Darren Sarisky - Reading the Bible Theologically

Episode: Erin Heim and Chris Tilling interview Darren Sarisky about his recent book Reading the Bible Theologically (Cambridge).

Guest: Darren Sarisky is Departmental Lecturer in Modern Theology at the University of Oxford (Trinity College). He works in the area of Christian doctrine or systematic theology.  His primary research specialization is theological hermeneutics of the Bible, that is, the interconnection between biblical reading and Christian doctrine.  In this work, Dr Sarisky brings theological insights from early Christian theologians into conversation with voices from our own day.  He has also written on theologies of retrieval, which are approaches to theology that make significant recourse to classic texts from within the Christian tradition.

Dr Sarisky has recently completed his second monograph, Reading the Bible Theologically, which is part of the Current Issues series from Cambridge University Press in its.  The subject of the book is the nature of theological interpretation.  The ongoing discussion of theological exegesis is one of the most significant discussions taking place today in Theology and Religious Studies.  Though a great deal of energy is being directed at present into this debate, there is nevertheless a lack of clarity regarding the defining characteristics of the enterprise itself.  Dr Sarisky aims to make a contribution there.

This new book builds on Dr Sarisky’s first work, Scriptural Interpretation: A Theological Exploration, which was published in 2013 by Wiley-Blackwell within its Challenges in Contemporary Theology series.  The book brings an important fourth-century theologian, Basil of Caesarea, into dialogue with two leading lights in contemporary theology, Stanley Hauerwas and Rowan Williams.  The question on which the book focuses is what is happening, in specifically theological terms, when the Bible is read by the church.  The text culminates with a constructive contribution to the discussion that presents a thoroughly theological account of reading, including analyses of the identity of the reader, the nature of text being read, the practice of reading itself, and the social context of interpretation.

Prior to coming to Oxford, Dr Sarisky held academic appointments in Cambridge (as a Teaching Associate and a Junior Research Fellow) and at King’s College London (as a Lecturer in Systematic Theology). (From the Trinity College website).

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If you like this: Check  out our interview with Fred Sanders on his book The Triune God.