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David K. Bernard

Autor(a) de The Oneness of God

56 Works 643 Membros 5 Reviews 1 Favorited

Obras de David K. Bernard

The Oneness of God (1983) 82 cópias
Practical Holiness (1985) 40 cópias
God's Infallible Word (1992) 26 cópias
The Message of Romans (1987) 24 cópias
New Birth (Orig) (1998) 22 cópias
The New Birth: Volume 2 (1984) 18 cópias
In the Name of Jesus (1992) 18 cópias
Essentials of the New Birth (1987) 12 cópias
Essentials of Holiness (1989) 9 cópias
The Apostolic Church (2014) 6 cópias
Pursuing Holiness (2013) 4 cópias
The Apostolic Life 1 exemplar(es)
To The End of the Earth 1 exemplar(es)
Understanding God's Word 1 exemplar(es)
Essentials of Holiness 1 exemplar(es)
God's Infallible Word 1 exemplar(es)
Apostolic Life, The (2010) 1 exemplar(es)

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Data de nascimento
1956-11-20
Sexo
male
Nacionalidade
USA
Local de nascimento
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
Pequena biografia
David K. Bernard is founder and pastor of New Life United Pentecostal Church of Austin, Texas, out of which have come 16 additional works. He is also superintendent of the South Texas District United Pentecostal Church and president of Urshan Graduate School of Theology. He holds a J.D. with honors from the University of Texas, an M.Th. from the University of South Africa, and a B.A. with high honors from Rice University. His 30 books have been published in 36 languages. He and his wife, Connie, have three children: Jonathan, Daniel, and Lindsey.

Membros

Resenhas

This short monograph is an important waypoint in the theological publications of David K. Bernard, who could easily be described as the world’s leading Oneness Pentecostal theologian. Though Bernard has written extensively on the distinctives of Oneness Pentecostal theology and practice, his works have largely been aimed (intentionally) at a general readership, not specialists in biblical studies, systematic theology, or church history.

This work, a published version of his ThM thesis at the University of South Africa, is his first published piece of academic theological work to my knowledge. (Though Bernard has presented numerous academic papers at theological symposia over the years, very few of those works have been published.) Thus, the work is important not simply for its content but for what it represents—a new “iteration” of Bernard’s work of articulating key aspects of Oneness Pentecostal theology.

In this work, Bernard tackles the thorny issue of the doctrine of justification in the Pauline letters, especially Romans. In many ways, the work here builds on his previous short commentary “The Message of Romans,” but zeroes in particularly on the argument made in Romans 1-8. Bernard makes two key claims:

1) Oneness Pentecostal theology describes justification as an experience of the work of the Spirit rather as a legal transaction. It is something that occurs WITHIN the believer rather than OUTSIDE him/her.
2) This view fruitfully moves BEYOND the typical Protestant-Catholic and old perspective-new perspective debates, offering a truly innovative yet biblically faithful approach to this important doctrine.

Without repeating the entirety of the argument here, I would just say that Bernard is as convincing as always. His legal mind and his years of writing for lay and ministerial audiences have honed his ability to write with exceptional clarity and directness. I think this ability shines most brightly in his summary reviews of differing historical positions. Whereas I’ve seen other scholars spend entire CHAPTERS discussing these intricacies, Bernard can accomplish the same feat in a few paragraphs (and not leave out any vital information).

In many ways, “Justification and the Holy Spirit” presents an advancement on his earlier work “The New Birth,” which could still be considered the classic full-length treatment of Oneness Pentecostal soteriology. Probably the most important distinctive of that soteriology is the argument that Spirit baptism is a necessary part OF salvation rather than a supplemental work of grace subsequent TO salvation. Here, by demonstrating that Paul presents justification not simply as the past work of Christ on the Cross but as the initial work of the Spirit in the life of the contemporary believer, he shows why such a conclusion would be theologically necessary.

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of the book for me (as a Oneness Pentecostal biblical theologian whose specialty is NOT Pauline studies) was his initial sketch of the key qualities of a contemporary Oneness Pentecostal theology. The insights offered there are worthy of consideration by ALL biblical scholars and theologians.

Finally, I think it is important to say that I am in no way surprised by this work. By that I mean a few things. First, though Bernard usually writes for a more general audience, I was not surprised that he was able to write so well at a more “academic” level. Second, though Bernard is clearly doing constructive work, his conclusions remain firmly connected with his earlier work. After finishing this work (published in 2007), I went back to read his conclusion of the discussion of Romans 8 in “The Message of Romans” (published in 1987) and was pleased to find that he was already pointing in this direction there. Twenty years on, and the core claims remain unchanged. For me, that speaks to the quality of his EARLIER works, which have sometimes been criticized for their supposed lack of academic sophistication.

This work deserves to be celebrated by the Oneness Pentecostal community as the opening of a new iteration of our theological discourse. Bernard’s work proves that we CAN engage in the broader theological conversation and that we DO have a new perspective to offer on some of the oldest, most intractable debates. Therefore, this work deserves to be recognized by the Christian academy as a unique and innovative contribution to the discussion of the biblical understanding of justification, the work of the Spirit, and the meaning of Christian salvation. I can only conclude by saying that I hope and pray there is much more to come.
… (mais)
 
Marcado
Jared_Runck | Jun 21, 2019 |
This compact volume presents an introduction to the arcane subject of biblical hermeneutics. Its two main purposes are 1) to promote the importance of the grammatical-historical exegetical method and 2) to delineate distinctively Apostolic hermeneutical principles that guide our reading of Scripture (seen perhaps most clearly in our stances on our teachings on holiness of outward appearance).

The book succeeds admirably on both objectives. Bernard's strength as a scholar is his ability to find the most fundamental differences between theological/hermeneutical systems and then explicate those distinctions in simple terms that anyone can easily understand--even those without an extensive background in hermeneutical theory. However, I would caution both lay-reader and scholar alike to not be fooled by the simplicity of his analyses. For the lay-reader, there is a vast scholarly discussion that lies behind this book which you would do well to acquaint yourself with. For the scholar, though his critiques are brief and simply stated, they are nonetheless in many ways "dead on," as they say. Don't let the paucity of footnotes (probably the biggest surprise to me) fool you; Bernard has digested the vast literature on hermeneutics.

To me, the most valuable part of the book is his two chapters on the principles of an Apostolic hermeneutic, largely because this is the first articulation of Apostolic doctrine/practice as a hermeneutical approach. Bernard's explanation of the grammatico-historical method is quite good, but there are several introductions out there (e.g., Kaiser & Silva's "Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics") that also offer good overviews of that Evangelical interpretive method.

I was also impressed with the nuanced way in which Bernard dealt with postmodern reader-response hermeneutics. The Apostolic emphasis on the reality of the guidance of the Spirit as we read the text of Scripture puts us in an interesting and potentially paradoxical relationship with the contemporary insights on the role of the reader in the process of "constructing" meaning from texts. (I purposely use the term "constructing" rather than "creating," because the latter term implies that a text's meaning is the sole work of the reader; whereas, I firmly believe the text is still the primary force by providing the "materials" the reader must use.) This was one place where the book's brevity worked against it; Bernard makes some very significant claims about Apostolic hermeneutics' relationship to these newer interpretive theories, but the book's brevity in addition to Bernard's own succinct style means that these claims were not fully fleshed out (or, not as fleshed out as I would have preferred; other readers are probably fine with his brevity on these points.)

After reading this text (I know, I know; it's embarrassing that I've waited this long), I am even more disappointed by the review that the book received in Pneuma. Especially when you understand that a key purpose of Bernard's writing is theological exposition for trained ministry AND untrained laity, this book is a stunning success at explicating a naturally-difficult topic in a way that anyone could understand. Are there other books Apostolics should read on hermeneutics? Of course (and Bernard himself would probably say that!). Is this the "final say" on the nature of Apostolic hermeneutics? No, and I don't think it was intended to be that. But this IS the first book on hermeneutics that I would recommend as an introduction because it really does handle ALL the main issues...and does so with clarity and helpful examples/illustrations. Bernard has accomplished a rare feat--writing a work that is simultaneously academic, practical, and enjoyable.
… (mais)
 
Marcado
Jared_Runck | Feb 3, 2018 |
David K. Bernard is a powerful writer.
 
Marcado
ApostolicLibrary | Sep 15, 2011 |
Very scholarly treatment of the main tenants of the oneness of God.
 
Marcado
pwlarue | Jul 24, 2009 |

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Estatísticas

Obras
56
Membros
643
Popularidade
#39,230
Avaliação
3.9
Resenhas
5
ISBNs
47
Idiomas
1
Favorito
1

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