A Call for Papers: Theological Exegesis

The Spring 2008 issue of the Princeton Theological Review will be on the topic of “theological exegesis,” and we are currently accepting submissions. The due date for submission is January 21. It has been my privilege to be one of the general editors of the PTR for the past year. The PTR is a journal of evangelical theology which seeks to be academically rigorous, ecumenically sensitive, and ecclesially faithful. The current PTR is a student-run manifestation of the old PTR that was originally founded by Charles Hodge in the 19th century. We have a national and international readership, and the journal is held at a number of theological institutions.

If you are interested in submitting to the PTR for our spring issue on theological exegesis, see our submission guidelines. Articles should be between 5000-7000 words, though we can be flexible with the length if necessary. Articles can be works of original theological exegesis, or discussions of the work of others. We especially welcome any articles focusing on the work and legacy of Brevard Childs. If you would like, submissions may be sent directly to me (via email link in my profile) or to the executive editor at ptr-at-ptsem.edu.

In addition to articles, we also accept reflections on the chosen theme and sermons that demonstrate theological exegesis at work in a pastoral context. Reflections (and sermons, if possible) should range between 1200-2000 words.

If you have any questions about the journal or the spring issue, please contact me or the executive editor.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi David,

this might not be a good sign, but what do you mean by theological exegesis? Do you mean the relationship between systematics and biblical theology, or prolegomena issues, or what? Could you provide a few examples?

I might be interested in working on an submission, it's been awhile since I've actually written a "researched paper" (article) vs. blog posts. When is the deadline?

Thanks
Hi Bobby,

I'm sorry I didn't respond earlier. Besides looking at the book Travis suggested, you might be more familiar with the older term "biblical theology." There are plenty of reasons why this term has been replaced by "theological exegesis." Briefly, (1) "biblical theology" implies that other forms of theology are not biblical or less biblical in a way that is simply misleading; (2) it implies using the Bible in order to produce theology, rather than using theology to read the Bible. There are lots of other reasons, and for more on the term "biblical theology," I highly recommend the essay by Gerhard Ebeling in Word and Faith.

In any case, theological exegesis is a matter of reading Scripture theologically. It involves theological hermeneutics in addition to interpretation of Scripture within various theological frameworks. It can mean exegesis from the perspective of a particular contextual theology (e.g., feminist biblical interpretation). In general, it simply means reading the Bible as a theologian, i.e., theologically, which involves reading Scripture in light of the confessions and dogmas of the Christian church. The emphasis is not on historical-critical work, but rather on reading in light of the accepted doctrines of the faith. (You might think of Brevard Childs and his emphasis on reading within the regula fidei.)

I hope this is helpful. Check out the Ebeling essay at some point.
Anonymous said…
Thank you guys. Yes I am very familiar with "biblical theology", just never made the connection with "theological exegesis". I think I may have read the Ebling piece some time ago, I'll have to check that out again.

As you may know, David, Multnomah has an heavy influence (in the undergrad) via Ray Lubeck and Sailhammer (evangelicalization of Childs), in the direction of canoncial critical theory. I actually taught an undergrad class while in seminary (under the auspicies of Ray Lubeck) which was shaped by the canoncial approach.

Anyway thanks for the clarification on the terminology. When is the deadline for submissions?
I'm sorry, I should have included the deadline date in the original post (I've added it). The date is Jan. 21, so you have a few months. I look forward to a possible submission from you.

I've had the pleasure of hearing a lecture by Prof. Lubeck, and I'm glad to know that people such as yourself have had the opportunity to engage canonical theory.

By the way, you may have heard that my mom, in fact, is the first female biblical professor at Multnomah. She's teaching the prophets right now, but that might change. I don't think she's had much exposure to Childs, but I've passed some books her way. She's very interested in a literary approach to Scripture.
Anonymous said…
David,

thanks, let me start thinking further about this; I have a few other "projects" I've been thinking about starting.

I have heard about your mom, I had a few classes with her while at seminary (smart lady---i.e. Greek). That would be great if she could get further into "literary theory", the seminary at Multnomah isn't into that, that much.

In fact for myself I like to say that I follow the Literary, Grammatical, Historical approach. I think canonical presents a "piece" (and very important at that) to a hermeneutical paradigm . . . but of course there are other important components to interpretation as well.

Anyway, thanks.

Bobby
Anonymous said…
I wrote a paper on the future of the biblical theology movement a couple years ago. I am quite critical of Childs in it. Would this be an off-track submission?