recently, see Rhyne R. Putman, In Defense of Doctrine: Evangelicalism, Theology, and Scripture, Emerging Scholars (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2015).
Eileen K. Cheng, Historiography: An Introductory Guide (London: Continuum, 2012), 1.
K.S. Latourette, “The Christian Understanding of History,” in God, History, and Historians (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1977).
Richard W. Pointer, “Kenneth Scott Latourette,” in Historians of the Christian Tradition: Their Methodology and Influence on Western Thought, by eds. Michael Bauman and Martin I. Klauber (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1995), 419–420.
See D.T. Hart, “History in Search of Meaning,” in History and the Christian Historian, ed. Ronald A. Wells (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1998), 78 f; cf. C.T. McIntire, ed., God, History, and Historians: An Anthology of Modern Christian Views of History (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977).
George Marsden, “What Difference Might Christian Perspectives Make?” in History and the Christian Historian, ed. Ronald A. Wells (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1998), 15–16.
Paul Otto, “Christian, Providential, or Ecclesiastical? Charting Christian Perspectives on History,” Fides et Historica 46, no. 1 (2014): 58–65.
Amos Yong, “The Genesis of Doctrine: A Study in the Foundation of Doctrinal Criticism,” Pneuma 21, no. 2 (1999): 359–362.
Dale T. Irvin, “From One Story to Many: An Ecumenical Reappraisal of Church History,” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 28, no. 4 (1991): 543.
Lamin O. Sanneh, “World Christianity and the New Historiography,” in Enlarging the Story, ed. Wilbert R. Schenk (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2002), 98–99. On historical Eurocentrism, see Irvin, “From One Story to Many”; Andrew F. Walls, “Eusebius Tries Again: Reconceiving the Study of Christian History,” International Bulletin of Missionary Research 24, no. 3 (July 1, 2000): 105–111.
Andrew F. Walls, “Mission History as the Substructure of Mission Theology,” Svensk Missionstidskrift 93, no. 3 (2005): 369.
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This essay considers the role of historiography in doctrinal criticism from a hermeneutical perspective and in light of postcolonial and postmodern criticisms. First, historiography is defined using a Gadamerian typology, providing the basis for an analysis of Kenneth Scott Latourette’s well-respected essay on Christian historiography. This reading of Latourette illuminates the dogmatic nature of the prejudices informing Christian historical scholarship. Finally, these insights are applied to doctrinal criticism, arguing that the relationship between doctrine and historiography is dialectical, rather than one element having dominance over the other. It concludes by suggesting a chastened, “two-tiered” approach to doctrinal criticism capable of responding to the charges mentioned and to current trends in global Christianity.
All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 260 | 24 | 4 |
Full Text Views | 227 | 0 | 0 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 108 | 2 | 0 |