Resource request: American church historian or Church of Christ adherent most likely to know.

I am looking at the Church of Christ (Stone-Campbell) hermeneutics resources in Logos while awaiting Harmonizing Hermeneutics: Applying the Bible to Contemporary Life by J.D. Thomas for a more comprehensive view. Thomas should be in Logos. In Vadney, Victor. The Arrogant Journey: Hermeneutics and Church History. Abilene, TX: Desert Willow Publishing, 2012. (which, unfortunately, I can't recommend) the author says:

[quote]

As with the first breach, it started with the intellectuals in our colleges and universities who progressively rejected and weakened the Restoration hermeneutic until they finally declared victory over it and pronounced it dead. As is always the case, many of the true believers, the ones who fought to make the church strong, had children that did not experience these things. The universal pervasiveness of denominationalism captured the hearts of many of these offspring who could not imagine that their close denominational friends were following the teaching of men rather than the commands of God. Thus, the hermeneutic that is Bible centered was rejected so the offspring could claim a new order without the commands, examples, and necessary inferences to encumber them and their worldly relationships.

Victor Vadney, The Arrogant Journey: Hermeneutics and Church History (Abilene, TX: Desert Willow Publishing, 2012), 45–46.

Unfortunately, and one reason I don't recommend the book, the author fails to provide any details or examples, so I don't know what he is talking about. Can you provide any resources or names so that I can understand (a) why the hermeneutics espoused by the author ("commands, examples, and necessary inferences") were dropped and what hermeneutics replaced them? Unfortunately, even Google can't find anything when I have no names, issues, dates ... to identify the offending hermeneutics.

Where does Searching for the Pattern: My Journey in Interpreting the Bible by John Mark Hicks (also should be in Logos) fit into this? He is the only contemporary Church of Christ author who touches on hermeneutics that I know. He may well be someone Vadney had in mind.

Vote at Searching for the Pattern: My Journey in Interpreting the Bible (and Study Guide) by John Mark Hicks | Logos

Vote at Harmonizing Hermeneutics: Applying the Bible to Contemporary Life by J.D. Thomas | Logos

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Comments

DMB

Well, first, you're probably most expert from your family past.

But I don't understand your question. Denominationalism is a cOC boundary doctrine going back to the 1920s, best illustrated in the American Journal of Theology discussions. Of course, even further back (Campbell), and a base argument by Joseph Smith.

And a web query of the cOC and denominationalism presents a long list of cOC's and their maintaining the boundary. Everitt Ferguson at Abilene would normally be the best match, but Vadney appears to be on his own. Strictly guessing, institutionalism was the practical effect, which Vadney likely ran into with his missionary support responsibilities.

The Logos Florida College Lectures offers the best argument match, specifically 1982, and a closer match in 1991, with Jady Copeland.

MJ. Smith

Thank you - Ferguson looks like he may be a very productive lead. I'll check out the Florida College Lectures. You see my Church of Christ hermeneutics are suspect because my grandfather attended Bible college in Eugene during the time that the split between Disciples of Christ and independent Churches of Christ was a hot debate. He ended up firmly of the Church of Christ side but ...[;)] Up until 2000 or so Dad kept me up to date on Boise (and Puget Sound until it closed) but I know nothing about disputes in other parts of the country or after 2000. Hence, my having no clue as to what Vadney is talking about.

Morgan

Truth Magazine (not in Logos) will have plenty of what you're looking for, but under the term "Biblical Authority." Many of their issues can be googled and read for free.

Truth magazine likely represents the most conservative/old guard viewpoints and has no issue calling out those they disagree with. Another google search of "truth magazine john mark hicks" will get you some views on why they disagree with him.

David Thomas

the hermeneutic that is Bible centered was rejected so the offspring could claim a new order without the commands, examples, and necessary inferences to encumber them and their worldly relationships.

why the hermeneutics espoused by the author ("commands, examples, and necessary inferences") were dropped and what hermeneutics replaced them?

I was never in the Stone-Campbell movement, but I was raised Independent Fundamental Baptist (KJV) that is quite similar. in my OPINION, some of the ["Biblical" hermeneutic with it's "necessary interences"] include some personal preferences. One example from my own life - My mother (a Baptist pastor's wife] used to repeatedly tell us 4 children to "abstain from all appearances of evil" (1 Thess 5:22) as an exhortation to err on the side of holiness, {e.g. if it is doubtful, it is dirty}. This "biblical" hermeneutic provided her Biblical authority for us to stay away from dancing, playing cards, etc.

When I studied Koine Greek I found that the word appearance (eidos) does NOT mean "something that appears to be, but isn't really" So my hermeneutic of the text as it was Inspired had a different meaning than what my mother (and other KJV [English only]) had "necessarily inferred". I now read that verse to mean "abhor all types of true evil" where some with a "Biblical" hermeneutic read that verse to mean "don't let anybody see you do anything that might be interpretted as evil"

MJ. Smith

Ah ... Truth magazine and John Mark Hicks blog are both treasure troves ...

David McClister

MJ -- Ed Harrell's academic works may be where you want to go. His book on Social Sources of Division in the Disciples of Christ is brilliant. He also wrote a short booklet, The Emergence of the Church of Christ Denomination, that is well worth a read (a sociologically-oriented defense of his conservative approach). Much of David Edwin Harrell's popular-level stuff was published in Christianity Magazine (available in Logos). He was a regular columnist for that publication. It probably has exactly the kinds of discussion you're looking for. Ed was always open about his identification with conservative Churches of Christ, and espoused what he called a Baconian approach to hermeneutics. For the "conservative element," the Florida College annual lecture books probably represent the views of most. I might add that Thomas Warren's approach does not speak for everyone in the group, even those on the "institutional" side of the line (where he was). It's been a long time since I read that book, but I remember that it was highly rationalistic (if I recall correctly, Warren had a Harvard doctorate in philosophy).

David McClister

I also forgot to mention the Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement (in Logos); Holloway and Foster, Renewing the World (in Logos); and the history by Richard Hughs, Reviving the Ancient Faith (in Logos; Hughes is on the "institutional" side).

MJ. Smith

Thanks everyone. I now understand (a) when Vadney's view was popular in coC, (b) what conservative/progressive mean when used by a coC adherent in a coC context, and (c) what he was arguing against. But now I have a very cheeky question for which I know that within the PNW coC's the answer is "no". But did anyone in the Restoration Movement ever argue for restoring New Testament hermeneutics?

David McClister

I think you anticipated the correct answer. Like other restoration movements of old, lots of theological baggage came with the first efforts, and theology dominated the early discussions. In their defense, some claimed that Acts 15 revealed the proper way to answer a question, but that was not far into NT hermeneutics as we understand it these days.

Christian Alexander

I used the John Mark Hicks book in a local Bible study class. We did a weekly study. Very fun.