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"Unity" to "Dialogue" in the Theology of the New Testament : a Methodological and Hermeneutical Proposal

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Bangor University DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY From "Unity" to "Dialogue" in the theology of the New Testament : a methodological and hermeneutical proposal Clay, Martin Award date: 2012 Awarding institution: Bangor University Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 29. Sep. 2021 From “Unity” to “Dialogue” in the Theology of the New Testament From “Unity” to “Dialogue” in the Theology of the New Testament: A Methodological and Hermeneutical Proposal Summary The thesis discusses the use of the literary genre Theology of the New Testament (TNT) to overcome the diversity in New Testament theologies uncovered by post-Enlightenment biblical-critical methods. Following an initial sketch of the problem caused by NT diversity, an overview of various strategies roughly classed as deleting diversity or unifying diversity is presented. Attention then turns towards a review of TNTs published since 1990 using their approach to NT diversity as the thematic focus. TNTs are examined according to the extent that they are able to both preserve textual alterity and integrity whilst rendering NT polyphony theologically fruitful. The conclusion of this review suggests that any kind of unity relating to the NT canon can plausibly only be located either prior to the texts in some postulated shared hermeneutical presuppositions of the NT writers and/or in the the act of theological construction by the contemporary reader. The dialogical TNT model is advanced as the best option for theologically interacting with NT diversity. The second part of the thesis provides an ethical, hermeneutical, and theological justification for the dialogical TNT model with reference to Gadamerian philosophical hermeneutics and Bakhtinian theory. The contribution of the model is then discussed in relation to three key issues facing the TNT: its relation to Theologiegeschichte as a competing model; its relation to systematic theology and the question of biblical normativity; and its relation to the transformation of the TNT genre within the recent Biblical Theology of the NT genre. Ultimately, the usefulness of the TNT genre as adequate for the constructive task of Christian theology is called into question, since the dialogical model regards the quest for a NT “unity” that can define a stable Christian identity as hermeneutically redundant and theologically limited. Contents Title Page………………………………………………………....... Thesis Summary……………………………………………………. Contents ………………………………………………..................... Acknowledgements ………………………………………………... Author’s Declaration………………………………………………... Abbreviations ……………………………………………………..... Chapter One. Focus and Structure: Introduction ............................................................ 2 1.1. Clarifying the Focus: What this Investigation is not. .............................................. 2 1.2. Clarifying the Focus: What this Investigation is...................................................... 5 1.3. The Structure of this Work. ..................................................................................... 7 Chapter Two. Rationale, Methodology, and Contribution. ........................................... 10 2.1. Rationale: Why This Study? .................................................................................. 10 2.2. Rationale: Identifying the Problem. ....................................................................... 12 2.3. Rationale: Justifying the Focus. ............................................................................. 13 2.4. Presuppositions and Methodological Overview. ................................................... 15 2.5. Contribution to Current Discussion. ...................................................................... 21 Chapter Three. The Problem: An Introductory Sketch. ............................................... 24 3.1. The New Testament: Cathedral or Construction Site? .......................................... 24 3.2. The Problem: The Diversity of the NT Texts. ....................................................... 25 3.2.1. “Diversity” and “Contradiction”. .................................................................... 26 3.2.2. Micro-Level Diversity. ................................................................................... 29 3.3. The Problem: The Unity of the NT as a Fundamental Existential Problem. ......... 30 3.4. The Quest for “Unity” and the Elimination of NT Diversity................................. 33 3.4.1. Establishing Unity Through the Deletion of Problematic Texts. .................... 33 3.4.1.1. Deletion Through Excision. ...................................................................... 33 3.4.1.2. Deletion Through Harmonisation. ............................................................ 35 3.4.1.3. Deletion Through Criterion....................................................................... 35 3.4.1.4. Conclusion: Deleting NT Diversity. ......................................................... 38 3.4.2. Establishing Unity Through Transcending Individual Texts. ......................... 38 3.4.2.1. Unity Through Reconciliation. ................................................................. 39 3.4.2.2. Unity Through Theological “Meta-Categories”. ...................................... 39 3.4.2.3. Unity through Historical Investigation. .................................................... 43 3.4.2.4. Conclusion: Establishing “Unity” Beyond the Texts................................ 45 3.5. Conclusion: Dealing with Diversity....................................................................... 45 Chapter Four. The “Unity” of the NT and the TNT. .................................................... 48 4.1. Stuhlmacher: The Search for a Scriptural Centre. ................................................. 48 4.1.1. Stuhlmacher: Conclusion. ............................................................................... 52 4.2. Limited Unity Amidst NT Diversity. ..................................................................... 54 4.2.1. Marshall: Missional NT Theology. ................................................................. 54 4.2.2. Thielman: A Christ-centred Theological Unity. ............................................. 57 4.2.3. Matera: The “Diverse Unity” of the New Testament. .................................... 60 4.2.4. The Thin Unity of the NT: Conclusion. .......................................................... 63 4.3 Unity as a Fundamental-Theological Task. ............................................................ 64 4.3.1. Hahn: The Two-Stage Model and “Unity”. .................................................... 64 4.3.1.1. Hahn: The Influence of Schlier. ................................................................ 64 4.3.1.2. Hahn: The Task and Structure of a TNT. ................................................. 66 4.3.1.3. Hahn: Methodology and Results of TNT: I. ............................................. 68 4.3.1.4. Hahn: Methodology and Results of TNT: II. ............................................ 69 4.3.1.5. Hahn: The Unity of the NT as a Fundamental Theological Task. ............ 73 4.3.1.6. Hahn: Convergence or Presuppositions? .................................................. 75 4.3.1.7. Hahn: Summary Assessment. ................................................................... 76 4.3.2. Wilckens: TNT as a “Spiritual” Task. ............................................................ 77 4.3.2.1. Wilckens: Presuppositions and Approach. ............................................... 78 4.3.2.2. Wilckens: Methodology and Results of TNT: I. ....................................... 81 4.3.2.3. Wilckens: Methodology and Results of TNT: II. ..................................... 83 4.3.2.4. Wilckens: Summary Assessment. ............................................................. 86 4.3.2.5. Hahn and Wilckens: Conclusion. .............................................................. 87 4.3.3. Thüsing: Criteria for a NT Theology. ............................................................. 88 4.3.3.1. Thüsing: Unity as a Canonical Imperative................................................ 88 4.3.3.2. Thüsing: Uncovering Hidden Structural Unity. ........................................ 89 4.3.3.4. Thüsing: Conclusion. ................................................................................ 95 4.3.4. Kurt Niederwimmer: The NT as a Fundamental-theological “Sinn-Einheit”. 96 4.3.4.1. Niederwimmer: Theological Construction and NT Diversity. ................. 96 4.3.4.2. Niederwimmer: TNT as a History of Theological Development. .......... 101 4.3.4.3. Niederwimmer: Conclusion. .................................................................. 102 4.3.5. Schreiner: A Thematic TNT. .......................................................................
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