This collection of essays by stellar contributing scholars offers an engaging approach to the study of historical theology and biblical exegesis. The essayists examine various interpretative approaches to the Sermon on the Mount, providing glimpses into historical perspectives on a passage that distills the very essence of the teaching of Jesus.
The important contribution of this volume--beyond its insightful survey of the interpretative work of influential biblical scholars and theologians through the ages--lies in its integrative treatment of the subjects, bringing together the disciplines of church history, biblical exegesis, and theology. The authors shed light on the many and varied approaches to Scripture, examining theological traditions and historical, social, and political contexts, as well as substantial points of agreement.
Students of both church history and hermeneutics will encounter here the interpretations of church fathers Augustine and John Chrysostom, the medieval theologian Hugh of St. Victor, the Reformers, the Methodist John Wesley and the Baptist Charles Haddon Spurgeon, as well as twentieth-century figures of contrasting perspectives--Dietrich Bonhoeffer and John Howard Yoder (who took very different views of pacifism) or, within the Roman Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II and Leonardo Boff. The volume concludes with a chapter on John R. W. Stott, perhaps the most influential evangelical of the twentieth century.
Jeffrey P. Greenman (Ph.D., University of Virginia) is professor of Christian ethics and associate dean of biblical and theological studies at Wheaton College.
Stephen R. Spencer (Ph.D., Michigan State University) is Blanchard Professor of Theology at Wheaton College.
Timothy Larsen (Ph.D., University of Stirling, Scotland) is associate professor of church history at Wheaton College.
"This helpful set of essays does just what the title proclaims---tracks interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount through major figures of Christian history...In each case the author of the essay expertly catches the spirit and content of these major interpreters. The overall impact of the book is to demonstrate both the wide diversity of Christian theology and spirituality and also the enduring power of the Sermon itself." -Donald Senior, CP, Bible Today
"Where else can you get a chapter on Hugh of St. Victor and, for instance, Stan Hauerwas on Bonhoeffer and Yoder? What are the unique insights of contemporary Catholics (like Pope Paul or Leonardo Boff) or John Stott? And how about this: David Lyle Jeffrey on Dante and Chaucer. Plenty to learn from this most famous of Jesus' discourses. I don't know what's better, learning about these different figures and their view of the Bible, or, specifically, the teaching they do on the Sermon itself." -Byron Borger, heartsandmindsbooks.com
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