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Kevin Vanhoozer

Three Documents of the University: Reading Nature, Culture, and Scripture Theologically

Tuesday, January 27, 2026 @ 12:00 PM

Join us on Zoom

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89889829730?pwd=Cnni21Zsvvf9W6Wkg5o0w21iyb9iQB.1

Abstract

Universities arguably exist to make the universe legible (readable) and intelligible (understandable). In Christian tradition, what the Second Helvetic Confession calls the “Book” of nature is as readable as the book of Scripture, for both ultimately precede through the Logos in whom all things hang together. The “book” of culture, human history, is similarly legible, because it is written by those created in the image of the Logos. Modern secular universities, however, struggle to make sense of these three documents. What Hans Frei termed the “eclipse” of biblical narrative led to a “great reversal” in hermeneutics in which the biblical narrative gave way to other frames of reference. This presentation argues that the prevailing metaphysical frames of reference used today in the natural and human sciences, as well as in biblical studies, are ultimately unable to read rightly their respective texts. Brief examples from each of the three books – the laws of nature; human dignity; the historical Jesus – illustrate both the problem and also the way forward.  This involves a retrieval of a theological frame of reference that privileges biblical narrative and enables faith-fuelled scholarship to gain a deeper understanding of reality.

Response: Jens Zimmermann, PhD University of British Columbia, PhD Johannes Gutenberg University. He is the J.I. Packer Chair of Theology at Regent College. Trained in both Comparative Literature and Philosophy, his research focusses on theological anthropology and epistemology, of who we are and how we know. Among other works, he has published books on university education (The Passionate Intellect: Incarnational Humanism and the Future of University Education, with Norman Klassen, Baker Academic 2006), the importance of humanism for Western culture (Humanism and Religion: A Call for the Renewal of Western Culture, Oxford University Press, 2012), hermeneutics (Hermeneutics: A Very Short Introduction, OUP 2014), and the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Christian Humanism, OUP 2019). 

Biography 

Kevin J. Vanhoozer (Ph.D., Cambridge University on Paul Ricoeur) is Research Professor of Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Previously, he served as Senior Lecturer in Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland (1990-98) and as Blanchard Professor of Theology at the Wheaton College Graduate School in Chicago (2009-2012). He is the very articulate author of twelve books, including The Drama of Doctrine: A Canonical-Linguistic Approach to Christian Theology; plus Faith Speaking Understanding: Performing the Drama of Doctrine, and his impressive 2024 volume Mere Christian Hermeneutics: Transfiguring What it Means to Read the Bible Theologically. He is presently at work on a three-volume systematic theology. In 2017, he chaired the steering committee and drafted A Reforming Catholic Confession to mark the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation. He is currently Senior Fellow of the C. S. Lewis Institute. He is an amateur classical pianist, and finds that music and literature help him integrate academic theology, imagination, and spiritual formation.

Kevin Vanhoozer on Framing the Discussion on a Mature Bible Reading Culture:

In Mere Christian Hermeneutics: Transfiguring What It Means to Read the Bible Theologically (2024), Kevin Vanhoozer uses the concept of “framing interpretation holistically” to address the diverse “frames of reference” that shape how different interpretive communities (e.g., denominational, historical, disciplinary, or global) approach Scripture. He argues that these frames often lead to fragmented or partial readings, reflecting the “plurality of reading cultures.”

Vanhoozer proposes framing interpretation holistically within a unified, eschatological, and christological perspective — what he calls a “mere” Christian hermeneutic (echoing C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity). This holistic frame views the Bible not in isolation but as part of God’s broader economy of revelation, centered on the person and work of Jesus Christ.

The key elements include:

• Grammatical-eschatological interpretation — Attending to the literal (grammatical-historical) sense while “thickening” it through figural or spiritual reading.
• Transfiguration as a model — Drawing from the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ transfiguration, Vanhoozer describes holistic interpretation as “transfiguring” the text: the literal sense is glorified (not denied or distorted) in the light of Christ, revealing its fuller theological meaning and telos (purpose) in the gospel.
• Canonical and catholic context — Reading individual texts within the whole canon, informed by the historic Christian tradition (“reformed catholic” paradigm), to achieve unity amid legitimate diversity.

This approach integrates exegesis, theology, and church practice, ensuring interpretation does justice to Scripture’s divine-human authorship, its communicative action, and its ultimate aim: forming readers to know God and bear witness to Christ.

In essence, framing interpretation holistically means rejecting narrow or “immanent” frames (e.g., purely modern historical-critical or postmodern subjective ones) in favor of an overarching theological vision that sees all Scripture pointing to and illuminated by Jesus, leading to transformative understanding. This is central to Vanhoozer’s call for reading cultures that foster both unity and diversity among Christians.

As we rediscover the economy of light in the Bible with Kevin Vanhoozer, we break through the glass ceiling of modernity’s immanent frame (Charles Taylor, A Secular Age) and open ourselves to a thicker, richer social imaginary—towards a more expansive frame of reference. When we interpret the Bible properly and live it incarnationally, the light of Christ shines brighter in the world. We become a mature, responsive reading culture. We expose ourselves to God’s light, his interpretation of us and our destiny. We read the Bible christoscopically: Jesus Christ is the unexpected fulfilment of the promise that lies at the heart of the Old Testament. We are called as a people out of darkness into this wonderful light, into community and communion (1 Peter 2:9).