Biblical Theology of Old and New Testament Theological Reflection of the Christian Bible

by Brevard S. Childs

This monumental work is the first comprehensive biblical theology to appear in many years and is the culmination of Brevard Child's lifelong commitment to constructing a biblical theology that surmounts objections to the discipline raised over the past generation. Childs rejects any approaches that overstress either the continuity or discontinuity between the Old and New Testaments. He refuses to follow the common pattern in Christian thought of identifying biblical theology with the New Testament's interest in the Old. Rather, Childs maps out an approach that reflects on the whole Christian Bible with its two very different voices, each of which retains continuing integrity and is heard on its own terms.

Genres: Theology, Biblical Studies, Christian, Old Testament, New Testament

772 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1992

About the author

Brevard Springs Childs was Professor of Old Testament at Yale University from 1958 until 1999 (and Sterling Professor after 1992), and one of the most influential biblical scholars of the 20th century. Childs is particularly noted for pioneering canonical criticism, a way of interpreting the Bible that focuses on the text of the biblical canon itself as a finished product. In fact, Childs disliked the term, believing his work to represent an entirely new departure, replacing the entire historical-critical method. Childs set out his canonical approach in his Biblical Theology in Crisis (1970) and applied it in Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture (1979). This latter book has been described as "one of the most discussed books of the 1980s".

Reviews

[Timothy Crouch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply outstanding: a book that is remarkably compact given its monumental scope, and that in many ways is only a starting point for further discussions, but contains a lifetime's worth of insight. Arguably it is not actually a "biblical theology" in the sense of a sustained theological reading of the two-Testament Bible so much as an extended and partially demonstrated methodological table-setting for such sustained theological reading. This is one which I'll have to reread a few times.

Admittedly, I have two areas of significant disagreement — or dis-ease. One is the question of whether the insights of historical criticism (particularly considering the compositional history of the Old Testament) are as well-founded as he generally accepts them to be. I retain some baseline skepticism that these insights can be methodologically disentangled from the radicalized philosophical rationalism of the 18th century and the philosophical idealism of the 19th century. One need not espouse a (similarly rationalized!) form of the doctrines of inspiration and inerrancy that all but require a functional dictation theory to have concerns about, say, the validity of the Documentary Hypothesis on pentateuchal origins — especially when the originators of such hypotheses (cf. Ewald, Wellhausen, Baur, Strauss) usually took them as straightforward historical authorizations for radically deconstructing orthodoxy and reconstructing it as Liberal Protestantism. I think Childs's key theological points outflank these problems, but I am not sure. The second is Childs' severe critique of virtue as a functional concept for biblical ethics (over against divine command). He is, of course, following Barth in particular (and shows his hand accordingly). The key question (asked with fear and trembling): is Barth there following Kant (following Ockham, etc.) more than the Bible? Christ both commands obedience and inspires imitation. In fact, imitation is the shape of obedience: more precisely, imitation is how Christ's followers are formed into obedience. The concept of virtue, while no less requiring a thorough pruning and baptism to separate it from its pagan origins and win it for Christ, gives a better description and prescription of the obedient life.

Anyways, a fantastic, deeply learned book, which I expect will be a key dialogue partner for the rest of my life.

[Bob Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is the Bible and what do you do with it? How should you read the Bible? How do the New Testament and the Old Testament fit together...or do they? These are some of the questions that B.S. Childs addresses in his magnificient volume, Biblical Theology of Old and New Testament Theological Reflection of the Christian Bible.

Childs is best known as a proponent of Canonical criticism and that is fully on display in this volume. He seeks to understand what it means for texts to be brought together in canon as opposed to a loose connection of writings. Childs understands that making these texts co-exist can have a profound impact on their meaning.

He begins with a survey of the current state (well current for early 1990s) Biblical Theology. He then gives a few examples of how canonical criticism works and then begins to proceed to provide a mini-systematic theology on significant Christian doctrine. (or rather a canonical theology on these issues).

This volume shows Childs at his best. His depth and theological knowledge are on display on every page. He has a grasp of big concepts and understands how they interact with each other

Childs' coverage of the Old Testament is more thorough than his coverage of the NT, as he seems to have an OT slant. Because of his chronological location, he was not able to interact with the writings of N.T. Wright, so it would be interesting to see what if any impact it would have on his conclusions.

This book is highly technical and its length may turn many readers off. However, if you are interested in the Bible or Christian theology at all, I highly recommend this book. Childs' writing is clear and interesting even with the highly technical academic writing.

While not for everyone, this volume is very important.

Grade: A

[Micah Sharp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Childs’s goal seems to be to bring theology to the nearly secular field of Biblical Studies.
I think I cannot appreciate what he presents and accomplishes because I am not part of the intended audience. He seeks to convince critical Biblical scholarship that the theological task is not beneath them. This often entails prolonged interaction with source criticism, a discipline which in his writing seems to have little distinction from OT intertextuality, with its re-use and adaption of past traditions. He both push towards a canonical reading in someways, but does not go as far as Sailhamer to work only at the canonical level. I appreciate his critique of inner-Biblical criteria as the sole framework for Biblical Theology while also finding his assessment perhaps too harsh. In some ways I am thankful that this book feels meaningless to me. It seems to me that Childs laid a crucial groundwork for the subsequent evangelical renaissance of Biblical Theology in the last 20 years of which I am a beneficiary. His work allowed a new wave of more conservative and confessional scholarship to appropriate the insights of European Biblical Studies of the last two centuries without the need to retain any of its liberal theological baggage. I don’t doubt he does something admirable here but this book, at least for now is not for me.

[Caleb Rolling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificent - primarily for its scope and as the culmination of his two prior introductions to the OT and NT (in addition to his canonical approach). History of biblical theology, survey of approaches, prescription for a canonical approach, and then demonstration of that approach. His systematic movement from describing the witness of the OT, then the NT, then biblical theological reflection, concluding in preliminary remarks about systematic theology is remarkable.

An essential read

[Timothy Decker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slow read but essential to the field of Biblical Theology.

[Austin Cotton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Extremely hard to finish and comprehend. The things i did understand kinda blew my mind however. a lot of crazy ideas

[Philip Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

His coverage of the OT is way stronger than NT and this is not as good as his Introduction to the OT as Christian Scripture.