Singing the Ethos of God

Noting that academic biblical scholars and Christian ethicists have been methodologically estranged for some decades now, Brian Brock seeks to reframe the whole Bible-and-ethics discussion in terms of this question: What role does the Bible play in God's generation of a holy people - and how do we participate in that regeneration? Brock first examines various contemporary accounts of the role of the Bible in Christian ethics: the "hermeneutical solution" of Elisabeth Schussler-Fiorenza, Daniel Patte, and Charles Cosgrove; the "communitarian solution" of Bruce Birch-Larry Rasmussen and Stephen Fowl-L. Gregory Jones; the "biblical ethics solution" of Frank Matera, Richard Hays, and John Howard Yoder; the "biblical theology solution" of Brevard Childs and John Webster; and the "exegetical theology solution" of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. In the second part of his book, Brock undertakes major discussions of Augustine, the "last ancient," and Martin Luther, the "last medieval," immersing us in their work of interpreting Scripture; the path he takes into Scripture through these two saints is the "broad heartland of Christian exegesis," the Psalms. Finally, Brock articulates the processes of renewal in God's people. His close study of a few individual psalms shows how we enter the world of praise in which all human life is comprehended within God's work - and is thus renewed. Throughout most of the Christian exegetical tradition, Brock points out, the Bible has been read as "reiterating the morally stupendous claim" that all reality is created and remade by God's overflowing goodness. He believes that immersion in the exegetical tradition of the Christian faith must be the heart and soul of theology and ethics.