Biblical Interpretation and the Episcopal Church: A Proposal for a Return to a Conservative Hermeneutic

This dissertation investigates the history of biblical interpretation from an Anglican perspective in an attempt to respond to many of the claims of modern liberal scholarship. The study will evaluate liberal historical-critical approaches to biblical interpretation as compared with the more conservative hermeneutic, which is evident in the writings of the early church divines, the early Anglican divines, and many modern evangelical scholars. The term conservative will be used to identify the hermeneutical approach that affirms the verbal inspiration and infallibility of the Scriptures.

The intended result of this study is to develop a manuscript that will be the foundation for a book to provide the Episcopalian, both clergy and lay person, with evidence to support a high view of Scripture. With such a view elevated, the church member would then have confidence to trust the Bible as an authoritative rule of faith in day-to-day living. In the shadow of the great Anglican three-legged stool of Scripture, tradition, and reason, a case will be made for the authority of Scripture in the Episcopal Church in line with the traditional understanding of each leg of this authoritative stool.

This work will begin with an examination of the current condition of the Episcopal Church, especially as related to confusion over biblical interpretation. The effect modern biblical criticism has had on the Episcopal Church's view of the Bible in areas of doctrine and morality will be reviewed.

Holding to the principle of apostolic succession, Anglicans claim to have an unbroken lineage back through the early church fathers to the apostles of Jesus' first church. Therefore, this study will examine how early Anglican divines regarded the principles of biblical interpretation exercised by the early church fathers. A case will be made, based on a survey of the pre-sixth century church fathers, for Anglicans to return to their historical heritage rooted in a conservative interpretation of the Bible.

This study will present a historic Anglican defense of biblical authority and interpretation utilizing the writings of such Anglican divines as Thomas Cranmer, John Jewel, and Richard Hooker. It will also incorporate responses by conservative scholars to the charges and claims of modern liberal scholarship (like the Jesus Seminar). The study will give specific examples of how both the liberal and conservative perspectives affect the way the Christian faith is lived out in Episcopal churches. For example, the issue of homosexuality is prominent in the church today and will be addressed in the context of the biblical interpretation and theology of both perspectives.

The dissertation will conclude with a modest proposal promoting a conservative interpretation of the Bible and theological outlook in the spirit of Anglicanism's historical understanding of Scripture, tradition, and reason. It is hoped that this work will give the average Episcopalian a way to 'give an answer to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that you have' (1 Peter 3:15 NIV), by offering a scriptural, historical, traditional, and reasonable defense of a conservative interpretation of the Bible.