“Coming to understand the theological exegesis of the Great Tradition is more a matter of apprenticeship in the school of biblical interpretation and preaching than a matter of theological construction.”
Craig Carter, Interpreting Scripture with the Great Tradition
This book was beautiful, brilliant, and beyond helpful. I would give this 10 out of five stars if I could. The Great Tradition is not simply pattering our exegesis after ancient theological giants but patterning our exegesis in the same way as those theological giants of the past. How do we pattern our exegesis as they did? First, by believing God has spoken and is now speaking through the Word by His Spirit. Second, by undoing our cultural presuppositions of naturalism and embracing the premodern metaphysics of our Christian forebears. Third, by paying close attention to how the apostles taught us to interpret the scripture and then do as they did, seeing the literal sense and the spiritual sense to arrive at what Calvin called the “plain sense.”
Read this book. Then reread it. I know I will be rereading this book soon, and I am already looking forward to it.