Reading Scripture with the Church is the result of years of debate and discussion among four leading scholars of biblical interpretation. In this volume, ideal as a supplementary hermeneutics textbook, each of the four contributors offers insights on his particular theory of theological interpretation of Scripture.

A. K. M. Adam suggests that interpreters break free from the constraining effects of approaching interpretation as translation, embrace the abundance of meaning in Scripture, and envision biblical theology as "signifying practice." Stephen Fowl interacts with Thomas Aquinas’s interpretive practice and advocates a model of "bounded plurality" of meaning in the "literal sense" of Scripture that should inform our hermeneutical judgments. Kevin Vanhoozer describes a method of theological interpretation based on viewing the Bible as God’s communicative action, given with a certain intention and given to elicit a certain response from the reader. Francis Watson adopts the single identity of Jesus Christ, as revealed in the four Gospels, as a hermeneutical model describing the possibility and limits of plurality in interpretation.

Each author also responds to the other three. Points of agreement are affirmed, and disagreement clarified. The goal is to lead students to embrace the task of theological interpretation with energy, caution, and precision.

These elegant scholarly essays by four of the leading advocates for theological interpretation of Scripture in the church are a splendid intervention in current debates about the nature, settings, and ends of biblical interpretation and deserve to be pondered by all who are interested in the place of Scripture in church and theology.–John Webster, professor of systematic theology, King’s College

The four interactive essays in this book are an important step in the effort to move biblical interpretation forward. The authors invite us to move from an excessive reliance on particular historical methods to an integration of these with the theological practices and insights of God’s people from the past and present. The book signals an ecumenical optimism springing from what has already been achieved and points out ways to bring about a deeper joy in ‘the encouragement of the Scriptures’ and a closer union with the center of unity, Jesus Christ, who is still, in the power of the Holy Spirit, making himself known in and through his church.–Francis Martin, Cardinal Adam Maida Chair of Biblical Studies, Sacred Heart Major Seminary