Sanctified Vision: An Introduction to Early Christian Interpretation of the Bible

Others have commented on the basic thrust of this fine book: as its title indicates, an introduction to how Bible interpretation was done for three hundred years. I'd like to add a few points not yet noted in commendation of this excellent work. First, the authors are wonderful teachers. They note at the beginning how the book was motivated by the happenstance of their being academic next-door neighbors at Creighton University in the theology department, although of differing specializations. This led to many discussions about how best to understand and thus to teach students how to read ancient authors such as Irenaeus, Origen, and Augustine, among others. They approach this book, therefore, both as scholars and as teachers, which are two separate vocations not always joined together in print. They provide wonderfully helpful analogies and examples to guide readers to put aside modern presuppositions and enter into the world of the patristic writers. From that of finding patterns in numerical sequences ("2, 4..." could lead either to "6, 8, 10" or "8, 16, 32") to how science works in a similar way to ancient exegesis to the use of the classic rock ballad "American Pie" as an example of allegory (!), the authors keep the reader involved in the inquiry every step of the way. These examples are not simply entertaining: they are truly insightful teaching tools to help understand a very different worldview. Second, the authors take a particular stance that is likely to be seen as "conservative" among some, in that they defend the "rule of faith" used by the patristic writers as a criterion of coherence of the entire Bible defensible, and implicitly at least, superior to, many others offered in the modern and postmodern world (where coherence has been abandoned altogether). Whether one agrees or not is not the point; their stance requires one to think clearly through one's own position on reading in general and of the Bible in particular. I found myself often stopping just to ponder rather than just racing through their brief volume. Finally, the authors clearly and succinctly present themes and means that hold together a wide variety of authors and historical contexts, from the Alexandrians (such as Origen, Athanasius and Didymus the Blind) to the Cappadoccians (such as Gregory of Nyssa) to Augustine. They keep their eyes on the specific prize that they are after, which is not to show the historical development of patristic exegesis, but how it was done over the long haul and why that is a different, yet still valid, way into the biblical story. Few books pack so much learning and teaching into such a short space (139 pages plus notes). Highly recommended to anyone interested in what holds the Bible together, then and now.

This is a great book. It is a wonderfully well written, relatively brief introduction to patristic exegesis and a persuasive argument for the continuing significance of such exegesis for the Church now. The obsession of biblical studies with methodology (historical critical, social scientific, rhetorical, feminist, liberational, post colonial and so forth) has made the exegesis of Scripture in the early church look capriciously arbitrary. Thus such exegesis may be the subject of modern anthropological, rhetorical, historical analyses (etc.) - see the wonderful books of Elizabeth Clark among others - but it is often just ignored or even villified when looked at as exegesis of Holy Scripture for the Church. This book convincingly argues not just for the historical significance of patristic style exegesis but makes a provocative case that exactly such exegesis is keenly needed now in order to let the church listen attentively to Holy Scripture. I found it so thought provoking that parts of it I read and reread. It also inspired to further reading in the same area. I thoroughly recommend it.

The collaborative work of John J. O'Keefe and R. R. Reno (both of whom are Associate Professors of Theology at Creighton University), Sanctified Vision: An Introduction To Early Christian Interpretation Of The Bible provides the reader with an informed explanation of the structure and logic of the early Christian interpretations of scripture in late antiquity. These interpretations are considered foundational to the development of Christianity as a religion, and offer insight into how these early leaders and theologians thought about doctrine and practice by analyzing selected portions of patristic exegesis to illustrate specific reading techniques used by them to expound the meaning they believed intrinsic to biblical texts. The approach utilized in Sanctified Vision is organized around three basis analytical strategies: literal, typological, and allegorical. Within this framework, Professors O'Keefe and Reno cogently argue for the importance of this analytic framework and structure in understanding the emergence of what was to become Christian theological orthodoxy. A work of impeccable scholarship and also available in a hardcover edition (0801880874, $45.00), Sanctified Vision will be of immense interest and value to students of Christian Theology, Christian History, and Biblical Studies.