Adolf Schlatter on scripture as Gnadenmittel: remedy for a hypertensive debate?

Adolf Schlatter (1852-1938) found himself time and again caught in the crossfire between the opposing camps of fundamentalist Pietism and liberal historical-criticism. This article suggests that Schlatter, by avoiding the pitfalls of both extremes, provides a unique way of uniting faith and scientif...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scottish journal of theology
Main Author: Bräutigam, Michael 1977- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Cambridge Univ. Press [2016]
In: Scottish journal of theology
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Schlatter, Adolf 1852-1938 / Bible
IxTheo Classification:HA Bible
KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history
KDD Protestant Church
Further subjects:B Inspiration
B Biblical Criticism
B attributes of scripture
B Faith
B Adolf Schlatter
B doctrine of scripture
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:Adolf Schlatter (1852-1938) found himself time and again caught in the crossfire between the opposing camps of fundamentalist Pietism and liberal historical-criticism. This article suggests that Schlatter, by avoiding the pitfalls of both extremes, provides a unique way of uniting faith and scientific criticism through his creative reinterpretation of classic attributes of scripture, namely, (1) inspiration as organic and historic-pneumatic, (2) unity as Christocentric, (3) scriptural authority as evoking discipleship, (4) infallibility as relational-volitional, and finally, (5) perspicuity as catholic. In times where there still seems to exist a big gap between ‘evangelical' and ‘scientific' approaches to scripture, Schlatter's focus on scripture not only as a means to know God (Erkenntnismittel), but primarily as a means to receive God's grace (Gnadenmittel), remains valuable, helping us to do away with possible misunderstandings and stereotypes and enabling us to recalibrate our perspective on scripture.
ISSN:1475-3065
Contains:Enthalten in: Scottish journal of theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/S0036930615000794