Scripture & Theology Colloquium - Just What is "Scripture & Theology"?

Since 2008, in both May and October, Wycliffe College has been hosting the Scripture and Theology Colloquium. At inception this was guided by Christopher Seitz and particularly Ephraim Radner, who passed on the co-ordination to Mark Elliott in 2020 (ably assisted by a small committee and great admin & technical support). In any given year we’ve usually dedicated one of the days to a biblical book, or a section of Scripture and the other day to a theological topic, or occasionally a theologian or a theological movement. Our aim has been to invite three or four ‘outside’ speakers with either biblical studies or other theological expertise to address the given topic, followed by an in-house (faculty) respondent and a good bit of time for questions and discussion from those who attend. Awkward silences have been rare! Eighteen years on we now take stock and ask after what our own faculty and a few guests have learned as to the nature of how Scripture and Theology relate, and how it makes a difference to how we write (publish) and teach in our own fields (from Hebrew poetry to Church Planting). Some will think in terms of Biblical Theology, others of ‘Theological Interpretation of Scripture’, some of a more ‘open’ hermeneutics of the bible and of theology. But simply, how do we read Scripture to serve Theology and how does Theology help us to read Scripture better?