Bible
The Four Senses of Scripture Learning from Ancient Ways of Reading the Bible Patrick Schreiner Foreword by Jonathan T. Pennington In the modern era, biblical hermeneutics has been dominated by the grammatical-historical method. This represents a departure from the interpretive approach commonly used during the prior 1,700 years of the church, the four senses approach (or quadriga). Those four senses are literal (grammatical-historical), allegory (Christological), tropology (moral), and anagogy (eschatological). Patrick Schreiner doesn’t believe modern hermeneutics is wrong but believes that it is incomplete in ignoring these other aspects. Here he seeks to recover this ancient method by explaining it, defending it, and offering a coherent method for using it. With scholars, students, and pastors in view, he argues that this approach, with the senses in conversation with each other, better respects the nature, goal, and ecclesial setting of reading, interpreting, and applying the Bible. Schreiner begins by giving a brief overview of the four senses and why early Christians used this method. He then examines each sense in detail, exploring the what, why, and how, along with providing examples. Finally, he addresses anticipated exegetical, historical, and allegorical objections to his proposal.
AUGUST 2026 • 288 pp. • $27.99p • 9781540968791
CONTENTS
Foreword by Jonathan T. Pennington PART 1: THE FOUR SENSES IN PREPARATION 1. The Need for the Four Senses 2. The Four Senses: A House to Live In 3. Recovering a Medieval Mind PART 2: THE FOUR SENSES IN PRINCIPLE 4. Literal: The Grammatical-Historical Sense 5. Allegory: The Christological Sense 6. Tropology: The Moral Sense 7. Anagogy: The Eschatological Sense PART 3: THE FOUR SENSES AND PROBLEMS 8. Responding to Exegetical Objections 9. Responding to Historical Objections 10. Responding to Allegorical Objections Conclusion: How the Quadriga Differs from a Modern Reading Appendix 1: Theses and Controls Appendix 2: The Quadriga for the Church Index
Patrick Schreiner (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Semi - nary) is associate professor of New Testament and biblical theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of numerous books, including Matthew: Disciple and Scribe and The Transfiguration of Christ .
ALSO BY THE AUTHOR THE TRANSFIGURATION OF CHRIST 208 pp. • $26.99p • 9781540965967
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