Allegorizing History (e-book) (used book) | bookbook.eu

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What is history and how does it impact biblical interpretation and theology? Allegorizing History begins to answer this question by arguing that conceptions of the past and the purposes of history affect biblical interpretation and vice versa. Invoking Constantin Fasolt's notion of history as 'a knowledge of the past, as well as the technique by which such knowledge is produced', and re-fashioning Erich Auerbach's historical enterprise in 'Figura' (1938), Furry contends that the understanding and practice of historical writing is inevitably affected by philosophy and theology, thereby rendering all history as figural or allegorical. Famous for his 'Ecclesiastical History of the Anglo-Saxon People' and biblical commentaries, the Venerable Bede is studied in dialogue with Augustine of Hippo, contemporary theology, and historical theory to make this interdisciplinary argument. Timothy J. Furry (PhD, University of Dayton) is Instructor of Religion and Philosophy and Chaplain at Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He is co-editor of 'Ecclesiology and Exclusion' (2012) and author of multiple theological essays, book chapters, and reviews. 'Furry provides a subtle Christian apologetic about the nature of history. Taking history back for legitimate Christian interpretation, Furry steps nimbly through scriptural exegesis, Augustinian metaphysics, medieval theology, and contemporary philosophy, despoiling the Egyptians as he goes. This is a wonderfully creative re-appropriation of the tradition, which reopens a fertile space for a Christian reading of the past.' Ephraim Radner, Professor of Historical Theology, Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto. 'Few issues are more pressing today-and more vexed-than the relation of 'history' to scriptural interpretation. . . . Relying on recent theory that moves us beyond the stale dualisms of the romantic period, Furry allows us to see Bede anew as a skillful historian and a faithful theologian. But this book is not only about Bede. It is also a fresh, hopeful plea for theological work that returns to first-order questions about what history is and why it matters.' Michael Legaspi, Instructor of Religion and Philosophy, Andover Phillips Academy.