Divine Meaning: Studies in Patristic Hermeneutics

How did the Early Christians interpret the Bible in the context of the philosophical and scientific thinking of their contemporary world? This study is concerned with the way in which exploratory or 'heuristic' science developed in the early centuries of the Christian Church andbecame an integral part of biblical interpretation. The great theologians sought to understand the biblical foundations of the Faith through new modes of careful inquiry in which they tried to penetrate the inner truth and structure of a subject in order that it might disclose and interpret itself to them. In this activity, biblical interpretation, and theological and scientific inquiry were closely intertwined. Patristic hermeneutics drew upon and influenced basic scientific questioning which both transformed biblical interpretation and left its mark upon the whole history of thought. It is to this rigorous mode of biblical interpretation blended with constructive theological questioning to which we need to return today. Professor Torrance contends that it is the cross-fertilisation between theological and scientific hermeneutic that helps us understand more deeply the truths of divine revelation mediated to us through the Holy Scriptures. 6 x 1.5 x 9 inches