A Study of Scottish Hermeneutical Method from John Knox to the Early Twentieth Century: From Christian to Secular

This work examines the evolution of Scottish hermeneutical method from John Knox to the early 20th century, showing how the method was transformed from a Primitivism (a term borrowed from the history of ideas) to historical consciousness as represented by the higher critical method. This work examines the whole big picture of transformation based on the paradigm shift or presuppositions from the primitivism of John Knox and others to the Enlightenment-based historical-critical method.https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/faculty_books/1126/thumbnail.jp

Public Reason, Rawlsian Restraint, and the Judiciary: The Influence of Political Philosophy on Legal Scholars and Judges in Relation to Religious Liberty

This paper concerns the political theory of public reason in its application to religious freedom issues. Public reason, or its related idea, public justification, is in my estimation, just the latest extension of the problem of religious toleration in its particular relationship to the right of religious liberty. This latest expression of the toleration debate began, by most estimates, with John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice.[1] I will argue that in its Rawlsian form, public reason contains some serious flaws, which can be corrected by the work of political philosophers such as Gerald Gaus, Kevin Vallier and Michael Perry, among others, to include the voices of religious people and groups

A History of the Idea of God\u27s Law (Theonomy): Its Origins, Development and Place in Political and Legal Thought

This book addresses the idea that the judicial law of God, as found in the Old Testament of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, has a place in legal and political thought and practice, as well as economic thought, and has advanced in various forms since the beginning of Christianity, and previously, during the period of the Hebrew Commonwealth. This work traces the Theonomic movement and its ideas from its roots in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries into its modern form, placing Theonomy in context of legal, political, and economic philosophy.https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/faculty_books/1065/thumbnail.jp

An Exegetical and Theological Examination of Matthew 5:17-20

Recent polemics relating to the use and validity of the Mosaic Law make a reexamination of some of the key Biblical passages imperative as well as a rethinking of the basic framework by which the issue of the Law is discussed. Matthew 5:17-20 is a passage often used by all sides in the Law debate and is here analyzed as to its relevance to the Law issue. This periscope is Jesus\u27 programmatic statement about his mission with respect to the Law. The passage clearly states that the Law is not abolished and this truism serves as the broadest interpretational framework for this thesis. However it is not as clear what Jesus\u27 precise positive mission was with regard to the Law, as indicated by the often debated term plerosai. This thesis begins by framing the issues at the heart of the Law controversy and then examines the basic historical development of those issues in the history of Christian thought. Then an overall interpretational framework is posited and developed utilizing the concepts of the overlapping and simultaneous aspects of the present and future Kingdom of God - the now and the not yet . Because the Old Age continues in certain of its aspects but the New Age in Christ has also broken in, the Mosaic Law also must be thought of in a transformed sense, remaining valid but undergoing a change in its use or jurisdiction and in some cases becoming irrelevant. The whole Law undergoes this change and continues in this transformed state until the final consummation of God\u27s Kingdom. Following the groundwork an exegetical process is begun, including examination of the grammar and syntax of Matthew 5:17- 20, the various contexts, historical and cultural, and the surrounding contexts of the periscope. Also included is a brief analysis of the treatment of and attitude toward the Law by the various New Testament writers. The resultant interpretation of the passage is consistent with the overall interpretational framework, that is, that the Law has not been abolished and continues to serve a useful function in the church, the believer, and the world, but in a transformed sense. The Law of Moses must remain a valid expression of God\u27s will and cannot be thought of as imperfect. But because of the fundamental salvation historical changes, the Law also undergoes changes in its jurisdiction, uses, and applicability to specific situations. For the Law to be fulfilled means to be transformed. The essential kernel remains though the culturally-specific shell becomes irrelevant and non-applicable in certain situations, although, since none of the Law is abolished it may (permissive, not mandatory) be used so long as its use does not attempt to mediate the salvation of men in any way