June 5-7, 2013
The Word and the Creeds: Reading Scripture in the Light of the Church’s Ancient Faith
To access video and audio recordings of the 2013 conference, please click on the conference link above.
How do we read the Bible? How does the way we read the Bible inform our theology and ministry? Modern and postmodern methods of Biblical interpretation (hermeneutics) have tended to read the Bible as an isolated text with little unified meaning or coherence—but this has not always been the case. Throughout most of church history, Christians have read the Bible under the guidance of the Rule of Faith and the great Creeds of the Church. How does such a creedal hermeneutic square with contemporary Christian and secular approaches to the Bible, and what are the implications of this approach for Christian theology, spirituality, and mission?
Speakers:
David Neff (M.Div., Andrews University; L.H.D., IWS) is editorial vice president of Christianity Today, where he has served for 28 years. At CT, he has worked with Christianity Today magazine, Books & Culture, and Christian History magazines. In addition to his work with Trinity School for Ministry’s Robert Webber Center, Mr. Neff serves on the board of the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies in Orange Park, Florida and is vice-chair of the board of the National Association of Evangelicals. Mr. Neff also directs the choir and plays the organ at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and is a member of The Episcopal Church.
Christopher Hall (Ph.D., Drew University) is Chancellor of Eastern University and Dean of Palmer Theological Seminary. He is the author of several books, including Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers; Learning Theology with the Church Fathers; Worshiping with the Church Fathers; and The Mystery of God: Theology for Knowing the Unknowable (with Steven Boyer). He is associate general editor of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture and a regular contributor and editor-at-large for Christianity Today. Dr. Hall is a member of The Episcopal Church.
Peter Leithart (Ph.D., Cambridge University) is Senior Fellow of Theology and Literature at New Saint Andrews College in Moscow, Idaho, and was recently appointed Director of Trinity House Institute for Biblical, Liturgical and Cultural Studies in Birmingham, Alabama. He is the author of numerous books in theology, literature, and biblical interpretation, and is a regular contributor to First Things. His recent books include Between Babel and Beast; Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom; and Deep Exegesis: The Mystery of Reading Scripture. Dr. Leithart is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America.
Richard B. Hays (Ph.D., Emory University) is Dean and George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School. He is internationally recognized for his work on the letters of Paul and New Testament ethics. His numerous publications include The Moral Vision of the New Testament; The Faith of Jesus Christ; and The Conversion of the Imagination. His most recent publication is entitled Revelation and the Politics of Apocalyptic Interpretation (co-edited with Stefan Alkier), and he is currently working on a book about the Old Testament in the Gospels. Dean Hays is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church.
Marion Taylor (Ph.D., Yale University) is a professor of Old Testament at Wycliffe College in Canada. She specializes in the history of the interpretation of the Bible, with special focus on women interpreters. In 2006 she published with Heather Weir a collection of the writings of fifty forgotten women interpreters of the stories of women in Genesis, Let her Speak for Herself: Nineteenth-century Women Writing on Women in Genesis. She co-edited Recovering Nineteenth-Century Women Interpreters, a volume of essays on nineteenth-century women interpreters with Christiana de Groot of Calvin College. Her Handbook of Women Biblical Interpreters: A Historical and Biographical Guide (Baker, 2012) provides an exciting new resource for those interested in the history of the reception of the biblical texts and theology. She is married to Glen Taylor, who also teaches Old Testament at Wycliffe College.
David Yeago (Ph.D., Yale University) is a Lutheran theologian and former Michael C. Peeler Professor of Systematic Theology at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary. He is the author of numerous articles and associate editor of the journal Pro Ecclesia. His books include Knowing the Triune God: The Work of the Spirit in the Practices of the Church (co-edited with James Buckley) and The Apostolic Faith: A Catholic and Evangelical Introduction to Christian Theology (forthcoming). He is presently writing a commentary on Romans for the Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible series. Dr. Yeago is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.