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The Biblical Accommodation Debate in Germany : Interpretation and the Enlightenment PDF

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IIIIIIIIIIIIIInnnnnnnnnnnnnnnntttttttttttttteeeerrrrrrrrrrrpppppppppppprrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeettttttttttttaaaaaaaaaaaattttttttttttiiiiiiiiiiiiiooonnn aanndd thhee EEnnllliigghhhhhhhhhhhhtttteeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnmmmmmmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnntttttttttttttt HHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNN JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ........... LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE The Biblical Accommodation Debate in Germany Hoon J. Lee The Biblical Accommodation Debate in Germany Interpretation and the Enlightenment Hoon J. Lee Trinity Christian College Chicago, IL, USA ISBN 978-3-319-61496-0 ISBN 978-3-319-61497-7 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-61497-7 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017944594 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: INTERFOTO/Alamy Stock Photo Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland To Susie, Wyatt, and Ford A cknowledgements I would like to thank John Woodbridge for his guidance during the writing of this book. Not only did he introduce me to the issue of accommodation, he has provided invaluable insight through numer- ous conversations and readings of drafts. In addition, I have benefited from the Douglas Sweeney’s careful reading of the book. His comments helped me focus the work. Several libraries facilitated tracking down sources, including the Herzog August Bibliothek and their support through the Günther Findel-Stiftung Fellowship, the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin, and the Thüringer Universitäts-und Landesbibliothek at the University of Jena. I am indebted to my family, who has supported me throughout the entire process. My deepest gratitude is for my wife, to whom this book is dedicated. Without her encouragement, patience, and sacrifice, this pro- ject would not have been completed. vii c ontents 1 Introduction 1 2 Accommodation in the Seventeenth-Century Dutch Republic 23 3 Accommodation in Early Eighteenth-Century Germany 61 4 The Beginning of the Accommodation Debate, 1761–1789 99 5 The Middle Years of the Accommodation Debate, 1790–1799 141 6 The End of the Accommodation Debate, 1800–1835 177 7 Conclusion 211 Bibliography 223 Index 245 ix A bbreviAtions BJHP British Journal for the History of Philosophy BJRL Bulletin of the John Rylands Library Manchester CTJ Calvin Theological Journal CTQ Concordia Theological Quarterly CQ The Covenant Quarterly HTS Harvard Theological Studies Int Interpretation JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society ZTK Zeitschrift für Theologie und Kirche xi CHAPTER 1 Introduction Throughout the history of Christianity interpreters of the Bible have strived to faithfully understand Scripture and accurately interpret its meaning. The significance of properly grasping God’s revelation has not been lost on exegetes, whether the occasion was a great ecumeni- cal council or a small private affair. Through tireless determination, the study of the Bible continues to grow and offer profound insight into God and his work throughout creation. Ultimately, interpreters have sought to understand the Bible in a manner worthy of God’s communi- cation to man. However, the depth of Scripture, for better or worse, has often led to a wide variation of interpretations. As differing readings of the Bible show no sign of waning, the history of biblical interpretation has helped readers discern between various interpretive methods and streams. As an essential tool for modern exegesis, the study of how the Bible was interpreted in the past has aided our present pursuit of a faithful reading of Scripture, serving as an arbiter over present issues by bolstering the strengths and exposing the weaknesses of modern interpretative method- ologies. One of the most contentious topics in the history of biblical inter- pretation and in current scholarship is historical criticism.1 Since the 1 V.P. Furnish defines historical criticism as having five characteristics: (1) “a concern to understand the relation between biblical teachings and the data derived from experi- ence”; (2) “an assumption that the Bible is a proper object for rational investigation”; © The Author(s) 2017 1 H.J. Lee, The Biblical Accommodation Debate in Germany, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-61497-7_1 2 H.J. LEE seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, historical criticism has developed and tested the boundaries of faithful exegesis. With the introduction of unconventional methodologies, it has provided a wealth of new infor- mation, but accompanying these inroads is an ongoing debate over the validity of some aspects of the historical-critical method and its conclu- sions. For example, scholars often debate whether the premise of histori- cal criticism desacralizes Scripture. Is reading and interpreting the Bible in the same manner as other ancient Near Eastern texts appropriate for God’s revelation? As interpreters go on contesting the legitimacy of historical criticism, they have neglected a vital element of its history. In the modern discus- sion of hermeneutical methods, contemporary scholarship has yet to fully address the doctrine of accommodation, especially its development in the eighteenth century. Thus Graham A. Cole, speaking to the history of biblical interpretation, writes, “one of the most fertile ideas generated in such discussion is the idea of divine accommodation.”2 Urging for a renewal of the doctrine of accommodation, D. A. Carson argues that a “restatement of that doctrine would be salutary today.”3 Despite the sig- nificance of accommodation, the doctrine remains an elusive principle and is sorely misunderstood in current biblical scholarship. This volume aims to redress this confusion. Footnote 1 (continued) (3) “a conviction that this investigation must proceed with attention to the individual- ity of the writers”; (4) “a commitment to the distinction between the words of the New Testament and the Word of God”; and (5) “an acceptance of a thoroughgoing histori- cal view of the canon itself.” “The Historical Criticism of the New Testament: A Survey of Origins,” BJRL 56, no. 2 (1974): 336–370. Also see Ernst Troeltsch, “Historical and Dogmatic Method in Theology,” in Religion in History, trans. James Luther Adams and Walter F. Bense, with an introduction by James Luther Adams (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991), 11–32. 2 Graham A. Cole, “The Peril of a ‘Historyless’ Systematic Theology,” in Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith?: A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture, ed. James K. Hoffmeier and Dennis R. Magary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), 63. 3 D. A. Carson, The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 130.

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This book redresses a misunderstanding in the history of biblical interpretation. Hoon J. Lee provides the first study of the biblical accommodation debate of the Enlightenment. The heavily contested doctrine spurred numerous biblical scholars, theologians, and philosophers to debate the nature of d
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