Teologia Sinfônica: A Validade das Múltiplas Perspectivas em Teologia

by Vern Sheridan Poythress

A verdade de Deus é rica e tem muitas facetas

A Bíblia apresenta a revelação em um conjunto coeso e coerente, mas ela chegou até nós por uma variedade de autores inspirados, com diferentes metáforas e temas que ressaltam as diversas facetas da verdade de Deus. Do mesmo modo, nossas formulações teológicas captam várias ênfases — diferentes “perspectivas” do todo — que nos capacitam, de forma coletiva, a alcançar um entendimento pleno da verdade.

Ao defender a validade de múltiplas perspectivas, Vern Poythress apresenta a seguinte explicação: “Usamos o que descobrimos em uma perspectiva para reforçar, corrigir ou melhorar o que entendemos por meio de outra. Chamo esse procedimento teologia sinfônica, porque é análogo à combinação de vários instrumentos musicais para expressar as variações de um tema sinfônico”. Essa abordagem têm profundas implicações para a teologia e a práxis.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Christianity, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Vern Sheridan Poythress was born in 1946 in Madera, California, where he lived with his parents Ransom H. Poythress and Carola N. Poythress and his older brother Kenneth R. Poythress. After teaching mathematics for a year at Fresno State College (now California State University at Fresno), he became a student at Westminster Theological Seminary, where he earned an M.Div. (1974) and a Th.M. in apologetics (1974). He received an M.Litt. in New Testament from University of Cambridge (1977) and a Th.D. in New Testament from the University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa (1981).

He has been teaching in New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia since 1976. In 1981 he was ordained as a teaching elder in the Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Synod, which has now merged with the Presbyterian Church in America.

More information about his teaching at Westminster can be found at the Westminster Seminary website.

Dr. Poythress studied linguistics and Bible translation at the Summer Institute of Linguistics in Norman Oklahoma in 1971 and 1972, and taught linguistics at the Summer Institute of Linguistics in the summers of 1974, 1975, and 1977. He has published books on Christian philosophy of science, theological method, dispensationalism, biblical law, hermeneutics, Bible translation, and Revelation. A list of publications is found on this website.

Dr. Poythress married his wife Diane in 1983, and they have two children, Ransom and Justin. He has side interests in science fiction, string figures, volleyball, and computers.

The family lived on a farm until he was five years old. When he was nine years old he made a public commitment to Christ and was baptized in Chowchilla First Baptist Church, Chowchilla, California. The family later moved to Fresno, California, and he graduated from Bullard High School in Fresno.

He earned a B.S. in mathematics from California Institute of Technology (1966) and a Ph.D. in mathematics from Harvard University (1970).

Reviews

[Courtney Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great! Poythress makes a convincing case for perspectivalism in theology, building on insights from Van Til (and Frame, especially in “The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God”) (notably the ontological ultimacy of the Trinity and the implications of that for our approach to perspectives-- the equal ultimacy of unity and diversity in the Trinity) and Wittgensteinian linguistic philosophy (the limits of language and the ways it shapes our thought, etc.)

Embracing the use of perspectives doesn't mean that all ideas are equally true; as we broaden our perspective we gain greater appreciation of alternate viewpoints, sometimes to convince us that our view is wrong, and sometimes to reinforce our conviction or to enrich our perspective by bringing out a different aspect of it.

Exegetically, I think perspectivalism allows us to gain fuller and richer insight and a more balanced approach to Scripture. (It's *also* a helpful foundation for understanding and appreciating interpretive maximalism – in fact, I heard of this book from James Jordan.) :)

Practically, it's a call for charity, and a recognition and appreciation for the diversity of gifts within the body – including the value of others' perspectives. It's easy to become too rigid about our theological perspectives, and downplay (or even ignore or deny) the grains of truth that alternate theologies represent.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stupendous.

[Jimmy]

This is a short interesting book by Vern Poythress, the professor of New Testament interpretation at the Westminister Theological Seminary (WTS). An initial glance at the title might lead one to ask the question of what is symphonic theology. What is symphonic theology? It would have been great to have Poythress provide a concise definition earlier in the book. About a third way into his work, Poythress states what it is: “We use what we have gained from one perspective to reinforce, correct, or improve what we understood through another. I called this procedure symphonic theology because it is analogous to the blending of various musical instruments to express the variations of a symphonic theme†(43).

Though Poythress coins the term “symphonic†theology, what he articulates here is better known as Perspectivalism. It does not seem to be anyone else who subscribe to Perspectivalism that calls it symphonic theology, and for the purpose of this review, symphonic theology will be called perspectivalism instead. According to Poythress, he attributes perspectivalism as a theological method that was spawned from the teaching “of Cornelius Van Til, John M. Frame, and Kenneth L. Pike†(121). In assessing Poythress claim of the three influence of Poythress’ perspectivalism, only Frame (which by the way, is Poythress’ mentor and colleague) would explicitly subscribe to perspectivalism, while Van Til’s thought of apologetics and theology in the opinion of this reviewer laid the incipient form of perspectivalism along with the work of linguist Pike.

What is perspectivalism? It has much to do with perspective, and aspects. Chapter one offered various illustrations of how perspectives are a part of daily life. It is amazing to even think of how common one is not aware of perspectives in our daily life, and yet it is assumed though not necessarily consciously. Poythress introductory chapter is a helpful opening to illustrate from the physical to the spiritual.

In the next chapter, Poythress gets more specific on defining what he means by perspective. He notes how the term “perspective†is often used in four ways: analogies, models, selective interests and one’s worldview. He states that concerning “the first three senses, we frequently dealt with complementary truths and ways of looking at somethingâ€, but with perspective as a worldview “here, we have an exclusive category: one view is right, while the others are wrong†(20). It is important to understand that Poythress’ perspectivalism is not a denial of absolute truth in the common understanding of the term, since Poythress believes that there can only be one right worldview. The rest of the book focus on the other three meaning of perspective: analogies, models and selective interests. He believes that perspectives in the latter three senses will be beneficial in the task of theology.

Of course in justifying whether or not multiple perspectives are valid in theology, Christians would have to ask whether the Bible in any way address the topic, whether directly or indirectly. Concerning selective interests, Poythress writes, “We can see a similar kind of selectivity in the Bible. The Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of John are different partly because they tell about different events. John concentrates on Christ’s ministry in the area of Jerusalem, while of Mark concentrates on the Galilean ministry. Mark includes an account of the Last Supper, while John includes the Upper Room Discourse†(17-18). And “the Gospel of Mark presents us mostly with the theme of the kingdom of God, while the Gospel of John dwells on the themes of truth, light, glory, love, indwelling and faith†(17). Christians should appreciate how the written gospels present one unified truth with diversity of perspectives. While most Christians would agree with the observation that the four gospels are written from different perspectives, and all four gospel remain true, it is important to realize that perspectives in of itself does not imply relativism or a denial of the existence of objective truth.

There is a sense of perspective when we read the Bible, “we use a multitude of perspective on a passage, we do not expect a conflict or contradiction between perspectives. Rather, we use each perspective to reinforce and enhance our total understanding†(24). As an illustration that this reviewer can think of, the passage of Zechariah 12:10 can be mined for it’s truth as Messianic prophecy, while it can also be mined for it’s truth concerning eschatology. However, this task is not together a subjective relativistic endeavor, since the historical-grammatical-literary hermeneutic provides an objective control of knowing first off the authorial intent. In fact, Poythress points out that perspective is also important in solid hermenutics. Any interpretation of a passage must take into account how it fits into the book’s larger theme: “Once a book has exhibited a clear-cut theme, the book invites us to see all its contents as somehow fitting in with the theme, sometimes loosely and indirectly, sometimes directly†(30). This theme is a particular selected interests, or “perspectiveâ€.

If one’s theology is informed by Scripture, and Scripture is perspectival, then it should be surprising to find that a solid systematic theology should be perspectival as well. For instance, Jesus as Prophet, Priest and King are traditional categories of the roles of Christ. In a way, these traditional offices of Jesus are also perspectives of Jesus, which Poythress points out. While one can see distinct functions in the three offices of Christ, Poythress reminds us that “we cannot ultimately isolate one piece from another†(40). Each of the offices presupposes and need each other: “Christ’s prophetic proclamation of the kingdom of God in words goes together with and reinforces his kingly demonstration of the presence of the kingdom of God by casting out demons and working miracles†(40). Again, in theology, various focuses on theology should reinforce and further our total theological understanding. Rather than a threat, if one’s theology is true, one should expect that the various analogies and interests of theological aspect is complementary of other parts of theology.

It is important to understand that though theological perspective are inter-related, there is not one singular doctrine that is foundational to all other doctrine: “No one attribute is the ‘last thing back,’ from which all the others are derived. Rather, any attribute can be seen as related to any other†(83). Rather, there is an inter-dependence of doctrines, other doctrines require other doctrines.

Perspectivalism spans beyond the sphere of systematic theology. There is also a sense in which there is a relationship between systematic theology and biblical theology. Even in an area that most might not commonly think as having any relationship, a closer inspection reveal otherwise. For instance, Poythress explores the relationship of systematic theology to Christian ethics. He finds that there is in some sense, all of the biblically based systematic theology is ethically imperative: “The whole of systematic theology can be viewed as a description of what we ought to believe on the basis of the Bible. Thus all of systematic theology—all of doctrines—is simultaneously ethics†(25)! The above suggests that theology (in the example of systematic theology) share a relationship with philosophy (in this example, the area of ethics). Those familiar with the works of Van Til would realize that there is a sense in which philosophy and theology share an interesting relationship, and Van Til is quite insightful when he points out that philosophy is really doing theology in another language. Though Poythress does not state so here, there is a sense also that important parts of philosophy is an attempt to engage in the task of theology but from another worldview perspective. This truth should lead the Christian philosopher to realize that philosophy itself can never be autonomous from the Word of God, just as systematic theology can never be separated from the authority of Scripture. Even in an area like apologetics and eschatology, there is an inter-dependent relationship, which is the subject of an essay by this reviewer.

Perspectivalism is a legitimate way of thinking in light of the truth that we are limited, and our knowledge of truth can at times be partial. An important illustration is that of the jewel: there are various facets to the diamond of a pristine theology, but there is one diamond of true religion/worldview/faith.

Poythress discussion about error is also helpful, since not all perspective is legitimate. Even then, “Error is parasitic on the truth,†that is “to be at all plausible, errors and lies must somehow look like the truth†(89). He gave the example of how Jehovah’s Witnesses theology is false, and yet it parallel closely to the truth when it comes to the doctrine of the second coming, etc, and the elements of Watchtower theology which parallel the truth of Scripture will be an attractive bait to attract followers. This truth should also imply that a Christian should always be discerning of error, because error often times is disguised so closely to the truth than one realize.

[Ryan Hawkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the first half, but the second half was trudging through theological and philosophical mud.

The first half was about intentionally reading the Bible with different perspectives in mind. For example, you might read a passage first by intentionally looking for doctrine. Then you may do so looking for ethical implications. Then you may read the same passage looking for devotional content. Poytress’s point is that, by reading the Bible from different perspectives intentionally, you can see more fully and clearly what God’s word has to say. And if you don’t do this intentionally, you’ll probably just read it from whatever perspective you default to. But by doing this, you train yourself to read it from different, complementary angles, and thereby you see more of what is truly there.

This was all really well explained. It was theological and philosophical, but clear and practical, too.

Then all of the sudden (or at least it seemed quite sudden to me), the book changed from reading from different perspectives to the nuance and fuzziness of words. And this was much less practical, and he just kept going on and on about the fuzziness of words, specifically words that we put theological precision on (such as the word “sanctification”). Now, I agree with him—often we do put specific meanings on words that technically aren’t there in the words themselves. But he made this point over and over, in complex ways, for like fifty pages. Then he used the issue of miracles to show forth his “symphonic theology” (which includes the idea of perspectives and the nuance of words), but even in that example he rarely talked about perspectives but instead really only focused on the nuance of the word and idea of miracles.

Overall, then, the first 50 pages or so about perspectives was amazing. I’ve never heard someone teach reading the Bible intentionally from different perspectives. But it makes a ton of sense, and I will certainly take what he taught and apply it. The second half, however, was much less interesting and helpful. As a result, I give the first half a solid 5 stars, while the second half as little as 2.5 stars, but because the first half was so good, 4 stars overall.

[Almir · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5☆

[Josh Pratt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main concept of this book is really helpful in how we think about theology. It provides a framework for thought. So ultimately, the principles learned form this book are great. It does not receive a full 5 stars from me because it requires some wading through. He seems to operate and communicate on a level that I don't connect with all the time, so I found it to be a difficult read at times. There was a fair amount of repetition as well

[Peter Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy Poythress. This book was pretty good, but not great. I think part of my reason for only three stars is that much of Poythress's thinking I have read elsewhere. Perhaps these men learned it from him. A book worth reading and an excellent tonic to being too narrow-minded.

[Chris Comis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should change the way you do theology, or you were asleep while reading it.

[David Batten · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would recommend this book first to those who either hate or love systematic theology. Poythress identified and resolved an issued I felt regarding the over-application of systematic definitions and concepts, arguing they should not be used as precise, sufficient categories, but rather as perspectives or additions to our overall understanding of the Bible. This looser use of systematic theology actually actual makes me feel freer to use it more.

His second burden was on dialog with those across theological divides. The idea of 'stretching' the perspective of someone I disagree with to include truths they have missed is intriguing, and something I think worth exploring.

[Kevin Fulton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a faster read than I anticipated. While John Frames work on multiperspectivalism is eminently structured and logical, Vern Poythress’s writings on it (what he calls symphonic theology) have a way of showing the “artistry” of their philosophical and theological approach. This work is particularly helpful in illustrating you can see value and genuine truth in many different, mutually exclusive perspectives without falling into relativism.

I also appreciated how the book closes with examples on how multiperspectivalism can be used to understand others and can act to help you develop steelman arguments.

[Matt Pelto · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I hope much of the content of this book is common and sensical enough to be called common sense, it is true that it is always good to be explicit about one's hermeneutical method. The focus of this book is in the application of "multiple perspectives" in hermeneutics and theology, meaning Dr. Poythress desires to reader to be self conscious about using multiple foci and iteration in interpretation and building webs of connections of themes, passages, and ideas. He concludes the book by demonstrating how such a methodology could influence the debate concerning miracles and charismata.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m gonna think about this one for a long time, few books have challenged my thinking about how to approach the Bible, theology, philosophy, and human relationships like this one has. Poythress submits that just about everyone has something valuable in their perspective that we can learn from and appropriate and he makes some very helpful suggestions for how we can engage with those who have differing views in productive ways.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful and approachable guide to perspectivalism that doesn't throw the baby out with the bathwater nor becomes hyper-inclusive either. A friend put it nicely: "Practically, it's a call for charity, and a recognition and appreciation for the diversity of gifts within the body – including the value of others' perspectives."

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful, humble and insightful. A lot of very helpful discussion about the nuance of language and about engaging the arguments of people (especially those you disagree with) in order to learn from them. Could be a bit dry at times.

[Josh Shelton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb book! Short and concise and very insightful

[Wade Stotts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great.

[William Schrecengost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

[Andrew Hageman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read…first 50 pgs especially…FANTASTIC!

[Ben Sibley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A primer, so it would be helpful as a recommendation for some brief reading on the subject.

[Kyle Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[James Boyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poythress emphasizes the point that different books of the Bible have different emphases and that they must be allowed to speak for themselves before synthesizing. He does a good job of pointing out some common misuses of word studies (mostly giving words more import as units of theology than they should have, drawing on Carson). The book then uses his method to study miracles, which he does with grace and thoughtfulness, recognizing the inherent disagreement between their function within different books of the Bible. His approach to dealing with disagreement is gracious and helpful- look for and respond to your opponent's best point and allow your position to be changed or shifted.

[Dan Glover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Approaching exegesis and theology from multiple perspectives gives us a better, fuller understanding of Scripture as well as the doctrines it contains and helps build bridges to unity with the other traditions and perspectives at the same time. This book is a must-read supplement for every Bible college and seminary exegesis course and systematic theology course. Simply excellent. More later.

[Daniel Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is foundational in understanding the Frame/Poythress hermeneutic that is taught at Westminster Seminary, Covenant Seminary, and Reformed Theological Seminary. Its a bit heady and wordy, but Poythress lays out his case for perspectivalism. Obviously, I agree with it and employ it bot theologically and practically.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. Highly recommended, particularly regarding theology, but also has valuable insights for discussing and researching academic fields of study. The other great thing is that this has practical applications when interacting with people you might disagree with... which (at some point) includes everyone you know.

[Brooks Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Leaving my theological disagreements with the author aside, I am not sure what the big deal is with "perspectivalism". There are some interesting insights to consider when thinking about methodology, or, for example, linguistics and semantics. It is generally assumed that the work of theology (and related disciplines) is considered from multiple perspectives.

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't say enough about the significance of this book to my thinking. Its influence extends beyond theology and faith to my thinking about psychology and counseling as well. Try it and see for yourself.

[Jared Mcnabb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book, overviewing Dr. Poythress' generous approach to theology/ biblical studies.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really useful intro to multiple perspectives in theology and biblical studies

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basically what we talked about in class. I think it's helpful outside that context, but I have a hard time knowing what my reaction would have been had I read it on my own.

Specifically, I have a hard time seeing how anyone could take this variety of multiperspectivalism and charge it with encouraging relativism. It doesn't. It's a necessary corollary of finiteness. Poythress's understanding of multiple perspectives as part of divine knowledge is less obvious, and he doesn't spend a lot of time grounding it in trinitarian theology (which is I think the primary ground that it has).