We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.

Should Innovative Theology Be Rejected?
In some conservative Christian circles innovation is suspect, if not sin. And as a result, theologians and pastors who take this stance often criticize what I propose in my writings simply because it’s innovative. However, I would like to suggest that the attitude that would dismiss hermeneutical or theological proposals simply on the grounds that they include novelty is itself a very non-traditional perspective. While the Church has always affirmed that the core doctrines of the orthodox faith have been “entrusted to us…once for all” (Jude 3), and while theologians have always understood that new proposals must be critically scrutinized in the light of Scripture, tradition and experience, the Church has never closed the door to novel ways of interpreting Scripture or resolving theological or interpretive conundrums.
Church interpreters from the start took their interpretive cues from the creative practices of the NT, but they regarded this only as their starting point from which they developed further understanding that would eventually become standard components of Christian imagination, vocabulary and liturgy. The traditional openness to Spirit-inspired innovation received its clearest formal expression in the Reformation maxim, “ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda.” (“The church reformed is always reforming.”) This maxim presumes not only that the Spirit continues to work in and through the Church in new and creative ways but that the Church needs the Spirit to so work and that the Church needs to retain a humble, open posture to allow him to so work.
In this light, I would argue that, not only should we not dismiss out of court proposed interpretive strategies simply because they’re novel, but we ought to be concerned with any individual or group that adopts a knee-jerk anti-innovation attitude. The authority of tradition must of course always be given its due weight, and it is formidable. But the conservative resistance to novelty in hermeneutics or theology frankly reflects an unorthodox if not idolatrous presumption that one’s group is already in possession of all truth and is thus no longer in need of the Spirit to reform them.
The conservative resistance to novelty is especially inappropriate, I believe, with respect to proposals that attempt to help us better discern how Scripture bears witness to Christ. After all, it was only because the earliest disciples and post-apostolic fathers were open to the Spirit giving them new insights and inspiring highly creative interpretive strategies that they were able to find Christ in surprising ways and “in unexpected places” in the OT. Indeed, it was only because of this that the early church was able to continue to affirm that the Hebrew Bible was also their Bible. On the other hand, it was largely because Marcion refused to embrace creative interpretive strategies that he was led to the conclusion that the OT is incompatible with the Christian faith. And it was precisely because the modern historical-critical approach to Scripture methodologically ruled out hermeneutical innovation that it undermined the OT as a witness to Christ and sabotaged its use in the church.
Hence, while I argue that theological interpretations should, as a matter of principle, stick as close as possible to the original meaning of passages—a conviction I label “the conservative hermeneutical principle”—and while I believe that interpretive strategies that go beyond or against traditional hermeneutical practices certainly shoulder the burden of proof, I also contend that, when it comes to discerning how difficult passages bear witness to Christ, there is no justifiable reason to rule out any particular proposed interpretive strategy simply because it is innovative.
Image by Rakka via Flickr.
Category: General
Tags: Approaches to Theology, Bible Interpretation, Cruciform Theology
Topics: Biblical Interpretation
Related Reading

Cross Centered Q&A
For those within driving distance of Saint Paul, MN, we invite you to join us for a free event. Greg will be discussing his new book Crucifixion of the Warrior God with Bruxy Cavey (Pastor of The Meeting House in Toronto) and Dennis Edwards (Pastor of Sanctuary Covenant Church in Minneapolis). Don’t miss this opportunity to hear Greg…

How the Church Fathers Read the OT
After the completion of the New Testament, the church fathers developed theology in their increasingly Gentile post-apostolic church in such a way that many of the distinctively Jewish features of the NT’s use of the OT diminished. However, this was not the case with regard to the Christocentric interpretation of the OT that was so…

What the Cross Tells Us About God
Whether we’re talking about our relationship with God or with other people, the quality of the relationship can never go beyond the level of trust the relating parties have in each other’s character. We cannot be rightly related to God, therefore, except insofar as we embrace a trustworthy picture of him. To the extent that…

The Key to Understanding the Bible
In yesterday’s post we discussed how Jesus is the starting point for interpreting Scripture. If this is the case and Jesus is the subject matter of all Scripture, then the ultimate challenge is to disclose how each aspect of Scripture bears witness to his subject. To state it otherwise, if the intended function of all Scripture is to mediate…

Podcast: Why Must God Wait for Prayer to Meet Our Needs?
Is God a bad father? Greg explores the intricacies and nuances of prayer. http://traffic.libsyn.com/askgregboyd/Episode_0404.mp3

If Jesus Is the Whole Point, Then What’s the Point of the Old Testament? (podcast)
Greg considers the role of the Old Testament in Christian faith. Episode 554 http://traffic.libsyn.com/askgregboyd/Episode_0554.mp3