Papers by Bryant K Owens
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Book Reviews by Bryant K Owens
Stone-Campbell Journal, 2020
While the idea of covenant is a central theological theme in Scripture, Schreiner will caution th... more While the idea of covenant is a central theological theme in Scripture, Schreiner will caution that it is not the central theme of Scripture. Instead, he clarifies that "the idea that the Scriptures have one center is probably mistaken."1 Rather the focus on Christ as the theme of all Scripture, as a tenet of Biblical Theology, is what Schreiner argues is the central theme of God's various covenants accounted in the Biblical narrative. Covenant is defined in this work as "a chosen relationship in which two parties make binding promises to each other."2 Schreiner emphasizes that both parties in a covenant willingly choose to be bound in the relationship. This type of relationship is unique and is clearly defined apart from other types of relationships bound by circumstances, such as a familial relationship between parents and a child who are bound through natural relationship. Yet ancient covenants must be understood as the model of the biblical covenants between God and certain persons reflecting a type of relationship between levels of authority. A king would make a covenant with a lesser people where the two parties were clearly not equal, yet there were defined duties in the covenant. The first covenant discussed in this work is perhaps the most controversial. The controversy lies in the terminology that Schreiner uses to defend the existence of a Creation Covenant. Some scholars would consider Schreiner's position as more properly termed an Adamic administration rather than a covenant.3 Since chapters 1-3 in Genesis do not mention the word covenant, how can one conclude that God initiates a covenant of creation? Schreiner contrasts his argument with one posed by Presbyterian theologian John Murray. Murray prefers the term Adamic administration over the term covenant. Schreiner argues that a covenant between God and Adam reflects more than simply a dominion, or administration, over the created order. He further states that covenants are always redemptive, and the term does not apply to Adam or Eve since they were first created without sin with no need for redemption. Schreiner counters Murray by choosing the terminology of covenant of creation because it fits with the overarching view of redemptive history. This view of the Genesis narrative enables us to see how this covenant of creation integrates with other covenants ushered in throughout God's history with humanity. God inaugurated history with creation and will consummate it with a new creation.4 Schreiner
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Journal of Faith and the Academy, 2017
Brian Stock’s newest contribution to Augustinian studies combines various ancient and medieval as... more Brian Stock’s newest contribution to Augustinian studies combines various ancient and medieval ascetic and interpretive exercises into a common theme of what he terms the integrated self. Stock means by this term Augustine’s incorporation of ancient western monastic disciplines with various rhetorical and philosophical traditions of Neoplatonism to form an understanding of the self. By replacing the dualistic conclusions of the mind and body found in Platonic thought, with the biblical concept of equality between the mind and body, Stock argues that Augustine’s view shaped the future of Christian philosophy concerning the self. Stock concludes that the Augustinian tradition of reading and meditation, the spiritual and the natural, are not in conflict, but are cooperative. The benefit of the reading for the health of the individual harmonizes the mind and the body. In other terms, the harmony of the spiritual and the physical produces human flourishing in a proven historical method. Perhaps it is time to resurrect the ancient practices of reading, meditation, and writing in an age of moral relativism and decline.
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Scholars Alan J. Hauser and Duane F. Watson describe the power of Enlightenment epistemology in s... more Scholars Alan J. Hauser and Duane F. Watson describe the power of Enlightenment epistemology in shifting perceptions of authority in hermeneutic inquiry: “Once this epistemological shift was well underway, there was no stopping it, and for many, methods of biblical interpretation had to conform to the new standards for assessing truth.” The third volume of Eerdmans’ A History of Biblical Interpretation explores the shift of methods in textual epistemology within the Age of Reason, starting with the shorter lived period of the Enlightenment, and its influence on Biblical interpretation leading to the nineteenth century. This new volume of work from Eerdmans gives the academic of hermeneutics and biblical scholarship an historical and philosophical roadmap leading to contemporary approaches to Biblical interpretation.
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Thesis Chapters by Bryant K Owens
This dissertation will be a study of the influence of the Christian tradition of
caritas in the p... more This dissertation will be a study of the influence of the Christian tradition of
caritas in the philosophy and the subsequent hermeneutic of Saint Augustine of Hippo and will seek to establish the value of Augustine’s hermeneutic of caritas within contemporary philosophical scholarship. The shift in the Western philosophical tradition during the Enlightenment period resulted in a solid break from authority-based hermeneutics of theology to the autonomy of the mind of modern philosophy. The result was a greater emphasis on the literal meaning of a text through method over the spiritual meaning, or application of the greater meaning, in Christian living. This study will explore whether contemporary philosophical hermeneutics can cohere with Augustine’s embrace of caritas in his epistemology and subsequent hermeneutic. The unique aspect of Augustine’s hermeneutic is that caritas is a product of understanding while at the same time is the method, or means, by which caritas is produced. Therefore, Christian epistemology, as echoed in Augustine’s hermeneutic of caritas, is a uniquely valuable contribution to the academic discipline of philosophy. This dissertation will propose that the benefits of Augustine’s caritas as the a priori spirit of the biblical text, and the proper application of that spirit in scholarship, should be the epistemological focus of hermeneutics rather than the emphasis on method prevalent from Spinoza to Dilthey. Augustine’s caritas may prove beneficial as a renewed harmony for theological and philosophical hermeneutics.
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Conference Presentations by Bryant K Owens
This paper will focus on the influence of Augustinian hermeneutics toward the idea of beauty in t... more This paper will focus on the influence of Augustinian hermeneutics toward the idea of beauty in the Protestant tradition. While the Roman Catholic tradition developed an aesthetic influential to the ecclesiastical liturgy, the Protestant Reformed tradition developed an aesthetic influential in the theology of scriptural epistemology. Although the academic development of Reformed Theological Aesthetics falls behind the centuries of Roman Catholic studies, the contribution from Augustine’s hermeneutic as epistemology can provide a foundation for how the moment of biblical understanding is a point of beauty for the Reformed Theological tradition. The Christian philosophy surrounding this moment of Beauty as a refinement, or movement, of the soul (the Platonic idea of καλόν) is also a moment of understanding which is experienced in the most beautiful of events.
A review of how one is influenced by Beauty in Plato’s Phaedrus and Augustine’s conversion narrative in the Confessions will show influence in the epistemology of the Protestant Evangelical perspective on Beauty. The idea of καλόν will be shown as the shared desire between Platonist philosophy and the Augustinian hermeneutic embraced by the Reformed Protestant theology. Therefore, the role of the arts in Protestant philosophy will be unique as the moment of a beautiful encounter is found in the written word.
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The dialogues of Plato show the beauty of wisdom and the freedom that philosophy guarantees for t... more The dialogues of Plato show the beauty of wisdom and the freedom that philosophy guarantees for the human soul. As the recorded witness to the humble, yet bold, dialogues of Socrates with numerous Athenians, Plato establishes the foundation of philosophical thought that must not be abandoned in the establishment of diverse learning communities. Many of Plato’s dialogues, but especially the Apology, emphasize the liberation that the love of wisdom returns. In the face of opposition to his inquiries, Socrates modeled how diversity of thoughtful inquiry uncovers the universal truth that silences oppressive voices and transcends relative opinion. This paper will propose that as academia rightly seeks to ensure equitable and diverse learning communities, objective truth, as defined by Platonic philosophy through the Socratic Method, is the basis for, not the hindrance to, the ideal pursuit of wisdom.
This paper will propose an alternative dialogue to the emphasis on relativism that some circles in academia promote as the basis for defending equitable and diverse learning communities. Through exploring the classical arguments that show how relativism leads to no truth at all, I hope to remind the reader that objective epistemology ensures the freedom of diverse ideas rather than oppressing them. If open dialogue is the hallmark of an equitable and diverse learning community, then classical thinking, which seeks objective truth, ensures the liberation of the mind. Socratic dialogue can unveil truth (singular) through the diversity of ideas (plural).
The true philosopher who practices Socratic methods of dialogue must adhere to the freedom of thought of all who are in conversation together allowing for truth to reveal itself rather than the desires of the participants in discussion to shape the answers after their own perceptions. Some ideas will be in error and philosophical inquiry must allow the freedom to compare true statements from false ones. Furthermore, the humility to admit that one does not truly know and is willing to seek truth apart from one’s own experience is the foundation for the freedom of Socratic inquiry. A free spirit is necessary to ensure the freedom of a people (or individual). Eric Voegelin argues that “The authority of the spirit is an authority only if, and when, it is accepted in freedom.”
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Papers by Bryant K Owens
Book Reviews by Bryant K Owens
Thesis Chapters by Bryant K Owens
caritas in the philosophy and the subsequent hermeneutic of Saint Augustine of Hippo and will seek to establish the value of Augustine’s hermeneutic of caritas within contemporary philosophical scholarship. The shift in the Western philosophical tradition during the Enlightenment period resulted in a solid break from authority-based hermeneutics of theology to the autonomy of the mind of modern philosophy. The result was a greater emphasis on the literal meaning of a text through method over the spiritual meaning, or application of the greater meaning, in Christian living. This study will explore whether contemporary philosophical hermeneutics can cohere with Augustine’s embrace of caritas in his epistemology and subsequent hermeneutic. The unique aspect of Augustine’s hermeneutic is that caritas is a product of understanding while at the same time is the method, or means, by which caritas is produced. Therefore, Christian epistemology, as echoed in Augustine’s hermeneutic of caritas, is a uniquely valuable contribution to the academic discipline of philosophy. This dissertation will propose that the benefits of Augustine’s caritas as the a priori spirit of the biblical text, and the proper application of that spirit in scholarship, should be the epistemological focus of hermeneutics rather than the emphasis on method prevalent from Spinoza to Dilthey. Augustine’s caritas may prove beneficial as a renewed harmony for theological and philosophical hermeneutics.
Conference Presentations by Bryant K Owens
A review of how one is influenced by Beauty in Plato’s Phaedrus and Augustine’s conversion narrative in the Confessions will show influence in the epistemology of the Protestant Evangelical perspective on Beauty. The idea of καλόν will be shown as the shared desire between Platonist philosophy and the Augustinian hermeneutic embraced by the Reformed Protestant theology. Therefore, the role of the arts in Protestant philosophy will be unique as the moment of a beautiful encounter is found in the written word.
This paper will propose an alternative dialogue to the emphasis on relativism that some circles in academia promote as the basis for defending equitable and diverse learning communities. Through exploring the classical arguments that show how relativism leads to no truth at all, I hope to remind the reader that objective epistemology ensures the freedom of diverse ideas rather than oppressing them. If open dialogue is the hallmark of an equitable and diverse learning community, then classical thinking, which seeks objective truth, ensures the liberation of the mind. Socratic dialogue can unveil truth (singular) through the diversity of ideas (plural).
The true philosopher who practices Socratic methods of dialogue must adhere to the freedom of thought of all who are in conversation together allowing for truth to reveal itself rather than the desires of the participants in discussion to shape the answers after their own perceptions. Some ideas will be in error and philosophical inquiry must allow the freedom to compare true statements from false ones. Furthermore, the humility to admit that one does not truly know and is willing to seek truth apart from one’s own experience is the foundation for the freedom of Socratic inquiry. A free spirit is necessary to ensure the freedom of a people (or individual). Eric Voegelin argues that “The authority of the spirit is an authority only if, and when, it is accepted in freedom.”
caritas in the philosophy and the subsequent hermeneutic of Saint Augustine of Hippo and will seek to establish the value of Augustine’s hermeneutic of caritas within contemporary philosophical scholarship. The shift in the Western philosophical tradition during the Enlightenment period resulted in a solid break from authority-based hermeneutics of theology to the autonomy of the mind of modern philosophy. The result was a greater emphasis on the literal meaning of a text through method over the spiritual meaning, or application of the greater meaning, in Christian living. This study will explore whether contemporary philosophical hermeneutics can cohere with Augustine’s embrace of caritas in his epistemology and subsequent hermeneutic. The unique aspect of Augustine’s hermeneutic is that caritas is a product of understanding while at the same time is the method, or means, by which caritas is produced. Therefore, Christian epistemology, as echoed in Augustine’s hermeneutic of caritas, is a uniquely valuable contribution to the academic discipline of philosophy. This dissertation will propose that the benefits of Augustine’s caritas as the a priori spirit of the biblical text, and the proper application of that spirit in scholarship, should be the epistemological focus of hermeneutics rather than the emphasis on method prevalent from Spinoza to Dilthey. Augustine’s caritas may prove beneficial as a renewed harmony for theological and philosophical hermeneutics.
A review of how one is influenced by Beauty in Plato’s Phaedrus and Augustine’s conversion narrative in the Confessions will show influence in the epistemology of the Protestant Evangelical perspective on Beauty. The idea of καλόν will be shown as the shared desire between Platonist philosophy and the Augustinian hermeneutic embraced by the Reformed Protestant theology. Therefore, the role of the arts in Protestant philosophy will be unique as the moment of a beautiful encounter is found in the written word.
This paper will propose an alternative dialogue to the emphasis on relativism that some circles in academia promote as the basis for defending equitable and diverse learning communities. Through exploring the classical arguments that show how relativism leads to no truth at all, I hope to remind the reader that objective epistemology ensures the freedom of diverse ideas rather than oppressing them. If open dialogue is the hallmark of an equitable and diverse learning community, then classical thinking, which seeks objective truth, ensures the liberation of the mind. Socratic dialogue can unveil truth (singular) through the diversity of ideas (plural).
The true philosopher who practices Socratic methods of dialogue must adhere to the freedom of thought of all who are in conversation together allowing for truth to reveal itself rather than the desires of the participants in discussion to shape the answers after their own perceptions. Some ideas will be in error and philosophical inquiry must allow the freedom to compare true statements from false ones. Furthermore, the humility to admit that one does not truly know and is willing to seek truth apart from one’s own experience is the foundation for the freedom of Socratic inquiry. A free spirit is necessary to ensure the freedom of a people (or individual). Eric Voegelin argues that “The authority of the spirit is an authority only if, and when, it is accepted in freedom.”