4/9/2008 6:01:27 AM

According to Barr, theology and critical biblical study are mutually informing aspects of a theological whole. Theology provides the presuppositions necessary for turning to the Bible for theological purposes, but it cannot and must not control the outcomes of biblical exegesis. Barr expressed it this way: “It is in the interest of theology that it should allow and encourage the scripture to speak freely to the church and to theology. It must be able to say something other than what current theological and interpretive fashion would have it say. But it cannot do that if theology controls the presuppositions with which it may be approached.”  In Barr’s view the Bible cannot have authority over us if, in practice, our potentially errant theological dogmas overdetermine what it can and cannot say.  God’s Word In Human Words, p. 197