SUMMARY OF HOW TO READ THE NEW TESTAMENT(by Raymond E. Brown)

CHAPTER TWO: HOW TO READ THE NEW TESTAMENT

 FORMS OF CRITICISMS

 Because the different books of the New Testaments have different sources, they cannot be interpreted the same way. Brown presents various types of criticism (careful analysis of the books of the NT). They include: Textual Criticism-This is concerned with comparing the diversities in Greek copies of the NT books, as well as diversities found in translations and quotations.. Historical criticism is concerned with detecting the literal sense of scripture, that is, what the author meant to say. Source criticism pertains to the studying of the antecedents from which the NT writers drew their information. Form criticism involves the effort to determine the literary genre of a NT book, as well as determining the constituent literary genre found inside passages of the NT books. Redaction criticism deals with the changes made on the original manuscript by the authors of the books of the NT. Canonical criticism studies a passage of the bible in the light of the whole bible, especially as they provide further insight. Structuralism pertains to the final form of the NT books. It enables the reader to decipher the ‘inner structure’ Narrative criticism aims at determining the author’s main interest in writing a book or passages in a book. Rhetorical criticism borders on analyzing the strategies used by NT writers to effectively recount or write what they intended written. Social criticism studies how a particular book of scripture serves as a reflection and response to the social and cultural settings of a given society. Advocacy criticism concerns efforts made by some to propose that the texts of scripture be related to modern causes and movements, e.g. Feminist advocacy. Readers are encouraged to employ the above criticisms in their analysis of a text for a fuller and richer understanding.

SPECIAL ISSUES RAISED BY INSPIRATION AND REVELATION

Does the inspiration of scripture goes against the practice of biblical hermeneutics? Brown gives four different and somewhat conflicting opinions of what inspiration means to different people: Firstly, some deny the validity of NT books, thus denying inspiration. Secondly, some are indifferent as to the validity or not of scriptures but reject the influence of inspiration when it comes to the task of interpretation. This renders the doctrine of inspiration irrelevant. Thirdly, some others take the inspiration of scriptures to the extent that they deny any real contradiction in the passages of scriptures. They highlight the fact that interpretation must be subjected to inspiration.. For them, inspiration removes all human limitations. Fourthly, some posit that inspiration does not remove human limitations. This fourth position is the most plausible for biblical hermeneutics. Brown identifies two forms of interpretations prevalent today, viz., Private interpretation and Ecclesia or church interpretation. Both, however, present difficulties.

Furthermore, Brown presents four ways Christians tend to view revelation vis-à-vis the scripture. Firstly, some Christians radically deny that the bible is a source of revelation .Secondly, some others attest the revelation of scripture, but maintained that revelation has no place in the task of interpretation. Thirdly, there exist some Christians who consider as revealed every word of scripture, and thus not subjected to human interpretation. A fourth group attests that not all of scripture is revealed. There exists a dichotomy in belief as regards the revelation of scripture between Protestants and Catholics. While Protestants believe that scripture is the only source of revelation, Catholics believe it is not the only source of revelation. From the above analysis of inspiration, revelation and scripture, one could see that one’s stance on inspiration and revelation affects the way one looks at scripture.

THE LITERAL SENSE OF SCRIPTURE

The literal sense, also known as historical criticism, refers to attempts to determine what the authors actually intended to covey when they wrote. Determining the literal sense is however a difficult task. This is because, firstly, the books of the NT were written in Greek, close to 1,900 years ago, and the translation and interpretation of ancient Greek may not be exactly correct today; secondly, there exists a difference in culture and context between the time the NT books were written and now; thirdly, a diversity of audiences exists, that is, the books of NT were not addressed to the same audience. Also, what the author had in mind while writing may be different from the reader’s understanding. The identity of the audiences is not given except for some Pauline letters; as a result we cannot be certain of the culture of the audience the author was addressing. It is also argued that we cannot plausibly understand the meaning of a scriptural passage like the way those for whom it was addressed would have understood it. We do not attach the same meaning to some concepts as the original audience of a NT book would have. Also, we are to consider some sociological issues surrounding both the authors and the intended audiences to truly understand scriptural passages. For a proper literal interpretation, we should strive to understand what the authors intended and what they eventually conveyed. Most times, it is assumed that what is written down by the author is a true representation of what the author has in mind. Only on few occasions, do we find a disconnection between what the author intended and the meaning the words carry.

WIDER MEANINGS BEYOND THE LITERAL SENSE

It is important to note that considering the nature of scripture we cannot base our interpretation on the literal sense alone. Therefore, Brown identifies three issues that necessarily warrant a further meaning of scripture. They include: 1, wider meaning from recognizing God’s role as author, 2, wider meaning gained from the placement of a book within the canon, 3, wider meaning from subsequent meaning.

1.       WIDER MEANING FROM RECOGNISING GOD’S ROLE AS AUTHOR

We know that scripture has a twofold authorship, God and man. We know also that God did not dictate the words of scripture but allowed the writers to write down, retaining their full freedom, only that which he intended and no more. As a result, we can recognize a fuller sense of scripture, that is, what God intended the words of scripture to mean. Interpretations of scripture from the earliest times did incorporate this notion of twofold authorship. Thus, Christians, even to this day, have maintained a more than literal sense of interpretation. But how do we identify what the intention of God is in the words of scripture? One way of doing that is by general agreement on the given interpretation and some basis in already existing scriptural passages. Another way is the discussion of passages of scripture in the light of further or fuller revelation (sensus plenior).

2.       WIDER MEANING GAINED FROM THE PLACEMENT OF A BOOK WITHIN THE CANON

It is important to note that a book has meaning not only by itself, but also in its relationship with other books. Thus, a book becomes biblical when it is placed alongside other biblical books (canonicity).Therefore, individual books of the NT should be interpreted in the light of the entire books of the NT. This will help us to fully understand the meaning a particular scriptural passage contains. It is an error to try to favour one or some aspect(s) of the NT writings and despise others.

3.       WIDER MEANING FROM SUBSEQUENT READING

This form of hermeneutical exegesis strives to look at the present application of NT books. It encourages a reading of scriptures in a bid to relate its meaning to situations peculiar to the reader of today. This method possesses the problem of practicality, that is, how practical it is to apply some of the positions of Paul to today’s world? One answer is that although the author wrote so many years ago, the reader still draws fresh insights every time he reads this seemingly old work.

CONCLUSION

In this paper, we attempted a summary of the first two chapters of the book An Introduction to the New Testament by Raymond E. Brown. The first chapter is centred on the nature and origin of the New Testament, capturing how the first Christian books were written, preserved and collected. Chapter two focuses on how best to read the New Testament, capturing the various exegetical methods, the place of  inspiration and revelation in biblical interpretation, and an analysis of both the literal sense and other senses of scripture. In sum, these chapters urge us to approach the reading of the NT books with the belief that God will speak to us through the words contained therein. We are also urged to employ some, if not all, of the hermeneutical methods available to us as we strive to understand what God says to us through the scriptures.