The Old Testament and Christian Spirituality - International Voices in ...

What Is Biblical Spirituality? 121
biblical spirituality,” 31 with the strong implication that what
Southern Baptists do constitutes that biblical spirituality. Even the
contributions which seem not to have any direct bearing on the
Bible 32 reflect for them biblical spirituality, because the way this
group believes is the biblical path.
No serious attention is given in the article series to the vast gap
that exists between the views expressed in the Bible and the way
these modern authors see things; “der garstig breite Graben” of
Lessing 33 between the then and now, and the intense philosophicalhermeneutical
scholarship this awareness has elicited, 34 finds no
reflection here. The link between ancient text and modern faith is
understood to be both simple and direct; such a straightforward
“hearing words from the mouth of God” 35 is biblical spirituality.
The bridge of history is easily passed over. Moreover, no room is
left for different or even opposing views both in and from the
followed. There is little or no sense here of the hermeneutical circle, in which
meaning is as much imposed as it is taken. Cf. e.g. Wright, “The Reformation
Piety of Theodore Beza,” 43; “The SBJT Forum,” 86–88, 90, 91.
31 Wellum, “Editorial: ‘Spirituality,’” 3, following F. Schaeffer, True Spirituality
(Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1971); cf. “The SBJT Forum,” 95.
32 Cf. Wright, “The Reformation Piety of Theodore Beza,” 38–53; Haykin,
“‘Draw Nigh unto my Soul,’” 54–73; Johnson, “What’s New with the New
Age?” 74–83.
33 See G. E. Lessing, “Über den Beweis des Geistes und der Kraft,” In Werke, 8.
Bd.: Theologiekritische Schriften III, Philosophische Schriften (ed. H. Göpfert;
München, 1777), 13.
34 Cf. e.g., E. Troeltsch, Über historische und dogmatische Methode in der
Theologie (Gesammelte Schriften, II; Tübingen: JCB Mohr, 1922); F.
Schleiermacher, Hermeneutik und Kritik. Mit einem Anhang
sprachphilosophischer Texte Schleiermachers (hrsg. Manfred Frank; Frankfurt
am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 1977); H.-G. Gadamer, Wahrheit und Methode.
Grundzuge einer philosophischen Hermeneutik (Tübingen: Mohr, 1975); J.
Derrida, Of Grammatology (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1976);
J. Habermas, Theorie des kommunikativen Handelns (Bd.1: Handlungsrationalität
und gesellschaftliche Rationalisierung, Bd. 2: Zur Kritik der
funktionalistischen Vernunft; Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 1981).
35 Adam, “God’s Powerful Words,” 28; cf. 32–35.