letting biblical theology inform our reading of literature: part 1

I developed this schematic for an academic poster. You can see the full poster at the bottom of the "founder" page of this site.

In light of the recent book recommendations I've made at Christianity Today, I thought I would offer a brief introduction to an approach to reading literature that has been specifically informed by some central biblical-theological themes. For a brief summary of what biblical theology is, you can follow the link here on my website. I must also highly recommend the great work being done at The Bible Project. You can also check out their YouTube channel here. I would encourage anyone to make use of their robust and richly beautiful media and print materials that help the Bible and the study thereof come to life. 

This first post (of two) will be an introduction and overview of what I believe are 8 central themes in biblical theology. These can help inform or guide how we read literature of all kinds (the second post).

The Bible and Biblical Theology

1. The Bible records God’s self-revelation, activity, and purpose(s) for the cosmos and humanity in relationship to himself. Therefore, we must always ask questions of three main spheres of reality and their interrelationship (what in the Bible is called covenant) that God established from the time of creation  to the present:
   1. Anthropology - an understanding of the human race and its purpose (telos) and vocation in relationship with other humans, the self, the cosmos, and God ​
   2. Cosmology - an understanding of the natural world, the universe or cosmos
   3. Theology - an understanding of God - his being or essence, character, and activity in the cosmos and with humanity 
      ( Note: the above image captures these three spheres of reality; the Greek letter Theta represents God, and the human is Solomon, who represents the archetypal wise [Hebrew, hokma] human being - that is, he comes to represent what a flourishing human could be like in a fallen world; see esp. 1 Kings 4:24-34 & Wisdom of Solomon 7:16-22)
      
      
2. God’s purposes as revealed in the Bible uncover a basic historical-narrative trajectory: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Consummation. It is within this historical-narrative that we must understand our place and our own “lens” that will shape the way we exist, perceive, and act in the world.
   
   
   1. Creation: God’s act of Creation (and its subsequent irrevocable blessing; cf. Romans 11:29) reveals its fundamental dignity and inherent affirmative value and worth, most especially in humanity who is “crowned with glory and honor” - made in God’s Image and Likeness (Psalm 8 | Genesis 1 & 2). At Creation God gives existence and purpose to all things, and calls them into interrelationship and communion with all spheres of reality: himself, humanity, and the cosmos. 
      
      
   2. Fall: The account of the fall (Genesis 3) is the origins story that locates the depravity of humanity caused by human sin, effecting the corruption or wounding of all human faculties that results in death. The intimate relationships God established between himself, the human race, and the cosmos is broken: the cosmos is subjected to futility under a corrupted human rule (Romans 8). God’s original vocation for humans to live in relationship with himself and the cosmos ("Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and exercise skilled mastery over it" i.e. flourishing) is not revoked, but thwarted and frustrated  (“pain and toil”) by the brokenness of sinful humanity. Humans remain image bearers of God, human dignity never utterly defaced. 
      
      
   3. Redemption: Redemption speaks of God’s desire to restore all human persons and the cosmos to intimate communion with him. He enters into such relationship through covenant in which he pledges his love and pours out his grace to broken humans. While redemption is God’s initiative, we see a universally innate human desire for flourishing: wholeness, happiness, joy, homecoming as the persons in the Bible and we ourselves search for God (even though we may not know it is him we ultimately seek | Acts 17:16-end). The ultimate act of redemption came in the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 
      
      
   4. Consummation: Consummation speaks of the certain hope that God’s fundamental desire is for human restoration and flourishing. Such a hope sees and knows that God will accomplish this fully and finally in the new creation (Isaiah 65 | Revelation 20-21). For those who are redeemed and united to Christ, the consummation of all things (the "new creation" |  see 2 Cor. 5:17) has already begun. God's new world has already begun to break through. This is what biblical theologians call inaugurated eschatology. (For a rich and compelling introduction to these themes read N.T. Wright's Simply Christian, and Surprised by Hope). 
      
      
3. The Bible is fully human & divine in origin. God chose to reveal himself through the mediation of human persons. We approach the author's books as those who desire to learn through them: their personalities and their modes of communicating in an ancient Near Eastern (OT) and Greco-Roman (NT) pre-modern milieu. 
   
   
4. Because it is fully divine, the Bible is unlike any other literature, as it reveals something of the “mystery” of God’s divine life (self) and his purposes for the world (“the whole counsel of God” | Acts 20:27).
   
   
5. Because it is fully Human, the Bible is like many other works of literature, as its message is preserved using language, literary convention, controlled by its source history and culture, but never constrained by it (it is always relevant to humans of all times and places).
   
   
6. Because the Bible is human literature, we must read it faithfully and responsibly as we would any great work of literature. This requires intellectual and moral virtue: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Without this virtue, we cannot see (i.e. know) God - or anyone or anything aright. 
   
   
7. Because the Bible is divine literature, we must read it with the aid of the Holy Spirit, for “deep calls out to deep”, and “the Spirit searches the depths of God.” Because it is divine (both inspiration in process and nature) merely human literary critical hermeneutics cannot alone be applied to the interpretation of scripture. We can read the Bible in what has been called the Four-Fold Sense of interpreting Scripture. 
   
   
8. And because the Bible is God’s divine-human book written within a specific community in which his Spirit dwells and graces with inspiration and grace, we must read the Bible within the community of “the one holy catholic and apostolic Church” across time and space (see Acts 15:28 | Luke 24).

Again, these 8 themes represent only some important and introductory facets of biblical theology that can inform the way we read other literature. The next post will tease this out as I will make some application of these points to the reading of literature specifically. 

I'd love to hear from you. You can follow Pegasus Education on Twitter @pegasus_edu. You can also follow my personal account @mr_farrelly. Thanks for reading. 

- Matthew Farrelly 

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