Robert Jenson on scripture

The churches most faithful to Scripture are not those that legislate the most honorific propositions about Scripture, or even those that most diligently scrutinize proposed theologumena for their concordance with it, but those that most often and thoughtfully actually read and hear it.

from “The Religious Power of Scripture,” The Scottish Journal of Theology, Vol. 52, No. 1, (1999): 90.

There is no mandate to reproduce all apostolic theologoumena. Indeed, they are not guaranteed to be especially felicitous; we turn to the apostolic church not for the certainly best thought-out instances of gospel-speaking but for unchallengeable instances. […] Since the gospel is whatever the apostles said to say “Jesus is risen,” apostolic reflective activity also — however profoundly or superficially done — must have been the right sort of thing to be doing.

Thus it is not that Paul thought through the gospel better than, say, Irenaeus; the matter is in fact debatable. And having named Paul, we have named one of the few New Testament writers who, so far as the documents show, could compete in precision and profundity with many saints and thinkers who have come after. The New Testament witnesses are not necessarily the deepest or most critical or creative speakers of the gospel; they are the ones we must suppose did not simply do something else. That some of the New Testament writers were also genial thinkers is a bonus.

from Systematic Theology, Vol. 1 The Triune God, (OUP, 1997), 32. [this quote speaks only to scripture’s status as a norm for theological inquiry, which, it may need pointing out, does not comprehend the scope of scripture’s diverse vocations. It isn’t only theologians who consult scripture, but also liturgists, evangelists, pastors, artists, the saints (the list could go on), all of whom find in scripture a co-laborer.]

Churchly interpretation of Scripture is not interpretation that obeys some preferred procedure, that, e.g., prefers redaction criticism to form criticism or vice versa, or eschews critical methods altogether, or follows any similar prescription. Churchly interpretation of Scripture is interpretation done in course of activities specific to the church: missionary preaching, liturgy, homiletics, catechetics, endurance of suffering, governance, care of souls, works of charity, etc. And there is no way to list in advance what roles Scripture may play in these different enterprises and their changing historical situations.

from “The Religious Power of Scripture,” 95.

Bibliography of Jenson on scripture …

Essays

• “On the Problem(s) of Scriptural Authority,” Interpretation 31, (1977): 237-50.
• “Can a Text Defend Itself? An Essay de Inspiratione Scripturae,” dialog 28, (1989): 251-56.
• “Simplistic Thoughts about the Authority of Scripture,” Word and World, (1992): 181-90.
• “Hermeneutics and the Life of the Church,” in Reclaiming the Bible for the Church, Eds. Carl Braaten and Robert Jenson, (Eerdmans, 1995), 89-106.
• “The Religious Power of Scripture,” Scottish Journal of Theology, Vol. 52, No. 1, (1999)
• “Scripture’s Authority in the Church,” in The Art of Reading Scripture, Eds., Ellen Davis and Richard Hays, (Eerdmans, 2003), 27-37
• “Identity, Jesus, and Exegesis,” in Seeking the Identity of Jesus: A Pilgrimage, Eds., Beverly Gaventa and Richard Hays, (Eerdmans, 2008), 43-59.

Monographs

• Systematic Theology, 2 Vol. (OUP, 1997, 1999), Ch. 2 & 29
• Song of Songs, (Westminster John Knox, 2005)
• Ezekiel, (Brazos, 2009)
• Canon and Creed, (Westminster John Knox, 2010)
• On the Inspiration of Scripture, (American Lutheran Publication Bureau, 2012)