Biblical Theology: The God of the Christian Scriptures

by John Goldingay

Overview

Imagine someone who has spent a lifetime listening deeply and attentively to the full range of Scripture's testimony. Stepping back, they now describe what they have seen and heard. What emerges is a theological cathedral, laid out on the great vectors of Scripture and fitted with biblically sourced materials.This is what John Goldingay has done. Well known for his three-volume Old Testament Theology, he has now risen to the challenge of a biblical theology. While taking the New Testament as a portal into the biblical canon, he seeks to preserve the distinct voices of Israel's Scriptures, accepting even its irregular and sinewed pieces as features rather than problems. Goldingay does not search out a thematic core or overarching unity, but allows Scripture's diversity and tensions to remain as manifold witnesses to the ways of God. While many interpreters interrogate Scripture under the harsh lights of late-modern questions, Goldingay engages in a dialogue keen on letting Scripture speak to us in its own voice. Throughout he asks, "What understanding of God and the world and life emerges from these two testaments?"Goldingay's Biblical Theology is a landmark achievement—hermeneutically dexterous, biblically expansive, and nourishing to mind, soul and proclamation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780830851539
Publisher:	InterVarsity Press
Publication date:	11/01/2016
Pages:	608
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 2.00(d)

About the Author

John Goldingay (PhD, University of Nottingham; DD, Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth) is senior professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary and lives in Oxford, England. His many books include An Introduction to the Old Testament, A Reader's Guide to the Bible, Biblical Theology, the three-volume Old Testament Theology, and the seventeen-volume Old Testament for Everyone series. He has also published his translation the entire Hebrew Bible as The First Testament. He is a Church of England minister, and now that he is back in England likes walking by the Thames, rediscovering English food, worshiping in Christ Church Cathedral, and relearning British English.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
1. God's Person
2. God's Insight
3. God's Creation
4. God's Reign
5. God's Anointed
6. God's Children
7. God's Expectations
8. God's Triumph
Works Consulted
Name Index
Subject Index
Scripture Index

What People are Saying About This

Scot McKnight

"Those who study theology from the Bible up find themselves in tension with the classic systematic categories but rarely have the courage to venture into a full-scale theological scanning of the Bible's universe. John Goldingay is not only equipped for such a challenge, but has met it in a thunderous vision of nothing less than a biblical theology—one that unabashedly asks what the Bible says about God and human life. In an organic set of fresh categories, Goldingay offers the reader a new vision for theology, one that I hope will replace the crusty systematics that have silenced so much of the Bible's story."

Richard S. Briggs

"What theological building might be constructed out of reading the scriptural materials? With characteristic enthusiasm, John Goldingay spends little time speculating on the shape of the building or probing what rights its prospective tenants have: he simply marches in and starts rearranging the furniture. Attentive readings offer fresh layouts and color schemes. The result is a book that is often happy to say what we do not know, imaginative in speaking of what we may know, and insistent in the call to turn and turn again to Scripture to shape all our knowing."

Richard Bauckham

"There are Old Testament theologies and New Testament theologies but very few biblical theologies. Yet, for Christians, the two testaments belong together. What Christian readers of Scripture need is biblical theology. So, while most scholars stay within their areas of specialization, John Goldingay boldly crosses all the boundaries scholars erect between different parts of the Bible and gives us what we need: a 'digest of the Scriptures,' as he calls it. His independence of mind ensures that his discussions are unpredictable and interesting. His lively and accessible style will make this a valuable resource for a wide readership."

Peter C. W. Ho

"I heartily recommend this outstanding book."

Editorial Reviews

"Goldingay's Biblical Theology provides an accessible digest of the OT and NT. It will be a benefit to any seminary’s library, and also will benefit a pastor who wants to preach biblical theology well to an audience with modern sensitivities. It is particularly helpful in placing more complex theological ideas into an accessible format for pastors and teachers."

H. H. Drake Williams III

"There are Old Testament theologies and New Testament theologies but very few biblical theologies. Yet, for Christians, the two testaments belong together. What Christian readers of Scripture need is biblical theology. So, while most scholars stay within their areas of specialization, John Goldingay boldly crosses all the boundaries scholars erect between different parts of the Bible and gives us what we need: a 'digest of the Scriptures,' as he calls it. His independence of mind ensures that his discussions are unpredictable and interesting. His lively and accessible style will make this a valuable resource for a wide readership."

Richard Bauckham

"Those who study theology from the Bible up find themselves in tension with the classic systematic categories but rarely have the courage to venture into a full-scale theological scanning of the Bible's universe. John Goldingay is not only equipped for such a challenge, but has met it in a thunderous vision of nothing less than a biblical theology—one that unabashedly asks what the Bible says about God and human life. In an organic set of fresh categories, Goldingay offers the reader a new vision for theology, one that I hope will replace the crusty systematics that have silenced so much of the Bible's story."

Scot McKnight

"What theological building might be constructed out of reading the scriptural materials? With characteristic enthusiasm, John Goldingay spends little time speculating on the shape of the building or probing what rights its prospective tenants have: he simply marches in and starts rearranging the furniture. Attentive readings offer fresh layouts and color schemes. The result is a book that is often happy to say what we do not know, imaginative in speaking of what we may know, and insistent in the call to turn and turn again to Scripture to shape all our knowing."

Richard S. Briggs

"Goldingay's work is fresh, lively, and accessible. A triumph!"

D. K. McKim

"I heartily recommend this outstanding book."

Peter C. W. Ho