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Essays in Biblical Interpretation
Robert R. WadholmMay 15, 2005
 
Robert R. Wadholm Essays in Biblical Interpretation1
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 This book, as may be gathered from its title, is a group of essays looselystructured around the central theme of biblical interpretation. These essays are the fruit of several years of study and writing while a graduate student at Global University. Eachessay is a self-contained unit of thought, but the work as a whole retains a unit of purpose—to uncover what it is that God is saying in the Bible, how He is saying it, andhow it can be understood and applied today. The foundational presupposition of the entirework is the centrality of Jesus in all of God’s revelation. From this presupposition severalkey secondary presuppositions are derived and elucidated throughout the work (it will beleft to the reader to discover what these secondary presuppositions are). The essays havebeen grouped into four parts with five chapters each: the history of biblical interpretation,the message of the Bible, the form of the Bible, and the Bible in theology andapologetics.While some theologians call for the liberation of the Bible “from its captivity toone-sided white, middle-class, male interpretation” (Russell 1985, 12), the present groupof essays fails to transcend this bondage. The author is a white male, upper lower-class tolower middle-class American. The question must be asked: “Does his very existencedisqualify his presuppositions, methods, and conclusions before he has made them?”Does his skin color, gender, economic status, or cultural background make him incapableof insight, devoid of understanding, or neglectful of the importance of compassion andlove in interpretation? “Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised,barbarian, Sythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all (Col. 3:11), all are on equalground before the cross and before God’s revelation (v. 10). The content of these essays
 
Robert R. Wadholm Essays in Biblical Interpretation2are presented to the reader for approval or disapproval on their own merits, beyond theauthor’s context (which is indeed important in understanding the bases of hispresuppositions, methods, and conclusions). May the reader assess their value and cometo conclusions regarding what biblical interpretation is, what it ought to be, and what itmight look like in a postmodern world. And may the reader be confronted with the heart,mind, and life of Christ that transforms, illumines, and revives.
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