Includes bibliographical references and index.

Foreword xviii Preface xxi Acknowledgments xxix Chapter One Major Philosophers and Scientists: Their Impact on Theology Introduction 3 The Timeless View of God 4 Parmenides (c. 540-470 B.C.) 4 Plato (427-c. 347 B.C.) 6 Aristotle (384—322 B.C.) 7 Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) 9 Fernando Canale (1945—) 10 Platonic and Aristotelian Philosophy 11 Medieval Worldview 13 Modernity 15 René Descartes (1596-1650): The Father of Modern Philosophy 15 David Hume (1711-1776): The Father of Empiricism 20 Immanuel Kant (1724-1804): Copernican Revolution in Philosophy 22 Twentieth Century 30 Copernican Revolution of the “New Science” 31 Worldview of the “New Science” 32 Relativity and Quantum Mechanics 33 Rejection of Kantian Phenomenalism 34 Advances of the “New Science” 37 Relationship of Philosophy and Theology 38 Conclusion 42 Chapter Two The Impact of Major Philosophical Movements on Theology Introduction 47 Pragmatism 47 Existentialism 49 Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) 49 Analytical Philosophy 53 Logical Positivism 54 A. J. Ayer (1910-1989) 55 Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889—1951) 57 Meaningless Statements 57 Convictional Language 60 Evaluation of Logical Positivism 62 An Opportunity Posed by the Demise of Logical Positivism 65 Theological Language 66 Nonempirical Side of Theological Language 67 Functional Use of Language 69 Theological Propositions Transcend Human Verifiability 71 Danger of Empirical Evidence 71 Theological Language of Faith 72 Eschatological Verification 75 Process Philosophy 76 Process Theology as a Threat to Christianity 77 Issue of Personal Freedom 81 Revelation in Jesus Christ 83 Thomistic-Calvinistic Theism 86 Theological Critique of Philosophy 88 Evaluation of Radical Orthodox Thinking on Philosophy and Theology 90 Conclusion 92 Function of Philosophy 92 Philosophy Not the Foundation of Theology 93 Chapter Three Foundationalism Introduction 96 Beyond Foundationalism: The Case of Stanley Grenz and John Franke 99 Evaluation of Beyond Foundationalism 105 The Primary Foundation: The Case of Fritz Guy 110 Evaluation of Thinking Theologically 112 The Sole Foundation: The Case of Fernando Canale 116 Evaluation of Canale’s Contribution 126 Foundationalism and Philosophy: The Case of Radical Orthodoxy 127 Evaluation of Radical Orthodoxy 131 Foundationalism and Evangelicals: The Case of David F. Wells 133 Conclusion 135 Chapter Four What is Systematic Theology? Introduction 139 Theology As Being Systematic 139 Worldview 140 Starting Place of a System 143 Center of a System 145 Theology As Science 149 Theologians Testify to Theology As Science 149 The Given in Theological Science 152 New Focus in Holism 153 Natural Science Must Not Intimidate Theological Science 154 Theological Method Compared to Scientific Method 157 The Differences between Theology and Science 158 Belief as a Part of Science 158 Belief in God Essential to Theological Science 160 Belief in Scripture Essential to Theological Science 160 Basic Presuppositions as a Part of Science 161 Changing Observer in Theological Science 162 Seeing the Parts in Relation to the Whole in Science 165 Majority View in Scripture Prevails in Theological Science 165 Sola Scriptura as a Part of Theological Science 166 Theological Method 168 Theological Method Involves Communicating the Biblical Messages 169 Theological Method Involves Mission 169 Theological Method Involves Epistemology 170 Theological Method Involves Reason 172 Does Theological Method Involve Apologetics? 172 Theology as a Servant to Scripture 177 Theology as a Servant to Christians 178 Aids in Studying Theology 179 Biblical Languages 179 Archaeology 180 Biblical Theology 182 Relation between Biblical Theology and Systematic Theology 187 Conclusion 188 Chapter Five God’s General Revelation Introduction 190 The “Enmity Factor” of Genesis 3:15 191 The Loci of General Revelation 192 Nature 192 History 195 Thomas Aquinas and the Knowledge of God (1225-1274) 199 Five Proofs for God’s Existence 200 Evaluation of the Five Proofs 202 Friedrich Schleiermacher and the Knowledge of God (1768-1834) 203 The Importance of Schleiermacher’s Contribution 204 The God-Consciousness Within 205 John Calvin and the Knowledge of God (1509-1564) 206 The Knowledge of God in Contemporary Catholic Theology 207 The Knowledge of God in All Religions 208 The Knowledge of God and Its Limits in General Revelation 211 The Knowledge of God and Natural Theology 214 Fragmented and Partial Revelation 214 General Revelation Does Not Produce Faith 214 Assumptions 214 Limits of Natural Theology 215 The Knowledge of God and the Debate between Barth and Brunner 216 The Knowledge of God and the Contribution of Bruce A. Demarest 219 Conclusion 224 Chapter Six Scripture As Revelation Introduction 229 The Need for Biblical Revelation 230 The Impact of J. S. Semler 230 Christ As Revelation 231 Encounter Revelation 232 Theologies Not Based on Scripture As Revelation 233 Karl Barth 233 Thomas F. Torrance 246 Donald G. Bloesch 254 Category Translation 261 Revelation and History 262 Revelation in History 263 Revelation through History 263 Revelation As History 264 External and Internal History 266 Personal Rather Than Encounter 267 The God Who Speaks 270 Scripture As Revelation 272 Propositional Nature of Scripture 272 Incarnational Nature of Scripture 277 Aesthetic Nature of Scripture 280 What Scripture Says about Its Own Revelation 280 The Old Testament 280 New Testament Testimony about the Old Testament 283 The New Testament's Testimony 284 Dynamic View of Revelation in the Context of a Closed Canon 284 Christ As Revelation 285 Propositional Revelation Necessary to Expose Counterfeits 286 Conclusion 288 Chapter Seven Biblical Inspiration Introduction 293 Definition 294 Debate on Inspiration through the Centuries 294 Pagan View 294 Patristic Period 295 Medieval Period: Catholic Scholasticism 297 Reformation Period 299 The Council of Trent (1545-1563) 299 Francis Turretin (1623-1687) 300 Post-Reformation Period 300 Vatican Council II (1963-1965) 301 Theories of Inspiration 302 Intuition Theory 302 Illumination Theory 303 Mechanical Theory 303 Verbal Theory 304 Dynamic or Limited Verbal Theory 304 Bypassing the Conscious Mind 305 Degrees of Inspiration? 305 More Than a Human Word 306 Biblical Insights 307 God Speaks through Scripture 307 Why All Are Not Affected by Scripture 309 Scripture As God-Breathed 309 Inspiration and Sources 310 The Process of Inspiration 311 Holy Spirit’s Ministry to Humans 312 Creaturely Freedom Preserved 313 Are the Words of Scripture Inspired? 314 Inspiration and the Question of the Canon 316 Multiple Canons 317 Apocrypha 317 Formation of the Canon 318 Conclusion 324 Chapter Eight Scripture As Trustworthy Introduction 328 History of Inerrancy 330 John Calvin (1509-1564) 330 Francis Turretin (1623-1687) 331 Princeton Theologians (1812—1912) 333 Charles Augustus Briggs’s Rejection of Innerancy (1891/1893) 333 The Fundamentals (1917) 335 Francis Pieper (1917—1950) 336 Vatican II Council (1963—1965) 336 Clark Pinnock’s Journey (1971 to 1984) 337 The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy (1978) 339 The Conference on Biblical Inerrancy (1987) 341 Scripture As Trustworthy 344 Divisive Issue among Evangelical Theologians 345 How Conservative Theologians Handle Biblical Differences 346 Aspects of Biblical Inerrancy 347 Objections to Biblical Inerrancy 348 Erickson and Grudem on Inerrancy 349 Lewis and Demarest on Plenary Inerrancy 350 Inerrant in Matters of Salvation Only? 351 Conclusion 352 Chapter Nine Scripture As Authority Introduction 360 Definition 361 Born with Authority 361 Vested Authority 361 Delegated Authority 361 Biblical Authority Enlightenment Revolt against Biblical Authority 362 Church As Authority 363 Vatican II Council As Insight into Church Authority 367 Reformation Revolt against Church Authority 369 Church Built on Biblical Authority 369 Spirit Testifies to Biblical Authority 369 Reason As Authority 371 Experience As Authority 374 God As Authority 376 Christ’s View of Biblical Authority 378 Word of God As Authority 381 Conclusion 384 Chapter Ten Biblical Worldview Introduction 390 The Worldviews of Naturalism and Transcendentalism 390 Naturalism 390 Transcendentalism 391 The Salvation Worldview of Scripture 392 Is There a Broader Biblical Worldview Than the Soteriological Worldview? 393 Limitations of Philosophy 394 Fallen Angels: Karl Barth 395 Toward Grasping the Biblical Cosmic Controversy Worldview 398 Origen’s On First Principles 398 Augustine’s City of God 399 John Calvin’s Institutes 400 John Milton’s Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained 401 C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia 404 C. S. Lewis’s The Last Battle 405 Gregory A. Boyd’s God at War 407 Gregory A. Boyd’s Satan and the Problem of Evil 410 Lewis S. Chafer’s Satanology 414 The Cosmic Controversy Worldview of Scripture 416 Not Dependent on External Criteria 416 John Rawls’s Theory of Justice 416 The Sola Scriptura Approach 421 The Contribution of Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 421 The Church Fathers 423 After the Church Fathers 424 Time of the Reformers 425 Martin Luther 425 John Calvin 425 Some Others Recognizing the Cosmic Context 426 Literary Analysis 427 The Cosmic Controversy Metanarrative 430 Job and the Cosmic Controversy 431 War Began in Heaven 433 The Battle in Eden 436 The Issue in the Cosmic Controversy 439 A Biblical Overview 440 The Future Gives Insights into the Beginning 442 The Cosmic Influence of Calvary 442 Pentecost and the Cosmic Battle 443 The Continuing Cosmic Battle 445 Christ’s Revelation of God 446 The Cosmic Controversy as a Theme in the System 447 Judgment As Insight into the Cosmic Controversy 447 God’s Final Judgment 448 Conclusion 452 Chapter Eleven Postmodern Worldview: Its Challenge to Theology Introduction 458 Postmodern Thinkers 461 Friederich Nietzsche (1844—1900) 462 Jacques Derrida (1930-) 465 Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) 468 Stanley Fish (1938-) 471 Further Critiques of Postmodern Theories That Cannot Be Lived 475 Consensus 475 Rejection of Absolutes 475 Limits to Pluralism 476 Narrative Theology’s Use of Scripture 476 Materialism 477 Postmodernity Described 477 Postmodernity Defined 478 Difference between Modernity and Postmodernity 479 Difficulties for Theology Posed by Postmodernism 481 Opposed to a System 481 Opposed to a Center 482 Opposed to Any Worldview 482 Relativism 483 Attempts at Interpretation and Theology for Postmoderns 483 Deconstruction 484 George A. Lindbeck’s Cultural-Linguistic Approach 487 Narrative Theology 487 Stanley J. Grenz’s Postmodern System of Theology 492 Thomas C. Oden’s Return to Classical Theology 496 Gordon R. Lewis and Bruce A. Demarest’s Integrative Theology 500 Francis Schaeffer’s Christian Worldview 503 The Importance of Logic 507 Opportunities for Theology in Postmodernity 508 Church’s Capitulation to Modernity 509 New Age Movement in Postmodernity 510 Post-Materialist Worldview 511 More Room for Religion 512 Intellectual Strengths of Christianity 512 Opportunity to Introduce Purpose 513 Reaching for Absolutes 513 The X Generation and Truth 514 Postmodernizing the Faith 515 Conclusion 516 Chapter Twelve History of Biblical Hermeneutics: Rabbinic to Post-Reformation Introduction 521 Need for Biblical Hermeneutics 522 History of Biblical Interpretation 523 Rabbinic Judaism 523 Hellenistic Judaism 524 Qumran Community 525 Apostolic Period (30—100) 525 Apostolic Fathers (100—200) 527 Schools of Alexandria and Antioch (150-400) 529 Augustine of Hippo (354-430) 531 Constantine the Great (c. 275-337) 532 Middle Ages (590-1500) 532 The Reformation and Beyond (1500-1800) 534 Desiderius Erasmus (1466—1536) 535 Martin Luther (1483-1546) 537 Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560) 549 Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) 549 John Calvin (1509-1564) 550 Council of Trent (1545-1563) 552 Francis Turretin (1623-1687) 553 Wesleyan Quadrilateral 557 Conclusion 559 Chapter Thirteen History of Biblical Hermeneutics: Enlightenment to Postmodernity Introduction 563 Critical Scholars 564 Johann S. Semler (1721-1791) 564 Gotthold E. Lessing (1729-1781) 565 Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834) 569 Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831) 572 Ludwig Feuerbach (1804—1872) 575 Ernst Troeltsch (1865-1923) 576 Martin Dibelius (1883—1947) 579 Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976) 580 Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900-2002) 585 Paul Ricoeur (1913-) 589 Critical Methods 597 Three Horizons 598 Diachronic and Synchronic Methods 599 Historical Paradigm 599 Literary Paradigm 607 Cultural Paradigm 611 Spiritual Location of Scripture: Function of the Holy Spirit 618 Classical Exegetes 620 Transcultural Context of Scripture 621 From Modernity to Postmodernity 622 The Text and Subsequent History 622 Scripture As Casebook 624 John Hercus 624 Charles H. Kraft 625 Alden Thompson 627 Category Translation 629 The Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics (1982) 631 Conclusion 633 Chapter Fourteen Biblical Hermeneutics Introduction 640 The Work of the Academy 641 Some Issues in Biblical Interpretation 644 Evaluation of Authorial Intent 644 Single or Multiple Meanings? 645 Divine Authorial Intent 647 Sensus Plenior 651 Changing Meaning 653 Influence of Presuppositions on Interpretation 654 Scripture as a Union of the Divine and the Human 657 Comparison of Written and Living Words of God 658 Indivisible Union 659 Divisible Union 660 Scripture as the Word of God 661 The Sufficiency of Scripture 663 The Reliability of Scripture 664 The Clarity of Scripture 665 The Totality of Scripture 667 Scripture as the Standard 668 The Analogy of Scripture 674 The Humanity of Scripture 677 Scripture As Human Writing 677 Can a Later Inspired Writer Interpret an Earlier Inspired Writer? 678 Is Human Research Equivalent to Divine Revelation? 679 Human Problems in Scripture 679 Are There Contradictions in Scripture? 681 Does God Use Human Language, Logic, and Literature? 682 Implications of the Human in Scripture 684 Flight from Scripture 685 The Norm for Biblical Interpretation 685 General Hermeneutics Compared to Biblical Hermeneutics 687 Fundamental Practice of Interpretation in Scripture 689 Interpreters of Scripture in Scripture 690 Angel Interpreter in Scripture 691 Christ As Interpreter of Scripture 691 Sola Scriptura as an Internal Interpretive Tool 694 Typology as an Internal Interpretive Tool 697 Aesthetics/Chiasms as an Internal Interpretive Tool 699 Spiritual Things Spiritually Discerned 705 Scripture above Tradition 707 The Process of Interpretation 709 Creeds and Interpretation 711 Theological Hermeneutics 712 Conclusion 715 Chapter Fifteen Dispensational Hermeneutics Introduction 719 Roots of the Movement 720 Dispensational Hermeneutics 721 Dispensations 721 Israel/Church Dichotomy 722 Consistent Literalism Method 723 Evidence Opposing Consistent Literalism 725 How to Interpret Old Testament Prophecies 725 Literal Fulfillment of Prophecies 726 Typological Interpretation 726 The Principle of Sola Scriptura 728 The Dispensational Interpretation of the Seventieth Week of Daniel 9:24-27 732 Scholars’ Critique of Consistent Literalism 732 Is the Present Return of Israel Prophetic? 733 Loss of Land Due to Unbelief 733 Loss of Land Can Be Eternal 734 Return to Location Not a Substitute for Return to Loyalty 735 Is Israel’s Original Entrance to the Land a Type for Its Present Entrance? 735 No Promise of Return to Palestine in the New Testament 736 Christ’s Kingdom As His Reign or Realm? 736 Calvary As Christ’s Last Word about Israel 737 The Future of Dispensational Hermeneutics 738 The Future of Israel as a Theological Question 744 Romans 9—11 745 Conclusion 748 Name Index 751 Scripture Index 761 Subject Index 773

What is the foundation of theology? In this monumental work—the “first things” of a multi-volume, comprehensive theological system—Norman R. Gulley argues pervasively and persuasively that Scripture, and Scripture alone, must be the sole foundation of authentic evangelical Christian faith. According to Gulley, theology should not depend on philosophy, science, reason, tradition or experience but on Scripture alone. His argument stands in contrast to recent influential evangelical theologians who consider Scripture only a witness to revelation, and not revelation itself According to Gulley, God is thus removed from His Word in the same way others have removed Him from His world. He argues that this emptying of Scripture of its propositional, cognitive revelation deconstructs the basis of the evangelical movement. Gulley’s view of sola scriptura drives his detailed, sweeping and balanced critique of the major underlying themes, issues and philosophies that have informed some other theological systems. From Parmenides and the timeless view of God in ancient Greece to a detailed analysis of 21st-century dispensational theology, Gulley ranges easily over millennia, showing how different concepts and philosophies have affected the premise of sola scriptura for good or ill. Aptly subtitled Prolegomena, this ambitious work functions as an excellent introduction to theological thought. It is designed for general use and for the serious student of theology who will appreciate the opening summary of each chapters contents, and the concluding study questions. It also serves as an introduction to the next volume which unfolds Gulley’s system within the biblical cosmic controversy world view.