This volume introduces the college and seminary student and the interested layman to the chief methods used by scholars who work methodically at biblical interpretation. The rise of the historical-critical study of the Bible is viewed against the background of differing approaches to historical study and, more particularly, classical philology. The author makes clear how new developments have initially been regarded as threats to established intellectual and ecclesiastical interests, only to become common coin as time has moved on.
The book describes the goals and techniques used by both secular and biblical scholars, showing that biblical scholars do indeed use historical methods that compare with those of secular historians. The presuppositions of secular historians are discussed and evaluated in the light of recent dissatisfaction with historicism and positivistic historical methodology.
A final focus of the author's presentation is an evaluation of historical criticism by such recent scholars as Gerhard Ebeling, Ernst Käsemann, Jürgen Moltmann, Wolfhart Pannenberg, F. Mildenberger, and Peter Stuhlmacher, whichlshows the present state of discussion, common agreements, and urgent questions facing all serious students of the Bible.