Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics: Foundations and Principles of Evangelical Biblical Interpretation

by Graeme Goldsworthy

Overview

While there are many books on hermeneutics, Graeme Goldsworthy's perception is that evangelical contributions often do not give sufficient attention to the vital relationship between hermeneutics and theology, both systematic and biblical.In this new paperback edition of Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics, Goldsworthy moves beyond a reiteration of the usual arguments to concentrate on the theological questions of presuppositions, and the implications of the Christian gospel for hermeneutics. In doing so, he brings fresh perspectives on some well-worn pathways.Part I examines the foundations and presuppositions of evangelical belief, particularly with regard to biblical interpretation.Part II offers a selective overview of important hermeneutical developments from the sub-apostolic age to the present, as a means of identifying some significant influences that have been alien to the gospel.Part III evaluates ways and means of reconstructing truly gospel-centered hermeneutics.Goldsworthy's aim throughout is to commend the much-neglected role of biblical theology in hermeneutical practice, with pastoral concern for the people of God as they read, interpret and seek to live by his written Word.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780830898367
Publisher:	IVP Academic
Publication date:	06/18/2014
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	341
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Graeme Goldsworthy is an Australian Anglican and Old Testament scholar. He was formerly lecturer in Old Testament, biblical theology and hermeneutics at Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia and continues to teach there part time. Goldsworthy is the author of According to Plan, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture, Gospel Kingdom,The Gospel in Revelation and The Gospel and Wisdom. He has an MA from Cambridge University and a ThM and PhD from Union Theological Seminary in Virginia.

Graeme Goldsworthy is an Australian Anglican and Old Testament scholar. He was formerly lecturer in Old Testament, biblical theology and hermeneutics at Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia and continues to teach there part time. Goldsworthy is the author of According to Plan, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture, Gospel Kingdom,The Gospel in Revelation and The Gospel and Wisdom. He has an MA from Cambridge University and a ThM and PhD from Union Theological Seminary in Virginia.

Graeme Goldsworthy was formerly lecturer in Old Testament, biblical theology and hermeneutics at Moore Theological College, Sydney, where he still teaches part time. His other books include Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics, According to Plan, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture, Prayer and the Knowledge of God, and three books on biblical studies collected as The Goldsworthy Trilogy.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations
Preface
Introduction: Can hermeneutics be saved?
Part I - Evangelical Prolegomena to Hermeneutics
Introduction to Part I
1. The necessity for hermeneutics
2. Presuppositions in reading and understanding
3. Gospel-centred hermeneutics
4. Towards a biblical theology of interpretation
Part II - Challenges to Evangelical Hermeneutics
Introduction to Part II
5. The eclipse of the gospel in the early church
6. The eclipse of the gospel in the mediaeval church
7. The eclipse of the gospel in Roman Catholicism
8. The eclipse of the gospel in Liberalism
9. The eclipse of the gospel in philosophical hermeneutics
10. The eclipse of the gospel in historical criticism
11. The eclipse of the gospel in literary criticism
12. The eclipse of the gospel in Evangelicalism
Part III - Reconstructing Evangelical Hermeneutics
Introduction to Part III
13. Pre- and post-Enlightenment evangelical interpretation
14. The gospel and the literary dimension
15. The gospel and the historical dimension
16. The gospel and the theological dimension, I: the two Testaments and Typology
17. The gospel and the theological dimension, II: biblical and systematic theology
18. The gospel and contextualization
19. The hermeneutics of Christ
Epilogue
Bibliography
Index of names
Index of Scripture references

What People are Saying About This

David S. Dockery

"Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics by Graeme Goldsworthy is a fresh and insightful contribution to the expanding field of hermeneutics. Goldsworthy's work skillfully focuses this work around a clarion call to gospel-centered faithfulness, while demonstrating the breadth of related issues in the areas of biblical interpretation, church history, philosophy and theology. The book is to be commended for its illuminating clarity, its wide scope and its practical presentation. Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics will certainly become a most reliable resource for students, teachers and preachers for years to come. I enthusiastically recommend it."
— David S. Dockery, president, Union University

Tremper Longman

"Graeme Goldsworthy is widely known as a master interpreter of biblical texts. In particular, his studies have enriched the thought of many students of the Bible and informed the sermons of countless ministers. How wonderful that Goldsworthy now guides us in a study of how to read the Bible. His readers will be rewarded with a deeper understanding of the gospel-centered nature of Scripture."
— Tremper Longman, Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College

Joel Green

"Goldsworthy recognizes that, for followers of Christ, the Bible simply is not like any other book. Accordingly, in these erudite and seasoned reflections on a biblical hermeneutics grounded and centered in Christ, he maps the discipline as it has been and is--and, based on his evangelical commitments, how it must become. Here is practical wisdom for any would-be interpreter of Christian Scripture."
— Joel Green, professor of New Testament interpretation, Asbury Theological Seminary

Kevin J. Vanhoozer

"The focus of Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics is not word studies but Word study: a sustained reflection on the priority and centrality of the good news concerning Jesus Christ as the distinct way that Scripture interprets Scripture and, indeed, all of reality. Goldsworthy's attention to the role of biblical theology in biblical interpretation is particularly welcome, providing a refreshing contrast to what often gets produced by the contemporary hermeneutics industry. And by highlighting the gospel of Jesus Christ, he puts the evangel back into evangelical hermeneutics."
— Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Wheaton College Graduate School

Wilburn T. Stanch

"This book is clearly written by an evangelical for evangelicals. Goldsworthy does present some helpful and balanced suggestions for hermeneutics, particularly when he writes of the need to do hermeneutics in the context of biblical theology as a whole."
— Wilburn T. Stanch, Catholic Book Reviews, January 2008

Editorial Reviews

"Goldsworthy recognizes that, for followers of Christ, the Bible simply is not like any other book. Accordingly, in these erudite and seasoned reflections on a biblical hermeneutics grounded and centered in Christ, he maps the discipline as it has been and is—and, based on his evangelical commitments, how it must become. Here is practical wisdom for any would-be interpreter of Christian Scripture."

Joel Green

"Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics by Graeme Goldsworthy is a fresh and insightful contribution to the expanding field of hermeneutics. Goldsworthy's work skillfully focuses this work around a clarion call to gospel-centered faithfulness, while demonstrating the breadth of related issues in the areas of biblical interpretation, church history, philosophy and theology. The book is to be commended for its illuminating clarity, its wide scope and its practical presentation. Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics will certainly become a most reliable resource for students, teachers and preachers for years to come. I enthusiastically recommend it."

David S. Dockery

"Graeme Goldsworthy is widely known as a master interpreter of biblical texts. In particular, his studies have enriched the thought of many students of the Bible and informed the sermons of countless ministers. How wonderful that Goldsworthy now guides us in a study of how to read the Bible. His readers will be rewarded with a deeper understanding of the gospel-centered nature of Scripture."

Tremper Longman

"This book is clearly written by an evangelical for evangelicals. Goldsworthy does present some helpful and balanced suggestions for hermeneutics, particularly when he writes of the need to do hermeneutics in the context of biblical theology as a whole."

Wilburn T. Stanch

"Goldsworthy articulates how we should interpret the whole Bible in light of the gospel. This is a readable book that is concerned first and foremost with the pastoral situation."

Bible and Reference Survey 2007 Preaching

"The book is stellar in focusing on Christ as the hermeneutic of Scripture and reality. . . . It is a challenging and worthwhile read for the serious student."

Doug Smith

"Amongst a spate of hermeneutics books, why should this one receive special consideration by readers interested in the subject? The first reason is the author. Graeme Goldsworthy has contributed numerous years in the classroom and multiple volumes in print to help the world understand the Bible better. The second reason why this book should receive special attention is because it offers so very clearly a general hermeneutics textbook from a well honed 'gospel-centered' approach. His summaries, bullet points, and analyses make this quite a usable text and a welcome contribution."

Matthew Cook

"One of the more significant books of the year."

November/December 2007 Preaching

"Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics is a clarion call for those who believe that the Bible is the word of God to interpret it like it is the word of God. It is chock full of insights useful to any thoughtful believer who wants to be able to read his or her Bible Christianly. Goldsworthy is to be particularly commended for his clear demonstration that a robust and believing biblical theology provides a solid foundation for knowing how to approach the Bible."

Mark Traphage

"Goldsworthy demonstrates the need for a robust biblical theological method that exalts Jesus, which is exactly what his book does."

Andrew David Naselli

"This book was written to be a textbook, and will make a good one. It almost shouts 'I'm a ready-made syllabus!'"

Rich Ritchie

"Not a book best handled with casual reading. Rather, it is the type of book that must be approached with a certain level of hermeneutical angst and a willingness to perceive one's own hermeneutical shortcomings. It is also the type of book that should be read more than once, perhaps annually for a decade or so."

Miles Van Pelt

"The focus of Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics is not word studies but Word study: a sustained reflection on the priority and centrality of the good news concerning Jesus Christ as the distinct way that Scripture interprets Scripture and, indeed, all of reality. Goldsworthy's attention to the role of biblical theology in biblical interpretation is particularly welcome, providing a refreshing contrast to what often gets produced by the contemporary hermeneutics industry. And by highlighting the gospel of Jesus Christ, he puts the evangel back into evangelical hermeneutics."

Kevin J. Vanhoozer

"The message is a potent call to evangelicals to be evangelical in their hermeneutics. Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics will prove a useful tool for Bible students and pastors."

Michael J. Thate

"One of the more significant books of the year."

--Preaching, November/December 2007

"The book is stellar in focusing on Christ as the hermeneutic of Scripture and reality. . . . It is a challenging and worthwhile read for the serious student."

--Doug Smith, SharperIron.org, February 20, 2008

"The focus of Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics is not word studies but Word study: a sustained reflection on the priority and centrality of the good news concerning Jesus Christ as the distinct way that Scripture interprets Scripture and, indeed, all of reality. Goldsworthy's attention to the role of biblical theology in biblical interpretation is particularly welcome, providing a refreshing contrast to what often gets produced by the contemporary hermeneutics industry. And by highlighting the gospel of Jesus Christ, he puts the evangel back into evangelical hermeneutics."

--Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Wheaton College Graduate School

"Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics by Graeme Goldsworthy is a fresh and insightful contribution to the expanding field of hermeneutics. Goldsworthy's work skillfully focuses this work around a clarion call to gospel-centered faithfulness, while demonstrating the breadth of related issues in the areas of biblical interpretation, church history, philosophy and theology. The book is to be commended for its illuminating clarity, its wide scope and its practical presentation. Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics will certainly become a most reliable resource for students, teachers and preachers for years to come. I enthusiastically recommend it."

--David S. Dockery, president, Union University

"Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics is a clarion call for those who believe that the Bible is the word of God to interpret it like it is the word of God. It is chock full of insights useful to any thoughtful believer who wants to be able to read his or her Bible Christianly. Goldsworthy is to be particularly commended for his clear demonstration that a robust and believing biblical theology provides a solid foundation for knowing how to approach the Bible."

--Mark Traphage, League of Inveterate Poets, foolishsage.com, 2007

"Amongst a spate of hermeneutics books, why should this one receive special consideration by readers interested in the subject? The first reason is the author. Graeme Goldsworthy has contributed numerous years in the classroom and multiple volumes in print to help the world understand the Bible better. The second reason why this book should receive special attention is because it offers so very clearly a general hermeneutics textbook from a well honed 'gospel-centered' approach. His summaries, bullet points, and analyses make this quite a usable text and a welcome contribution."

--Matthew Cook, Evangelical Review of Theology, July 2008

"Goldsworthy articulates how we should interpret the whole Bible in light of the gospel. This is a readable book that is concerned first and foremost with the pastoral situation."

--Preaching, Bible and Reference Survey 2007

"Goldsworthy demonstrates the need for a robust biblical theological method that exalts Jesus, which is exactly what his book does."

--Andrew David Naselli, JETS, June 2008

"Not a book best handled with casual reading. Rather, it is the type of book that must be approached with a certain level of hermeneutical angst and a willingness to perceive one's own hermeneutical shortcomings. It is also the type of book that should be read more than once, perhaps annually for a decade or so."

--Miles Van Pelt, Reformation21.org, April 1, 2007

"The message is a potent call to evangelicals to be evangelical in their hermeneutics. Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics will prove a useful tool for Bible students and pastors."

--Michael J. Thate, Bulletin for Biblical Research, vol. 19, no. 1, 2009

"This book is clearly written by an evangelical for evangelicals. Goldsworthy does present some helpful and balanced suggestions for hermeneutics, particularly when he writes of the need to do hermeneutics in the context of biblical theology as a whole."

--Wilburn T. Stanch, Catholic Book Reviews, January 2008

"This book was written to be a textbook, and will make a good one. It almost shouts 'I'm a ready-made syllabus!'"

--Rich Ritchie, Modern Reformation, May/June 2007

From the Publisher