IVP is hoping to build a bridge between biblical scholars and theologians in two recently released books aimed directly at the major professional groups: Five Things Theologians Wish Biblical Scholars Knew by Hans Boersma and Five Things Biblical Scholars Wish Theologians Knew by Scot McKnight. The complementary volumes address misunderstandings, methodological differences, and cross-discipline tension that can come between biblical scholars and theologians “so that these disciplines might once again serve the church hand in hand,” according to the publisher.
As theologian Daniel Treier recently wrote for Christianity Today, “Biblical scholars are like ants, carefully storing up tiny morsels for winter. Theologians are like spiders, weaving grand webs out of nothing but the stuff of their own being.” Despite their different starting points, IVP believes the groups can and should form a closer working relationship.
“We would like for biblical scholars and theologians to collaborate more in their scholarship,” Anna Moseley Gissing, an associate editor at IVP Academic, says. “But sometimes methodology and disciplinary silos prevent fruitful partnership. We wanted to offer these two books to bridge this disciplinary divide and to spark further conversation.”
Gissing served as editor of Five Things Biblical Scholars Wish Theologians Knew, but she credits IVP Academic’s associate editor David McNutt and a retired colleague, Dan Reid, for the idea behind the reciprocal volumes. She worked closely with McNutt, who edited Five Thing Theologians Wish Biblical Scholars Knew, on recruiting the books’ authors, as well as providing the conceptual framework. Boersma (Seeing God: The Beatific Vision in Christian Tradition) is an ordained deacon in the Anglican Church in North America, as well as the chair to the Order of St. Benedict Servants of Christ Endowed professorship in ascetical theology at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Nashotah, Wis. McKnight is professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lombard, Ill., and the author of Reading Romans Backwards, Pastor Paul, The King Jesus Gospel, and commentaries on James, Galatians, and 1 Peter, among others.
“Scot McKnight and Hans Boersma wrote their volumes completely separately,” Gissing says. “After the drafts were submitted, each read the other’s volume and offered a foreword for it.”
Boersma’s chapters include “No Christ, No Scripture”; “No Plato, No Scripture”; “No Providence, No Scripture”; “No Church, No Scripture”; and “No Heaven, No Scripture.” The five chapters in McKnight’s volume are “Theology Needs a Constant Return to Scripture”; “Theology Needs to Know Its Impact on Biblical Studies”; “Theology Needs Historically Shaped Biblical Studies”; “Theology Needs More Narrative”; and “Theology Needs to Be Lived Theology.” Though the goal of the volumes is to heighten appreciation, heal divisions, and underscore the common missions of theologians and biblical scholars, the publisher believes readers outside of these professions can benefit.
“Readers will gain insight into these academic disciplines and will appreciate the interdisciplinary dialogue in these books,” Gissing says.
