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Scripture, the Genesis of Doctrine: Doctrine and Scripture in Early Christianity, vol 1.
How did we get from Scripture to creed? Historical criticism has revealed a gap between Scripture and the mainstream doctrines that define Christianity today. Not the least of these are the Trinity and two natures of Christ—widely accepted since the fifth century, but unfounded in historical readings of Scripture. How did these dogmas become so integral to the faith in the first place? Frances M. Young tackles this monumental question in a culmination of decades of biblical and patristic research. The first of two volumes exploring the emergence of doctrine in the early church, Scripture, the Genesis of Doctrine reframes the relationship between Scripture and doctrine according to the intellectual context of the first few centuries CE. Young situates the early Christians’ biblical hermeneutic within the context of Greco-Roman learning without espousing historical relativism. Ultimately, Young argues that the scriptural canon and the Rule of Faith emerged concurrently in the early Church, and both were received as apostolic. The perceived gap between the two may in fact be the product of our modern assumptions rather than an ancient reality. Nuanced and ecumenical, Scripture, the Genesis of Doctrine explores early Christians’ biblical hermeneutic, with an eye toward how we interpret the bible today. Young’s magisterial study holds widespread implications for not only patristics but also exegesis and systematic theology.
308 pages, Hardcover
Published October 19, 2023
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December 28, 2024
Scripture is the foundation of Christian theology. It has to be interpreted, which led to doctrinal formulations, including the creeds. In early Christianity several areas of concern emerged, beginning with God's role as Creator, from there, Christian leaders dealt with Christology, which in turn led to the development of the doctrine of the Trinity, as defined in the creeds of Nicea and Constantinople. The question that emerges regularly concerns the relationship between Greek philosophy and Scripture. There are those, often Restorationists, who see the developments after the second century as corruptions of the original pristine doctrines in the New Testament. But, while there was development, did the early Christians seek to be true to Scripture even as they dealt with important issues, such as whether the God of Jesus was the Creator (Marcionism).
Frances Young has written a major two-volume tome, "Doctrine and Scripture in Early Christianity." In this volume, the first of the two, she focuses on "Scripture, The Genesis of Doctrine." The Second volume is titled Scripture in Doctrinal Dispute: Doctrine and Scripture in Early Christianity, vol. 2. While volume 1 focuses on the developments leading up to the development of the Trinity in the fourth century and the fifth-century debates over the two natures of Christ, this volume sets the stage, focusing largely on setting the stage for what is to come, including modern debates over the development of doctrine, such as Newman's ideas, or whether we see the Hellenization of the Gospel. One of the key elements of this volume, which serves as a foundation for the second is the idea that early Christianity was "school-like." We think of Christianity as a religion, but in its early stages, like synagogues, the focus was on teaching, such that bishops took on the role of teachers. The doctrinal developments of these early years emerged out of these schools.
The earliest debates focused on responses to Marcionism and Gnosticism (Valentinian), out of which the earliest summations of scriptural thought were summarized in various rules of faith. Irenaeus and others focused these developments on God's role as creator, thus the idea of Monarchianism.
Young draws on several theologians of this early period, including Irenaeus, Origen, Cyril of Jerusalem, and in the summary at the end of the volume on Augustine's text Teaching Christianity (Vol. I/11). As she works through these early theological works, Young seeks to show how early Christian leaders/theologians sought to ground their doctrinal developments in Scripture, even as they drew on the philosophical resources of their time. As such, she sets up what is to come in volume 2, where she focuses on the disputes of the fourth and fifth centuries that resulted in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed and the Chalcedonian Definition of 451.
These two volumes are dense but rich in theological resources. While it is true that early Christian theologians didn't use the historical-critical method. They were quite aware of the human elements that help form Scripture.
Frances Young has written a major two-volume tome, "Doctrine and Scripture in Early Christianity." In this volume, the first of the two, she focuses on "Scripture, The Genesis of Doctrine." The Second volume is titled Scripture in Doctrinal Dispute: Doctrine and Scripture in Early Christianity, vol. 2. While volume 1 focuses on the developments leading up to the development of the Trinity in the fourth century and the fifth-century debates over the two natures of Christ, this volume sets the stage, focusing largely on setting the stage for what is to come, including modern debates over the development of doctrine, such as Newman's ideas, or whether we see the Hellenization of the Gospel. One of the key elements of this volume, which serves as a foundation for the second is the idea that early Christianity was "school-like." We think of Christianity as a religion, but in its early stages, like synagogues, the focus was on teaching, such that bishops took on the role of teachers. The doctrinal developments of these early years emerged out of these schools.
The earliest debates focused on responses to Marcionism and Gnosticism (Valentinian), out of which the earliest summations of scriptural thought were summarized in various rules of faith. Irenaeus and others focused these developments on God's role as creator, thus the idea of Monarchianism.
Young draws on several theologians of this early period, including Irenaeus, Origen, Cyril of Jerusalem, and in the summary at the end of the volume on Augustine's text Teaching Christianity (Vol. I/11). As she works through these early theological works, Young seeks to show how early Christian leaders/theologians sought to ground their doctrinal developments in Scripture, even as they drew on the philosophical resources of their time. As such, she sets up what is to come in volume 2, where she focuses on the disputes of the fourth and fifth centuries that resulted in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed and the Chalcedonian Definition of 451.
These two volumes are dense but rich in theological resources. While it is true that early Christian theologians didn't use the historical-critical method. They were quite aware of the human elements that help form Scripture.
Displaying 1 of 1 review