168 - Holy Scripture: Revelation, Inspiration and Interpretation

Holy Scripture: Revelation, Inspiration and Interpretation
By Donald G. Bloesch
Downers Grove, Ill., InterVarsity Press, 1994, 384 pp. $24.99.

This is the second of a projected seven volume systematic theology by the professor of theology emeritus at Dubuque (Iowa) Theological Seminary. Bloesch deals comprehensively with the major topics. He dialogues competently with major writers on the subject both ecumenical and evangelical, historical and contemporary. He regularly compares three models of biblical authority: scholastic, liberal, and, his own preferred view, the sacramental, which Bloesch attributes to Calvin, Luther, Forsyth, and Barth.

Bloesch indicates that The Authority and Interpretation of the Bible by Donald McKim and myself motivated him to articulate his own views. We had the narrow purpose of demonstrating that the Hodge /Warfield view of inerrancy was not the standard view of the central church tradition. Bloesch now attempts to defend the orthodox evangelical faith-from its friends as well as its enemies. Some will struggle with Bloesch's view of the "paradoxical relationship" of the Holy Spirit to the Bible. Others will be puzzled by his insistence on the "language of Canaan" in opposition to inclusive language. There are still issues to be investigated regarding the nature of human language in communicating divine revelation.

Jack Rogers,
San Francisco Theological Seminary in Southern California
Claremont, CA.