God's Word in Human Words

The conclusions of critical biblical scholarship often pose a disconcerting challenge to traditional Christian faith. Between the two poles of uncritical embrace and outright rejection of these conclusions, is there a third way? Can evangelical believers incorporate the insights of biblical criticism while at the same time maintaining a high view of Scripture and a vital faith? In this provocative book, Kenton Sparks argues that the insights from historical and biblical criticism can indeed be valuable to evangelicals and may even yield solutions to difficult issues in biblical studies while avoiding pat answers. This constructive response to biblical criticism includes taking seriously both the divine and the human aspects of the Bible and acknowledging the diversity that exists in the biblical texts.

Introduction
1. Epistemology and Hermeneutics
2. Historical Criticism
3. The Problem of Biblical Criticism
4. "Traditional" Responses to Biblical Criticism
5. Constructive Responses to Biblical Criticism
6. The Genres of Human Discourse
7. The Genres of Divine Discourse
8. The Context of the Whole and Biblical Interpretation
9. Negotiating the Context of the Whole
10. Biblical Criticism and Christian Theology: A Few Examples
Conclusions: Biblical Criticism and Christian Institutions