Saturday, June 24, 2017

Sensus plenior, sensus CONSTITUTIVUS

Wycliffe College
"Radner's burden is to show that, far from being a practice limited to the likes of Origen, Augustine, and Wycliffe, figural reading endured as an essential feature of Christian thought among early modern interpreters (Puritans) and flourishes in contemporary churches as well (Pentecostals).
     "One of Radner's central arguments, then, is that figural reading is very much a universal practice identifiable with the Christian Church whenever and wherever it has existed. . . . That figural reading has atrophied in the last two hundred years is not to be explained by its actual deficiencies but rather by Christians' failure to understand what figural reading truly involves."


     Michael C. Legaspi, "Figure it in," a review of Time and the word:  figural reading of the Christian scriptures (Eerdmans, 2016), by Ephraim Radner, First things no. 274 (June/July 2017):  55 (55-56).

2 comments:

Bob Jones said...

I am glad for an interest in the topic. We should always be attempting to reproduce the exegesis of the NT authors, and demonstrate it by extending it to all of the OT.

The parable of the mustard seed is taught this way by the Greek church:

The kingdom starts off small and grows larger and larger. If we have faith like that we can do miracles that no one seems to be able to do (move the mountain to the sea.). We argue if the birds are angels, demons, or gentiles. Then we wonder, and or defend, that Jesus said it was the smallest seed, when everyone else knows its not.

This is NOT biblical preaching!

Jesus was the seed of the woman in Genesis. He was the least of all the seed because he served us all through his death on the cross. The word for mustard in Greek is similar to 'bruised by anger' in Hebrew. The prophecy of the seed of the woman speaks of his incarnation, kenosis, tribulation, temptation and final obedience on the cross.

He grew to be the great herb. The grass was given to cattle to eat, and the herbs were given to men to eat. The greatest thing men can eat is the body of Christ. He is the great herb. Eating is a metaphor for learning, so he became the great teacher. We also celebrate the cattle eating the grass when we put baby Jesus in the manger with the grass. We have the same symbol of eating his body at the beginning of his life as we have at the end.

The tree is the cross... and those birds? If you live in the spirit you rest in the cross.

Lets move a mountain. The two mem's in the Hebrew word for water have metaphoric meaning for the Father and the Son. The Father is Spirit and the Son is Truth. Jesus told the woman at Sychar that though she worshiped on the mountain, she would worship in Spirit and Truth. The mountain would be moved to the water.

The parable of the mustard seed speaks of Christ at every turn and is revealed by the word itself. The parable contains a riddle: Eze 17:2 Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;

Bob Jones said...

I am glad for an interest in the topic. We should always be attempting to reproduce the exegesis of the NT authors, and demonstrate it by extending it to all of the OT.

The parable of the mustard seed is taught this way by the Greek church:

The kingdom starts off small and grows larger and larger. If we have faith like that we can do miracles that no one seems to be able to do (move the mountain to the sea.). We argue if the birds are angels, demons, or gentiles. Then we wonder, and or defend, that Jesus said it was the smallest seed, when everyone else knows its not.

This is NOT biblical preaching!

Jesus was the seed of the woman in Genesis. He was the least of all the seed because he served us all through his death on the cross. The word for mustard in Greek is similar to 'bruised by anger' in Hebrew. The prophecy of the seed of the woman speaks of his incarnation, kenosis, tribulation, temptation and final obedience on the cross.

He grew to be the great herb. The grass was given to cattle to eat, and the herbs were given to men to eat. The greatest thing men can eat is the body of Christ. He is the great herb. Eating is a metaphor for learning, so he became the great teacher. We also celebrate the cattle eating the grass when we put baby Jesus in the manger with the grass. We have the same symbol of eating his body at the beginning of his life as we have at the end.

The tree is the cross... and those birds? If you live in the spirit you rest in the cross.

Lets move a mountain. The two mem's in the Hebrew word for water have metaphoric meaning for the Father and the Son. The Father is Spirit and the Son is Truth. Jesus told the woman at Sychar that though she worshiped on the mountain, she would worship in Spirit and Truth. The mountain would be moved to the water.

The parable of the mustard seed speaks of Christ at every turn and is revealed by the word itself. The parable contains a riddle: Eze 17:2 Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;