Among the dizzying array of approaches to reading the Bible, the oldest, most revered interpretive tool rises above the rest: the Rule of Faith. Faithful interpretation of Scripture in the postmodern context has much to learn from this ancient principle. Deeper engagement with the sacred text flourishes with the assistance of the Rule of Faith. That engagement in turn renews the Body of Christ. This book explores the interpretive practices of great reformers and renewers of the church, including Luther, Calvin, and Wesley, who kept up a lively dialogue with the ancient authors of the Christian movement. In that dialogue, they discovered a dynamic guide to better exegesis. Robert C. Fennell provides a compelling account of faithful interpreters from the past whose example inspires contemporary readers as they seek to understand the Bible.

This collection of essays presented at the 1997 Scholarly Engagement with Anglican Doctrine (SEAD) Conference counters some of today's New Testament scholarship, particularly that of the Jesus Seminar. Asserting that only canon and creed can render knowledge of God, two generations of scholars speak for a retrieval of more traditional modes of interpretation by and for today's church. The Rule of Faith features three keynote addresses by eminent New Testament scholar the Rev. Dr. Brevard S. Childs, Sterling Professor of Divinity at Yale University, one of the most notable Biblical theologians in contemporary American Christianity. It also contains works by several younger scholars, many of whom studied with Dr. Childs and represent an emerging generation of orthodox Christian leadership for the Episcopal Church, including Ephraim Radner, George Sumner, Kathryn Greene-McCreight, Stephen Holmgren, R.R. Reno, Christopher Seitz, Kendall Harmon, William Witt, and Chris Brown. Their writings give voice to scholarly engagement with the creedal Christian faith in the Episcopal Church.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1839.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1838.