Description
The hermeneutic contribution of the French theologian and sociologist Jacques Ellul is given new prominence in this striking collection of essays, revealing him to be one of the twentieth century’s most creative and insightful interpreters of the Bible. With a breadth of contributors ranging from established biblical scholars and theologians to pastoral practitioners, from top Ellul scholars to emerging voices – and including six first-time English translations of Ellul’s own articles – this volume not only provides a detailed overview of Ellul’s biblical approach but also constitutes a crucial moment in Ellul’s theological reception.
The essays gathered here represent a clear demonstration that the full potential of Ellul’s theological interpretation of Scripture to rejuvenate and reconfigure contemporary biblical hermeneutics has yet to be seen.
About the Author
Jacob Marques Rollison is an independent scholar living in Strasbourg, France. He holds a PhD in theological ethics from the University of Aberdeen. He is co-author of Jacques Ellul in the Cascade Companions series, and has recently translated Ellul’s two-volume To Will & to Do: An Introduction to Christian Ethics. He is on the board of directors of the International Jacques Ellul Society.
Contents
List of Contributors
Acknowledgments
Introduction: A Hermeneutic of Freedom?
Jacob Marques Rollison
Part I: Approaching the Biblical Text
1. Jacques Ellul’s View of Scripture
David W. Gill
2. The Authority of the Bible
Jacques Ellul; translated by Anne-Marie Andreasson Hogg
3. The Bible and Christian Action
Jacques Ellul; translated by Lisa Richmond
4. Scriptural Ethics: On the Meaning and Use of the Analogy of Faith
Frédéric Rognon; translated by Jacob Marques Rollison
5. Meaning and Its “Interplay” with Freedom in the Bible
Jacques Ellul; translated by Anne-Marie Andreasson Hogg
Part II: Revisiting Ellul’s Readings of the Bible
6. Jacques Ellul as a Theological Exegete of the Old Testament
John Goldingay
7. What’s in a Name? Jacques Ellul’s Reading of Naming in Genesis 1–3
Michael Morelli
8. Jacques Ellul and Exodus: A Summary and Review
G.P. Wagenfuhr
9. Ellul on Job: The Freedom of Waiting
Amy J. Erickson
10. Ellul as a Reader of Ecclesiastes
Anthony J. Petrotta
11. The Figure of Jonah in Ellul’s Life and Work
Jean-Sébastien Ingrand; translated by Jacob Marques Rollison
12. Reading 2 Kings with Jacques Ellul
Chris Friesen
13. A Short, Complementary Note on Romans 13:1
Jacques Ellul; translated by Jacob Marques Rollison
14. Review of André Chouraqui’s Translation of the Bible
Jacques Ellul; translated by Lisa Richmond
Part III: Ellul and the Bible Today: Contemporary Dialogue
15. Darwin and the Bible
Jacques Ellul; translated by Matthew T. Prior
16. Giving under God’s Gaze: Figures of the Gift in the Bible and in the Work of Jacques Ellul
Patrick Chastenet; translated by Christian Roy
17. Nature and Scripture in Bernard Charbonneau’s The Green Light
Christian Roy
18. Review of Ellul, On Being Rich and Poor: Christianity in a Time of Economic Globalization
Brian Brock
19. Hope and Abandonment in the Bible
Elisabetta Ribet
20. Ellul on Scripture and Idolatry
Andrew Goddard
21. The Tower of Babel and the Hymn of Kenosis: Counterpoint Texts for Ellul
Ted Lewis
22. Ellul’s Apocalyptic Understanding of Scripture in Money and Power
Declan Kelly
Endorsements and Reviews
This outstanding collection of essays showcases the renaissance that is currently underway in Ellul studies. By focusing on Ellul’s rich engagements with and reflections on Scripture, the contributors convey the highly innovative and expansive nature of his theological thinking.
Michael Mawson, Senior Lecturer in Systematic Theology and Ethics, Charles Sturt University
Ellul is an often overlooked theologian but is increasingly important today for his analysis of and response to contemporary technological culture. In order to understand this prophetic response, one must consult Ellul’s use and reading of the Bible. Rollinson et al. have provided an indispensable guide for all of us.
Michael Burdett, Assistant Professor of Christian Theology, University of Nottingham
Rollison has curated a collection of essays that exhibits that rare combination of freedom and intentionality present in Jacques Ellul’s commentaries. The engagements and interventions reflect Ellul’s own lived approach to Scripture.
Tyler Atkinson, Associate Professor of Religion, Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas
