Review: “Inspiration and Incarnation” by Peter Enns

While I am dragging my feet in my philosophy studies that I am paying extortionate amounts for (Aristotle is a terrible bore to read), my personal theological studies are in full force!

I had the opportunity to finally pick up a copy of Pete Enns’s tremendously controversial book, “Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament” from Baker Academic (2005).  I decided that I would take the opportunity to introduce his ideas by blogging through the book chapter-by-chapter.

“Inspiration and Incarnation” (I&I) is Enns’s attempt to reconcile critical biblical scholarship with an evangelical, “high” view of the inspiration and authority of scripture—two things which traditionally are diametrically opposed to one another.

Here is the table of contents:

1. Getting Our Bearings
What I Hope to Accomplish in This Book • A Way Toward Addressing the Problem: The Incarnational Analogy

2. The Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Literature
The Impact of Akkadian Literature • Some Other Ancient Near Eastern Texts • What Exactly Is the Problem? • How Have These Issues Been Handled in the Past? • How Can We Think Differently through These Issues? • How Does This Affect Us?

3. The Old Testament and Theological Diversity
The Problem of Theological Diversity in the Old Testament • Diversity in Wisdom Literature • Diversity in Chronicles • Diversity in Law • God and Diversity • What Does Diversity Tell Us about Scripture?

4. The Old Testament and Its Interpretation in the New Testament
Do New Testament Authors Misuse the Old Testament? • Biblical Interpretation in the Second Temple Period • Apostolic Hermeneutics as a Second Temple Phenomenon: Interpretive Methods • Apostolic Hermeneutics as a Second Temple Phenomenon: Interpretive Traditions • What Makes Apostolic Hermeneutics Unique? • Should We Handle the Old Testament the Way the Apostles Did? • What We Can Learn from Apostolic Hermeneutics?

5. The Big Picture
What Is the Bible, and What Are We Supposed to Do with It? • Continuing the Conversation: Learning to Listen

Here are a couple extended quotes from the Preface:

The aim of this book is not novelty, but synthesis. My focus is twofold: (1) to bring together a variety of data that biblical scholars work with every day for readers who do not have firsthand familiarity with these data and (2) to look at these data with a clear view toward discussing their implications for an evangelical doctrine of Scripture. [...]

I believe with all my heart that honesty with oneself is a central component to spiritual growth.  God honors our honest questions. He is not surprised by them, nor is he ashamed to be our God when we pose them. He is our God, not because of the questions we ask (or refrain from asking), but because he has united us to the risen Christ. And being a part of God’s family is ultimately a gift to us, not something to be obtained by us. God has freed us in Christ and made us his children. And, as all children do, we ask a lot of questions.

For those that aren’t familiar with the history behind the book, Pete was until very recently a professor of Old Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary.  His ideas had mixed feelings among faculty, and caused a bit of a stir (quite the understatement).  Ultimately, he decided to resign, and felt that the institution was going down a different trajectory than he felt the school had traditionally maintained.

I’ve read a lot of Enns’s miscellaneous journal articles and otherwise, but I am excited to finally dig into his main entrée!  I’m sure this review will be extended over time (I am a student with a 2-year-old and 3-month-old, after all), but I will keep it coming as I progress through it!

(As a closing note, I cannot end without commenting on the cover art. Someone had the bright idea of superimposing an ampersand (the “&” symbol) overtop of the actual word “and” in the title. Why would you do such a thing, cover-design-artist? Shame on you and your household. You’re definitely getting an extra year in purgatory for that one.)

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