197 - Written Also for Our Sake: Paul and the Art of Biblical Interpretation

Written Also for Our Sake: Paul and the Art of Biblical Interpretation
By James W. Aageson
Louisville, Westminster/John Knox, 1993. 156 pp. $10.99.

Aageson offers another contribution to the growing number of works on Paul's use of the Old Testament. He has written from within and for the church, postulating Paul's method of scriptural interpretation as a guide for modern interpreters.

Six of the seven chapters focus on Paul himself (Chap 2) and on his explicit citations of the Old Testament (Chaps 3-7). The first chapter sketches Aageson's method, which he terms "conversational." According to Aageson, this method involves "the twin poles of biblical context on the one hand and interpretive context on the other." Throughout the book, but especially in an epilogue, Aageson reflects on how this method will allow the church to understand Scripture better and use it more effectively in an increasingly complex world.

Since Aageson writes for the "non-specialist," his treatment of Paul's use of Scripture lacks the sophistication of Richard Hays' Echoes of Scripture to the Letters of Paul. Though the essentials of Aageson's "conversational method" are not new, his call for taking the Bible and ourselves seriously is a welcome one. Literalists and relativists alike will benefit by conversing with him about the issues.

Larry Yarbrough
Middlebury College
Middlebury, VT