Now in paperback!How do we hear the Spirit’s voice in Scripture? Once we have done responsible exegesis, how may we expect the Spirit to apply the text to our lives and communities? In Spir
Now in paperback!
How do we hear the Spirit’s voice in Scripture? Once we have done responsible exegesis, how may we expect the Spirit to apply the text to our lives and communities? In Spirit Hermeneutics biblical scholar Craig Keener addresses these questions, carefully articulating how the experience of the Spirit that empowered the church on the day of Pentecost can—and should—dynamically shape our reading of Scripture today.
Keener considers what Spirit-guided interpretation means, explores implications of an epistemology of Word and Spirit for biblical hermeneutics, and shows how Scripture itself models an experiential appropriation of its message. Bridging the Word-Spirit gap between academic and experiential Christian approaches, Keener’s Spirit Hermeneutics narrates a way of reading the Bible that is faithful both to the Spirit-inspired biblical text and to the experience of the Spirit among believers.
Michael F. Bird
— Ridley College, Melbourne
“Craig Keener has written a compelling guide to reading Scripture experientially, eschatologically, and missionally. Keener resources the Pentecostal tradition, including its global breadth, to guide readers on how to draw from the Spirit, how to develop disciplined reading habits, how to understand debates about interpretation, and how to dutifully get the most out of the text. This book is nothing less than hermeneutics with holy fire!”
Jeannine Brown
— Bethel Seminary San Diego
“Some may wonder if a new, fresh look at biblical hermeneutics is truly possible. Keener demonstrates that it is. He brings his scholarly biblical expertise and mastery of secondary literature together with his deep conviction that the experience of the Spirit should shape a Christian (not only a Pentecostal) reading of Scripture. . . . A wide range of readers will discover in Spirit Hermeneutics much to engage with and ponder.”
Allan H. Anderson
— University of Birmingham
“In this benchmark study Keener combines the very best in biblical scholarship with his charismatic experience and exposure to the Majority World view of the spiritual and supernatural. This will certainly be the best book relating to Pentecostal and charismatic hermeneutics for a long time to come.”
Anthony C. Thiselton
— University of Nottingham
“I warmly commend this informative and commonsense approach to a crucially important subject.”
Wonsuk Ma
— Oxford Centre for Mission Studies
“This delightful book takes a bold step toward fulfilling the Spirit’s design for ‘Pentecostal’ experience to be fully integrated and manifest in the whole church.”
— Expository Times
"Spirit Hermeneutics is valuable both as a work of careful scholarship and as encouragement for devotional practices. . . . A necessary read for biblical scholars and lay Christian alike."
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Craig S. Keener is F. M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky. His many other books include The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary, The Historical Jesus of the Gospels, Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts, and Acts: An Exegetical Commentary (4 volumes).
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