Scripture And Discernment

This work is a revision and expansion of Luke Timothy Johnson’s earlier work, Decision Making in the Early Church: A Biblical Model. Here he expands his earlier thoughts on the biblical text and decision making in the church. Often, churches simply attempt to turn to the Scripture for support of their decisions. Johnson argues, however, that there are so many complex issues that are not directly addressed in the Scriptures that a closer look at how decisions were made in the early church is needed for a complete picture of the decision making process. Looking, then, at the early events of Acts, Johnson shows how discernment is critical to correctly interpret Scripture for church decisions. Luke Timothy Johnson is Robert W. Woodruff Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.