Divinity United

The Spring 2014 Scripture and Theology Coloquium at Wycliffe College , University of Toronto will be held May 9, 9am to 4pm. Refreshments and lunch provided. The topic of this colloquium is Ecclesiastes. There is a great line-up, including Tremper Longman (Westmont College), Daniel Treier (Wheaton), Daniel Driver (my OT colleage at Tyndale), Ray Van Leeuwen (Eastern), and Chris Seitz (Wycliffe). The colloquia are always an excellent integration of biblical and systematic theology.

The Wycliffe Centre for Scripture and Theology spring colloquium was Friday on the topic of "Proverbs 8 and the Christian Theological Reading of the Scripture." Four papers were given by Michael Kolarcik of Regis College, Christopher Seitz of Wycliffe, Donald Collett of Trinity School for Ministry in Mass, and Ephraim Radner of Wycliffe. Theological interpretation is the main focus of these colloquia and it is the sort of look at these texts (Prov 8 specifically) that make a historical-critical biblical studies person (like myself) slightly squeamish at moments. However, much of the time these discussions provide a challenge to think theologically about the text and a reminder to consider or an introduction to the history of interpretation about the text. In that vein, Kolarcik offered a more comfortable and persuasive (to me) contextual setting for understanding wisdom in Proverbs 8 within the larger context of Prov 1-9 (and more helpfully Wisdom of Solomon 6-10 and Sira...

The 2013 spring colloquium will be on the topic of Proverbs 8 in the trinitarian debates between Athanasius and the Arians: "Proverbs 8 and Christian Theological Interpretation of Scripture".  The date is Friday, May 17. More information can be found here .

The Wycliffe Centre for Scripture and Theology: Fall 2012 Colloquium takes places tomorrow October 19, 2012 at Leonard Hall, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto. The topic of the day is "Scripture and the 'Rule of Faith': The Relationship of Fundamental Scriptural and Theological Norms in the Early Church and Beyond." The line of speakers includes: The Very Rev. Dr. John Behr Dr. D. Jeffrey Bingham Dr. Mark Elliott Rev. Dr. Christopher Seitz For more information see the Wycliffe College website . 

Joel Green offers some helpful insights on theological interpretation in his book Practicing Theological Interpretation: Engaging Biblical Texts for Faith and Formation. In a section of chapter 3 in which he discusses the rule of faith, he states: "...if we want to affirm that scriptural engagement is inescapable for the Christian community, sola Scriptura can never guarantee that one is Christian. Most of us have our own anecdotal evidence for how a plain reading of a biblical passage has been used to support sheer nonsense...This recommends the practice of theological formation as a prerequisite or corequisite for practicing the craft of biblical interpretation. It also proposes at least two contenders for the title 'The Great Problem Facing the Church': is the church's great problem biblical illiteracy , or is it theological amnesia ? (I say both)" (74-75).