For those who are interested in my research area, here’s a little paragraph: At the outset of what is arguably the church’s first extended manual on biblical interpretation and preaching, De Doctrina Christiana, Augustine wrote: "So anyone who thinks that he has understood the divine scriptures or any part o
f them, but cannot by his understanding build up this double love of God and neighbour, has not yet succeeded in understanding them." For Augustine, the right order of love is foundational to the task of interpretation of Scripture because it orientates and transports
the interpreter towards the goal of biblical interpretation, the enjoyment of the reality of which scripture reveals, the triune God. Similarly, Anselm’s well known phrase ”I believe that I may understand” implies for the enterprise of biblical interpretation the necessity of a certain kind of moral and spiritual acumen that goes beyond the ability to dispatch appropriate and necessary hermeneutical, philological and historical skills and knowledge alone. More recently, Brevard Childs is quoted as saying “If you want to become a better exegete, become a deeper person.” My supervisor, Walter Moberly notes that “the question of how best the biblical interpreter may be formed so as to be able genuinely to understand the biblical text is not the kind of question what will ever be simply or definitely resolved. Yet to be able to make some progress with the question is surely a pressing need for biblical scholarship in the years ahead.”
f them, but cannot by his understanding build up this double love of God and neighbour, has not yet succeeded in understanding them." For Augustine, the right order of love is foundational to the task of interpretation of Scripture because it orientates and transports the interpreter towards the goal of biblical interpretation, the enjoyment of the reality of which scripture reveals, the triune God. Similarly, Anselm’s well known phrase ”I believe that I may understand” implies for the enterprise of biblical interpretation the necessity of a certain kind of moral and spiritual acumen that goes beyond the ability to dispatch appropriate and necessary hermeneutical, philological and historical skills and knowledge alone. More recently, Brevard Childs is quoted as saying “If you want to become a better exegete, become a deeper person.” My supervisor, Walter Moberly notes that “the question of how best the biblical interpreter may be formed so as to be able genuinely to understand the biblical text is not the kind of question what will ever be simply or definitely resolved. Yet to be able to make some progress with the question is surely a pressing need for biblical scholarship in the years ahead.”
