An Exercise in Liberal Biblical Theology (Keynote Address)

Authors

  • Robert Allan Hill Boston University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26443/jcreor.v4i2.92

Keywords:

liberal theology, biblical theology, G.B.Caird, theology of presence

Abstract

This essay was presented at the “Who is my Neighbour? Theological Education in the Global Villiage of the 21st Century” symposium hosted by the McGill School of Religious Studies in the Fall of 2022. It offers an accessible set of reflections on how a liberal biblical theology can help people connect with the content of the Bible in ways that speak to their lived experience, thereby allowing the heart of the Bible to become more familiar and more widely accessible. In modern society, where the letters G-O-D seem like antiquated fiction and where the church has often failed to adequately and meaningfully explicate the Bible in ways that people can connect with, such a sound, gracious liberal biblical theology can be a source of renewal for both Liberal Protestantism and Christian theological education. To demonstrate this I will undertake an exercise in liberal biblical theology, contrasting the traditional Trinitarian language used by G. B. Caird (1951) to explore the unity of the New Testament with more accessible theological language, language arrived at by drawing from the work of Ralph Harper, Samuel Terrien, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Eric Fromm, Howard Thurman, and Robert Frost.

Author Biography

Robert Allan Hill , Boston University

Robert Allan Hill is the Dean of Marsh Chapel and a Professor of New Testament and Pastoral Theology at Boston University. He is the author of seventeen books, including: Charles River: Essays and Meditations for Daily Reading (2015). His weekly sermon can be heard live at Marsh Chapel, and around the globe at wbur.org, Sundays at 11am. His recent preaching and speaking schedule has included the New England Annual Conference, the Baltimore Washington Annual Conference, Chautauqua Institution, Morehouse College, the GBHEM\UMC Missio Dei Colloquy, and the UMC Lakeside Chautauqua, McGill University, and a number of pulpits across the country (Harvard Memorial, Foundry UMC, San Diego First UMC, Evanston First UMC, Asbury First UMC, and others).

References

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Shakespeare, William. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Edited by G. C. Clark and W. A. Wright. United Kingdom: Parragon Publishing, 2000.

Smart, James D. The Strange Silence of the Bible in the Church: A Study in Hermeneutics. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1970.

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Tillich, Paul. Systematic Theology, Vol. 3: Life and the Spirit; History and the Kingdom of God. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963.

Wesley, John. Wesley's Standard Sermons: Consisting of Forty-Four Discourses, Published in Four Volumes, in 1746, 1748, 1750, and 1760 (Fourth edition, 1787); To Which Are Added Nine Additional Sermons, Published in Vols. I to IV of Wesley's Collected Works, 1771. Edited by Edward H. Sugden. 6th annotated ed. London: Epworth Press, 1966.

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Published

2023-08-31

How to Cite

Hill , Robert Allan. 2023. “An Exercise in Liberal Biblical Theology (Keynote Address)”. Journal of the Council for Research on Religion 4 (2). Montreal, QC, Canada:81–94. https://doi.org/10.26443/jcreor.v4i2.92.

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 2 (2023): Who is My Neighbour? Interfaith Dialogue and Theological Education in the Global Village

Section

Theological Education in the Global Villiage: Day Two, Panel One

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Robert Allan Hill

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