Bridging the Divide between Bible and Practical Theology

This volume contributes to closing the unfortunate divide that still exists today between the so-called ‘practical’ and ‘classical’ disciplines in seminary curricula. It builds a bridge across a chasm that should not exist. The chapters reflect ‘working on the bridge’ through a collegial model of sustained conversation out of the contributors’ different disciplines within Bible and Practical Theology. The authors in this volume desire to break out of academic silos that too often lead to fragmented student learning and disjointed ministry practices, in the hope that the imaginations of students, scholars, and ministers may be stimulated in the service of holistic ministry.

The book is divided into two sections, I: Theoretical Frameworks, in which the authors invite the reader to look more broadly at issues of method, context, geography, and culture as biblical texts and practical theology are brought into dialog, and II: Reading Biblical Texts, which explores biblical books or texts while wearing the lenses of practical theology to mine the intersections and complexities of the encounter across disciplines. Whether singly or jointly authored, these essays model a dynamic, interactive reading of human situations and biblical texts in order to reveal their multivalent complexities.