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Models for Scripture
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 January 2009
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In 1974 the American Roman Catholic theologian Avery Dulles published an instructive and successful book called Models of the Church, the heart of which considers the church as institution, as mystical communion, as sacrament, as herald, and as servant. It includes a chapter on ‘The church and revelation’, later expanded as a further book called Models of Revelation; but at that point difficulties surely arise. The notion of models as Dulles applies it to the church enables him to take account of the fact that the church is a concrete objective reality, yet one whose nature is complex and difficult to encapsulate. Images which emerge from Bible and tradition, such as the ones Dulles studies, can be applied with a degree of analytical rigour to the church, with illuminating results. Some of these images may be better described as metaphors. They take actual entities such as a herald and use them to cast light on the nature of the church by analogy; they are less systematically developed than models and are more consistently capable of operating at other levels as well as the intellectual (though in theology, at least, models also commonly carry strong emotional associations and thus may profoundly influence attitudes as well as shape conceptual thinking). Some of the images are models in a stricter meaning of the word; they do not in themselves exist in the same sense as the church does, but as constructs they enable us to grasp aspects of the significance of the church conceptually.
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References
1 New York/Dublin: Doubleday/Gill and Macmillan; 2nd ed., 1988.
2 New York/Dublin: Doubleday/Gill and Macmillan, 1983.
3 On the understanding of models presupposed here, see e.g. Black, M., Models and Metaphors (Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 1962)Google Scholar; Barbour, I. G., Myths, Models and Paradigms (New York/London: Harper/SCM, 1974)Google Scholar; McFague, S., Metaphorical Theology (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1982; London: SCM, 1983).Google Scholar
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6 Cf. Barton, J., People of the Book? (London: SPCK, 1988) 70–75.Google Scholar
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8 E.g. The Bible in the Modem World (London/New York: SCM/Harper, 1973).Google Scholar
9 For the term ‘word of God,’ see 1 Sam. 9:27; 1 Kgs. 12:22 (also ‘word of our God’ in Isa. 40: 8), but ‘word of Yahweh’ is much more common.
10 Though it is perhaps worth noting that the answer to C. F. Evans' question ‘Is “Holy Scripture” Christian?’ (see his book of that title; London: SCM, 1971) seems to be ‘Yes’, insofar as New Testament faith, while not hinting that Christianity will have room for holy time, holy place, holy caste, or holy rites (apart from a kiss!), still allows for holy writings (see specifically Romans 1:2, also 7:12; 2 Timothy 3:15).
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27 I owe this point to Dr R. P. Gordon.
28 Die kirchliche Dogmatik 1 2, § 19 (Zurich: Evangelischer Verlag, 1938; ET by G. T. Thomson and H. Knight, Church Dogmatus 1 2; § Edinburgh/New York: Clark/Scribner's, 1956). Ricoeur discusses ‘The hermeneutics of testimony’ in Anglican Theological Review 61 (1979) 435–61 = Essays 119–54 (ET by D. Stewart and C E. Reagan from ‘L'herméneutique du témoignage,’ Archivio di Filosofia 42 [1972] 35–61); see also ‘Revelation’ 31–37 = Essays 110–17.
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40 See Institutes of the Christian Religion 19; IV 8.
41 Inspiration and Authority 420; my emphasis. ‘Infallibility’ in the context of nineteenth century debate was the equivalent of ‘inerrancy’ in current discussion; the latter term came into use when ‘infallibility’ began to be used in a softer sense during the present century.
42 Ricoeur, ‘Revelation’ 4–5, 17 = Essays 77, 92.
43 Wood, Formation 71.
44 A paper read to the Cambridge Theological Society in February 1989, and revised in the light of comments by members and colleagues.