The Use and Abuse of the Bible: A Brief History of Biblical Interpretation

(Paperback)

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Written in an engaging and entertaining manner, this new book from leading Catholic biblical scholar Henry Wansbrough charts the use and abuse of scripture throughout the ages. It ranges from the evangelists' engagement with the Hebrew Scriptures to the use of the Bible in present day politics - perhaps most pertinently in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Wansbrough takes as his starting point Frances Young's The Art of Performance . This enables him to creatively display how 'The Bible' is 'performed' differently in different ages. Wansbrough demonstrates the variety of these performances and their different emphases in the history of Christianity to glimpse the different ways in which great figures within the Christian tradition have used and abused the Bible. Indirectly, therefore, it attacks the ever-present danger of fundamentalism, and single-minded interpretation of the Bible. Viewing the interpretation of the Bible against the background of various historical periods gives a valuable insight into the long and rich history of the Church. A final chapter provides a 'worked example' of Lecto Divina providing a window into the author's personal life of praying the Bible.

Reviews

'Out of his remarkable experience of the Bible as translator, theologian and monk, Henry Wansbrough has provided a brilliantly readable and attractive introduction to the understanding of the Bible from the New Testament itself to its use in the present state of Israel' Benedicta Ward SLG, Reader in Christian Spirituality, University of Oxford, UK
'This is an enchanting and wonderfully wide-ranging account of how the library that we call the Bible has been read and heard down the ages. It is written by an eminent student of the text who has given his life to biblical scholarship committed not only to the highest standards of academic integrity but also to reading the Old and New Testaments from within the faith community. The Bible is a text (or set of texts) quite like any other, and Dom Henry is an attentive and affectionate reader of it. His explorations into the readings that others have made over the centuries make this a very rich book indeed. It shows the Bible's explosive power, and chapter after chapter has an utterly contemporary feel precisely because the remarkably wide range of bible readings recounted in this book always speak to the present age, and because there is a powerful illumination that comes from learning how others have read the text. It is also good for our humility to discover what gifted readers there were in the age that is today disparagingly dismissed as "pre-critical", and in how many different ways Christians have read the same documents. This book brings Scripture alive for an age that desperately needs it.' - Nicholas King, University of Oxford, UK
Henry Wansbrough's vivid, pithy essays show consumers of scripture - an apostle, theologians, doctors of the church, a venerable heresiarch, a medieval laywoman, modern politicians with secular agendas, Christ himself - understanding and often warping the text in the light of their own times and prejudices. He brings to life the intimacies and complicities of individual relationships with sacred readings. - Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, University of Notre Dame, USA
"This is a little gem of a book, written accessibly with clarity and humour: a welcome relief from the flat and monochrome reading which often passes as 'the plain sense of Scripture', particularly in popular debate. It reminds its readers of a Christian tradition of biblical interpretation that is far more sophisticated, challenging and ultimately satisfying." The Tablet, 22nd May 2010.
'A selection of delightful and entertaining essays' Church Times -- Anthony Phillips
Features an edited lecture given by the author. -- The Tablet
Anyone interested in the Bible or indeed in the history of theology will find valuable material here... [Wansbrough is] an engaging and exceptionally well-informed guide. -- times Literary Supplement
A sound, concise, engaging and stimulating journey through the history of biblical interpretation... a remarkably solid and appealing survey of Christian biblical interpretation and theology by a distinguished biblical interpreter in his own right.' -- America
... Henry Wansborough is a lively, succinct and admirably experienced guide. -- Journal for the Study of The New Testament, Volume 33 Number 5
'What is most valuable about this volume is its potentially broad appeal. The motor of this appeal emanates from Wansborough's efforts to properly clarify and delineate the enduringly fecund practices of reading and being by Holy Scripture. Moreover, his reception history explores what it has meant at other points in the history of Christianity to call a text 'Scripture'. By this readers are offered some tools for interrogating contemporary and perhaps, personal, assent to that title. It is hard to imagine whether one could ask more from such a compact and accessible volume.' - Richard P Whaite, University of Notre Dame/King's College, University of London -- Richard P Whaite * Theological Book Review *
The Use and Abuse of the Bible: A Brief History of Biblical Interpretation is a very helpful and short (179 pages) overview of the whole history of interpretation and misinterpretation. * Churchman Review *

Author Bio

Henry Wansbrough OSB is a Benedictine Monk of Ampleforth, former Chairman of the Oxford University Theology Faculty and former Master of St Benet's Hall. He is a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and Executive Secretary of ICPEL (The International Commission for Producing an English-language Lectionary). He lectures frequently across the globe including being Guest Lecturer in Scripture at Harare University, Zimbabwe.