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Ephraim Radner, Hosean Wilderness, and the Church in the Post-Christendom West
A Dialogue on the Shape of Waiting
Series: - Studies in Systematic Theology, Volume: 22
Author:
Ephraim Radner, Hosean Wilderness, and the Church in the Post-Christendom West offers the first monograph-length treatment of the compelling and perplexing contemporary Anglican theologian Ephraim Radner. While unravelling his distinctive approach to biblical hermeneutics and ecclesiology, it queries the state of today's secularized church through a theological interpretation of an equally enigmatic writer: the prophet Hosea. It concludes that an eschatological posture of waiting and a heuristic of poesis should dictate the church's shape for an era in which God is stripping the church of its foregoing institutional forms.
Amy J. Erickson, Ph.D. (2018), resides in central Texas, where she teaches theology at Texas Lutheran University. This is her first book.
Amy Ericksonâs study provides a valuable critical engagement with the provocative work of the contemporary Anglican theologian Ephraim Radner. Working across the fields of biblical hermeneutics and ecclesiology, Erickson looks to understand, interpret, and finally also to repair, Radnerâs own complex arguments concerning the nature of the church and the quality of the present time of crisis. Her well-researched and expert analysis culminates in an original re-reading of the book of Hosea that itself amounts to an astute and timely intervention into living labour of the theological exegesis of scripture in the service of the churchâs self-understanding. â Philip G. Ziegler, University of Aberdeen.
Ephraim Radner, Hosea, supersessionism, ecclesiology, figural interpretation: I imagine no one but Amy Erickson knows about all these subjects and has thought of linking them, as she has in this extraordinary, wide-ranging, thought-provoking, accomplished study. It will therefore be an illuminating read for anyone who knows about one or two of them and might be interested in some of the others. â John Goldingay, Professor Emeritus Fuller Theological Seminary.
Amy Erickson set out to do what appears to be the impossible: write a comprehensible book on a theologian, Ephraim Radner, whom critics say is important but incomprehensible. She has succeeded in this endeavor, and in a subtle and creative way. She focuses on Radnerâs figural interpretation of scripture, his view of the church, and his use of poetical imagination. His many works are critical of both post-Reformation polemics and historical-critical exegesis. They have actually contributed to the decline of the church in the west. How the church reads the Bible, Radner argues, informs us about the state of the church itself. He is not optimistic about the current church, nor about its interpretation of the Bible. Radner cites the figural hermeneutics of the Church Fathers to show that it is no more possible to read the Bible from a detached perspective than it is to read instructions for a medication when it is a life and death matter. Dr. Ericksonâs book has many strengths. For one, she uses Radnerâs reading of the Bible to explore how the church has failed to develop a credible hermeneutic in a post-Christian context. For another, she devotes an entire chapter to the prophet Hosea to demonstrate how Radner, a prophetic theologian in her mind, sees the decline of the church and the stunted reading of the Bible as manifesting the same problem. But Erickson is not content merely to survey Radnerâs hermeneutic. She also challenges him, though always respectfully and humbly. She raises questions about his pessimism, choosing to emphasize the importance of faithful waiting on a God who rules over history. The authors of the Bible often wrote during periods of adversity. Yet they wrote in confidence that God is still God and the church is still Godâs people, however compromised. As Erickson points out, the book of Hosea emerged out of a period of chaos and suffering, though it ends on a hopeful note. She believes that theology should reflect that same spirit. I found her book fascinating, engaging, and creative.â â Gerald L. Sittser, Professor of Theology, Whitworth University
Ephraim Radner, Hosea, supersessionism, ecclesiology, figural interpretation: I imagine no one but Amy Erickson knows about all these subjects and has thought of linking them, as she has in this extraordinary, wide-ranging, thought-provoking, accomplished study. It will therefore be an illuminating read for anyone who knows about one or two of them and might be interested in some of the others. â John Goldingay, Professor Emeritus Fuller Theological Seminary.
Amy Erickson set out to do what appears to be the impossible: write a comprehensible book on a theologian, Ephraim Radner, whom critics say is important but incomprehensible. She has succeeded in this endeavor, and in a subtle and creative way. She focuses on Radnerâs figural interpretation of scripture, his view of the church, and his use of poetical imagination. His many works are critical of both post-Reformation polemics and historical-critical exegesis. They have actually contributed to the decline of the church in the west. How the church reads the Bible, Radner argues, informs us about the state of the church itself. He is not optimistic about the current church, nor about its interpretation of the Bible. Radner cites the figural hermeneutics of the Church Fathers to show that it is no more possible to read the Bible from a detached perspective than it is to read instructions for a medication when it is a life and death matter. Dr. Ericksonâs book has many strengths. For one, she uses Radnerâs reading of the Bible to explore how the church has failed to develop a credible hermeneutic in a post-Christian context. For another, she devotes an entire chapter to the prophet Hosea to demonstrate how Radner, a prophetic theologian in her mind, sees the decline of the church and the stunted reading of the Bible as manifesting the same problem. But Erickson is not content merely to survey Radnerâs hermeneutic. She also challenges him, though always respectfully and humbly. She raises questions about his pessimism, choosing to emphasize the importance of faithful waiting on a God who rules over history. The authors of the Bible often wrote during periods of adversity. Yet they wrote in confidence that God is still God and the church is still Godâs people, however compromised. As Erickson points out, the book of Hosea emerged out of a period of chaos and suffering, though it ends on a hopeful note. She believes that theology should reflect that same spirit. I found her book fascinating, engaging, and creative.â â Gerald L. Sittser, Professor of Theology, Whitworth University
Contents
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
â1âEphraim Radner: a Neglected Scholar
â2âA Fragmented Discipline and a Fragmented Church
â3âOverview
1 Radnerâs Theology of the Word
â1âIntroduction to Figural Reading
â2âThe Metaphysics of Figural Reading
â3âFigural Reading in Action: Radner on Leviticus
â4âFigural Reading as Perception and Reception
â5âChapter Conclusion: Maryâs Figuralist Vision
2 Radnerâs Theology of the Church
â1âIntroduction
â2âNuptial Ecclesiology
â3âEcclesiological Diagnosis
â4âEcclesiological Prescription
â5âChapter Conclusion: Reconfiguring Radner
3 Reading Hosea Figurally
â1âIntroduction
â2âHoseaâs Diagnosis of Israelâs Institutional Forms
â3âHosea: Figure of the Destroyed Temple
â4âExcursus: Feminist Concerns with Hoseaâs Rhetoric
â5âGodâs Turn
â6âHoseaâs Wilderness Treatment
â7âWilderness and the Wisdom Tradition
â8âChapter Conclusion: Linguistic Renewal for a Secular Season
4 The Shape of Waiting
â1âIntroduction
â2âWilderness: Where the Church Is
â3âEschatology: Where the Church Is Going
â4âPoesis: the Shape of the Church
Conclusion: Tending Words with Radner
Bibliography
Subject Index
Scripture Index
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
â1âEphraim Radner: a Neglected Scholar
â2âA Fragmented Discipline and a Fragmented Church
â3âOverview
Part 1: Word and Flesh in Time: an Interpretive Analysis of Radnerâs Corpus
1 Radnerâs Theology of the Word
â1âIntroduction to Figural Reading
â2âThe Metaphysics of Figural Reading
â3âFigural Reading in Action: Radner on Leviticus
â4âFigural Reading as Perception and Reception
â5âChapter Conclusion: Maryâs Figuralist Vision
2 Radnerâs Theology of the Church
â1âIntroduction
â2âNuptial Ecclesiology
â3âEcclesiological Diagnosis
â4âEcclesiological Prescription
â5âChapter Conclusion: Reconfiguring Radner
Part 2: Hosean Wilderness and Eschatological Poesis: Reconfiguring Radner
3 Reading Hosea Figurally
â1âIntroduction
â2âHoseaâs Diagnosis of Israelâs Institutional Forms
â3âHosea: Figure of the Destroyed Temple
â4âExcursus: Feminist Concerns with Hoseaâs Rhetoric
â5âGodâs Turn
â6âHoseaâs Wilderness Treatment
â7âWilderness and the Wisdom Tradition
â8âChapter Conclusion: Linguistic Renewal for a Secular Season
4 The Shape of Waiting
â1âIntroduction
â2âWilderness: Where the Church Is
â3âEschatology: Where the Church Is Going
â4âPoesis: the Shape of the Church
Conclusion: Tending Words with Radner
Bibliography
Subject Index
Scripture Index
Theologians, biblical scholars, pastors, educated laypersons, and postgraduate students interested in Ephraim Radner, ecclesiology, theological interpretation, Hosea, secularism, eschatology or the state of the contemporary church.