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Canonical criticism

January 01, 1970

Canonical criticism, sometimes called canon criticism or the canonical approach, is a way of interpreting the Bible that focuses on the text of the biblical canon itself as a finished product.

A portion of the Leningrad Codex. Although the Hebrew Bible is the result of a developmental process, canonical criticism focuses on the final form of the text.

Brevard Childs (1923–2007) popularised this approach, though he personally rejected the term.[1][2] Whereas other types of biblical criticism focus on the origins, structure and history of texts, canonical criticism looks at the meaning which the overall text, in its final form, has for the community which uses it.

Description edit

Canonical criticism involves "paying attention to the present form of the text in determining its meaning for the believing community."[3] According to James Barr, it involves concentrating authority "in the canonical text, and not in the people or events out of which that text came."[4] Brevard Childs says that the canon "not only serves to establish the outer boundaries of authoritative Scripture," but "forms a prism through which light from the different aspects of the Christian life is refracted."[5] He also notes that "the tradents of the tradition have sought to hide their own footprints in order to focus attention on the canonical text itself and not on the process."[2] However, Childs refuses to speak of canonical criticism as if it were on a level with form criticism or redaction criticism. According to Childs, it represents an entirely new departure, replacing the entire historical-critical method.[1]

John H. Sailhamer views the "canonical approach" as including the "canon criticism" of Childs, as well as composition criticism, redaction criticism, and text linguistics.[6]

Origins edit

Canonical criticism is a relatively new approach to biblical studies. As recently as 1983, James Barr could state that canon had no hermeneutical significance for biblical interpretation.[7] Childs set out his canonical approach in his Biblical Theology in Crisis (1970) and applied it in Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture (1979).

The phrase "canonical criticism" was first used by James A. Sanders in 1972.[8] Childs repudiates the term because

It implies that the concern with canon is viewed as another historical-critical technique which can take its place alongside of source criticism, form criticism, rhetorical criticism, and the like. I do not envision the approach to canon in this light. Rather, the issue at stake in canon turns on establishing a stance from which the Bible is to be read as Sacred Scripture.[2]

Canonical criticism arose as a reaction to other forms of biblical criticism. John Barton argues that Child's primary thesis is that historical-critical methods are "unsatisfactory theologically."[9]

According to Barton, Childs' approach is "genuinely new," in that it is an "attempt to heal the breach between biblical criticism and theology," and in that it belongs more to the realm of literary criticism than that of 'historical' study of texts.[10]

Sanders argues that canonical criticism is biblical criticism's "self-critical stance":

It is not only a logical evolution of earlier stages in the growth of criticism but it also reflects back on all the disciplines of biblical criticism and informs them all to some extent."[11]

He also suggests that it places the Bible "back where it belongs, in the believing communities of today":

Canonical criticism might be seen in metaphor as the beadle (bedelos) who now carries the critically studied Bible in procession back to the church lectern from the scholar's study.[12]

Barton has noted parallels between canonical criticism and the New Criticism of T. S. Eliot and others. Both schools of thought affirm that "a literary text is an artefact," that "intentionalism is a fallacy," and that "the meaning of a text is a function of its place in the literary canon."[13]

Criticism edit

The canonical approach has been criticised by scholars from both liberal and evangelical perspectives.

As excessively conservative edit

On the one hand, according to Dale Brueggemann, James Barr accuses Childs of "aiding and abetting" fundamentalists.[14] Although Childs' approach is "post-critical" rather than pre-critical,[15] Barr argues that the vision of a post-critical era "is the conservative dream."[4] Barton, however, notes that

Whatever else Childs is doing, he is not taking us 'back to the canon', for no one has ever been aware of the canon in this way before. It is only after we have seen how varied and inconsistent the Old Testament really is that we can begin to ask whether it can nonetheless be read as forming a unity.[16]

See also: Post-critical – Philosophical concept and Biblical criticism#Post-critical interpretation – Scholarly study of biblical writings

As inadequately conservative edit

Conservative scholars, on the other hand, object to the way canonical criticism bypasses "vexed questions relating to the historical validation of revelation."[3] Oswalt suggests that canonical critics blithely "separate fact and meaning" when they suggest that we are called to submit to the inspired truth of the text, despite the community's inability to admit where they really got it.[3]

Failure to achieve its own goals edit

Barton also suggests that there is tension between "the text itself" and "the text as part of the canon".[17] That is, the canonical approach stresses both the text in its final form as we have it, as well as the idea that "the words which compose the text draw their meaning from the context and setting in which they are meant to be read."[18] Barton argues that "the canonical approach actually undermines the concern for the finished text as an end in itself, and brings us, once again, nearer to traditional historical criticism."[17]

Applications edit

Childs applies his canonical approach to prophetic literature, and argues that in Amos, "an original prophetic message was expanded by being placed in a larger theological context,"[2] while in Nahum and Habakkuk, the oracles are assigned a new role through the introduction of hymnic material, and they "now function as a dramatic illustration of the eschatological triumph of God."[2]

Jon Isaak applies the canonical approach to 1 Corinthians 14 and the issue of women being silent in the church. Isaak argues that

In the canonical approach, theological concerns take precedent over historical interests. No attempt is made to reconstruct a historical portrait of Paul in order to prove some point or to disprove another. There is no psychologizing based on what Paul could or could not have said.[19]

Gerald H. Wilson adopted a canonical approach in his studies of Psalter, and concluded that the book had a purposeful unity and "had been redacted to represent a developing sequence of ideals."[20] Yee Von Koh suggests that Wilson was "the first to apply canonical criticism to the study of the Psalter in the clearest and most comprehensive way."[20]

The canonical approach has also been applied to passages such as Psalm 137[21] and Ezekiel 20.[22]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Childs, Brevard Springs (1979). Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture (reprint ed.). Fortress Press. p. 82-83. ISBN 9780800605322. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  2. ^ a b c d e Childs, Brevard S. (1 January 1978). "The Canonical Shape of the Prophetic Literature". Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology. 32 (1): 46–55. doi:10.1177/002096437803200104. S2CID 170292286.
  3. ^ a b c Oswalt, John N. (1987). "Canonical Criticism: A Review From A Conservative Viewpoint" (PDF). Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. 30 (3): 317–325.
  4. ^ a b Barr, James (1 May 1980). "Childs' Introduction To the Old Testament as Scripture". Journal for the Study of the Old Testament. 5 (16): 12–23. doi:10.1177/030908928000501602. S2CID 170336118.
  5. ^ Brevard S. Childs, Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments (Augsburg Fortress, 1993), p. 672.
  6. ^ Sailhamer, John H. (1995). "Criticism or Canon". Introduction to Old Testament Theology: A Canonical Approach. Zondervan. pp. 86–114. ISBN 978-0-310-23202-5.
  7. ^ James Barr, Holy Scripture: Canon, Authority, Criticism (Westminster John Knox, 1983), 67.
  8. ^ James A. Sanders, Torah and Canon (Fortress Press, 1972)[page needed]
  9. ^ Barton 1984, p. 79.
  10. ^ Barton 1984, p. 90.
  11. ^ Sanders 1984, p. 19.
  12. ^ Sanders 1984, p. 20.
  13. ^ Barton 1984, p. 144.
  14. ^ Brueggemann, Dale A. (1989). (PDF). JETS. 32: 311–326. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 June 2022.
  15. ^ Barton 1984, p. 84.
  16. ^ Barton 1984, p. 99.
  17. ^ a b Barton 1984, p. 171.
  18. ^ Barton 1984, p. 172.
  19. ^ Isaak, Jon M. (1995). "Direction: Hearing God's Word in the Silence: A Canonical Approach to 1 Corinthians 14:34-35". Direction. 24 (2): 55–64.
  20. ^ a b Koh, Yee Von (2010). "G. H. Wilson's theories on the organization of the Masoretic Psalter". Genesis, Isaiah, and Psalms: A Festschrift to Honour Professor John Emerton for His Eightieth Birthday. Brill. p. 177. ISBN 978-9004182318. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  21. ^ Lyons, William John (2005). "A man of honour, a man of strength, a man of will?: a canonical approach to Psalm 137". Didaskalia. 16 (2): 41–68.
  22. ^ Hahn, Scott Walker; Bergsma, John Sietze (2004). "What Laws Were 'Not Good'? A Canonical Approach to the Theological Problem of Ezekiel 20:25–26". Journal of Biblical Literature. 123 (2): 201–218. doi:10.2307/3267942. JSTOR 3267942. S2CID 159079397. ProQuest 214612496.

Sources edit

External links edit

Listen to this article (7 minutes)
 
This audio file was created from a revision of this article dated 26 July 2019 (2019-07-26), and does not reflect subsequent edits.
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  • Gottwald, Norman K. (1 October 1985). "Social Matrix and Canonical Shape". Theology Today. 42 (3): 307–321. doi:10.1177/004057368504200305. S2CID 143674939.
  • Gerald T. Sheppard, "" in the Anchor Bible Dictionary.
  • Callaway, Mary C. (1999). "Canonical Criticism" (PDF). In Haynes, Stephen R.; McKenzie, Steven L. (eds.). To Each Its Own Meaning: An Introduction to Biblical Criticisms and Their Application. Westminster John Knox Press. pp. 142–155. ISBN 978-0-664-25784-2.

January 01, 1970
canonical, criticism, sometimes, called, canon, criticism, canonical, approach, interpreting, bible, that, focuses, text, biblical, canon, itself, finished, product, portion, leningrad, codex, although, hebrew, bible, result, developmental, process, canonical,. Canonical criticism sometimes called canon criticism or the canonical approach is a way of interpreting the Bible that focuses on the text of the biblical canon itself as a finished product A portion of the Leningrad Codex Although the Hebrew Bible is the result of a developmental process canonical criticism focuses on the final form of the text Brevard Childs 1923 2007 popularised this approach though he personally rejected the term 1 2 Whereas other types of biblical criticism focus on the origins structure and history of texts canonical criticism looks at the meaning which the overall text in its final form has for the community which uses it Contents 1 Description 2 Origins 3 Criticism 3 1 As excessively conservative 3 2 As inadequately conservative 3 3 Failure to achieve its own goals 4 Applications 5 See also 6 References 7 Sources 8 External linksDescription editCanonical criticism involves paying attention to the present form of the text in determining its meaning for the believing community 3 According to James Barr it involves concentrating authority in the canonical text and not in the people or events out of which that text came 4 Brevard Childs says that the canon not only serves to establish the outer boundaries of authoritative Scripture but forms a prism through which light from the different aspects of the Christian life is refracted 5 He also notes that the tradents of the tradition have sought to hide their own footprints in order to focus attention on the canonical text itself and not on the process 2 However Childs refuses to speak of canonical criticism as if it were on a level with form criticism or redaction criticism According to Childs it represents an entirely new departure replacing the entire historical critical method 1 John H Sailhamer views the canonical approach as including the canon criticism of Childs as well as composition criticism redaction criticism and text linguistics 6 Origins editCanonical criticism is a relatively new approach to biblical studies As recently as 1983 James Barr could state that canon had no hermeneutical significance for biblical interpretation 7 Childs set out his canonical approach in his Biblical Theology in Crisis 1970 and applied it in Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture 1979 The phrase canonical criticism was first used by James A Sanders in 1972 8 Childs repudiates the term because It implies that the concern with canon is viewed as another historical critical technique which can take its place alongside of source criticism form criticism rhetorical criticism and the like I do not envision the approach to canon in this light Rather the issue at stake in canon turns on establishing a stance from which the Bible is to be read as Sacred Scripture 2 Canonical criticism arose as a reaction to other forms of biblical criticism John Barton argues that Child s primary thesis is that historical critical methods are unsatisfactory theologically 9 According to Barton Childs approach is genuinely new in that it is an attempt to heal the breach between biblical criticism and theology and in that it belongs more to the realm of literary criticism than that of historical study of texts 10 Sanders argues that canonical criticism is biblical criticism s self critical stance It is not only a logical evolution of earlier stages in the growth of criticism but it also reflects back on all the disciplines of biblical criticism and informs them all to some extent 11 He also suggests that it places the Bible back where it belongs in the believing communities of today Canonical criticism might be seen in metaphor as the beadle bedelos who now carries the critically studied Bible in procession back to the church lectern from the scholar s study 12 Barton has noted parallels between canonical criticism and the New Criticism of T S Eliot and others Both schools of thought affirm that a literary text is an artefact that intentionalism is a fallacy and that the meaning of a text is a function of its place in the literary canon 13 Criticism editThe canonical approach has been criticised by scholars from both liberal and evangelical perspectives As excessively conservative edit On the one hand according to Dale Brueggemann James Barr accuses Childs of aiding and abetting fundamentalists 14 Although Childs approach is post critical rather than pre critical 15 Barr argues that the vision of a post critical era is the conservative dream 4 Barton however notes that Whatever else Childs is doing he is not taking us back to the canon for no one has ever been aware of the canon in this way before It is only after we have seen how varied and inconsistent the Old Testament really is that we can begin to ask whether it can nonetheless be read as forming a unity 16 See also Post critical Philosophical concept and Biblical criticism Post critical interpretation Scholarly study of biblical writings As inadequately conservative edit Conservative scholars on the other hand object to the way canonical criticism bypasses vexed questions relating to the historical validation of revelation 3 Oswalt suggests that canonical critics blithely separate fact and meaning when they suggest that we are called to submit to the inspired truth of the text despite the community s inability to admit where they really got it 3 Failure to achieve its own goals edit Barton also suggests that there is tension between the text itself and the text as part of the canon 17 That is the canonical approach stresses both the text in its final form as we have it as well as the idea that the words which compose the text draw their meaning from the context and setting in which they are meant to be read 18 Barton argues that the canonical approach actually undermines the concern for the finished text as an end in itself and brings us once again nearer to traditional historical criticism 17 Applications editChilds applies his canonical approach to prophetic literature and argues that in Amos an original prophetic message was expanded by being placed in a larger theological context 2 while in Nahum and Habakkuk the oracles are assigned a new role through the introduction of hymnic material and they now function as a dramatic illustration of the eschatological triumph of God 2 Jon Isaak applies the canonical approach to 1 Corinthians 14 and the issue of women being silent in the church Isaak argues that In the canonical approach theological concerns take precedent over historical interests No attempt is made to reconstruct a historical portrait of Paul in order to prove some point or to disprove another There is no psychologizing based on what Paul could or could not have said 19 Gerald H Wilson adopted a canonical approach in his studies of Psalter and concluded that the book had a purposeful unity and had been redacted to represent a developing sequence of ideals 20 Yee Von Koh suggests that Wilson was the first to apply canonical criticism to the study of the Psalter in the clearest and most comprehensive way 20 The canonical approach has also been applied to passages such as Psalm 137 21 and Ezekiel 20 22 See also editSheffield school Postliberal theologyReferences edit a b Childs Brevard Springs 1979 Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture reprint ed Fortress Press p 82 83 ISBN 9780800605322 Retrieved 2019 02 05 a b c d e Childs Brevard S 1 January 1978 The Canonical Shape of the Prophetic Literature Interpretation A Journal of Bible and Theology 32 1 46 55 doi 10 1177 002096437803200104 S2CID 170292286 a b c Oswalt John N 1987 Canonical Criticism A Review From A Conservative Viewpoint PDF Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 30 3 317 325 a b Barr James 1 May 1980 Childs Introduction To the Old Testament as Scripture Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 5 16 12 23 doi 10 1177 030908928000501602 S2CID 170336118 Brevard S Childs Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments Augsburg Fortress 1993 p 672 Sailhamer John H 1995 Criticism or Canon Introduction to Old Testament Theology A Canonical Approach Zondervan pp 86 114 ISBN 978 0 310 23202 5 James Barr Holy Scripture Canon Authority Criticism Westminster John Knox 1983 67 James A Sanders Torah and Canon Fortress Press 1972 page needed Barton 1984 p 79 Barton 1984 p 90 Sanders 1984 p 19 Sanders 1984 p 20 Barton 1984 p 144 Brueggemann Dale A 1989 Brevard Childs Canon Criticism An Example of Post critical Naivete PDF JETS 32 311 326 Archived from the original PDF on 17 June 2022 Barton 1984 p 84 Barton 1984 p 99 a b Barton 1984 p 171 Barton 1984 p 172 Isaak Jon M 1995 Direction Hearing God s Word in the Silence A Canonical Approach to 1 Corinthians 14 34 35 Direction 24 2 55 64 a b Koh Yee Von 2010 G H Wilson s theories on the organization of the Masoretic Psalter Genesis Isaiah and Psalms A Festschrift to Honour Professor John Emerton for His Eightieth Birthday Brill p 177 ISBN 978 9004182318 Retrieved 1 March 2015 Lyons William John 2005 A man of honour a man of strength a man of will a canonical approach to Psalm 137 Didaskalia 16 2 41 68 Hahn Scott Walker Bergsma John Sietze 2004 What Laws Were Not Good A Canonical Approach to the Theological Problem of Ezekiel 20 25 26 Journal of Biblical Literature 123 2 201 218 doi 10 2307 3267942 JSTOR 3267942 S2CID 159079397 ProQuest 214612496 Sources editBarton John 1984 Reading the Old Testament Method in Biblical Study Westminster John Knox Press ISBN 978 0 664 24555 9 Sanders James A 1984 Canon and Community A Guide to Canonical Criticism Fortress Press ISBN 978 0 8006 0468 4 External links editListen to this article 7 minutes source source nbsp This audio file was created from a revision of this article dated 26 July 2019 2019 07 26 and does not reflect subsequent edits Audio help More spoken articles Gottwald Norman K 1 October 1985 Social Matrix and Canonical Shape Theology Today 42 3 307 321 doi 10 1177 004057368504200305 S2CID 143674939 Gerald T Sheppard Canonical Criticism in the Anchor Bible Dictionary Callaway Mary C 1999 Canonical Criticism PDF In Haynes Stephen R McKenzie Steven L eds To Each Its Own Meaning An Introduction to Biblical Criticisms and Their Application Westminster John Knox Press pp 142 155 ISBN 978 0 664 25784 2 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Canonical criticism amp oldid 1171096851, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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