Kevin Jon Vanhoozer (born March 10, 1957) is an American

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and current Research Professor of Systematic Theology at

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) is an academic divinity school founded in 1897 and located in the northern Chicago suburb of Deerfield, Illinois. It is part of and located on the main campus of Trinity International University. It’s ...

(TEDS) in

Deerfield, Illinois Deerfield is a north shore suburb of Chicago in Lake County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion extending into Cook County, Illinois. The population was 19,196 at the 2020 census. Deerfield is home to the headquarters of Walgreens Boo ...

. Much of Vanhoozer's work focuses on

systematic theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topi ...

hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate c ...

, and

postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...

Biography

Vanhoozer received his M. Div. from

Westminster Theological Seminary Westminster Theological Seminary is a Protestant theological seminary in the Reformed theological tradition in Glenside, Pennsylvania. It was founded by members of the faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary in 1929 after Princeton chose to t ...

in Philadelphia and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

from

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, where he studied under

Nicholas Lash Nicholas Langrishe Alleyne Lash (6 April 1934 – 11 July 2020) was an English Roman Catholic theologian. Having served in the British Army, he trained for Holy Orders at St Mary's College, Oscott, and worked as a Catholic priest until 1975. He ...

. His

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

dissertation was titled ''Biblical Narrative in the Philosophy of Paul Ricoeur: A Study in Hermeneutics and Theology,'' published in 1990 (reprint 2007) by Cambridge University Press (). He joined the faculty of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in 1986, but during two periods since has taught elsewhere. From 1990 to 1998, he was Senior Lecturer at New College,

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

; from 2009 to 2012, he was Blanchard Professor of Theology at Wheaton College. He returned to TEDS in 2012. Vanhoozer is the Senior Theological Mentor for the St. Augustine Fellowship of the Center for Pastor Theologians and Senior Fellow in Systematic Theology for the C. S. Lewis Institute. He and his wife Sylvie have two daughters. He maintains a web page, "The Theophilus Project", at www.kevinjvanhoozer.com. Douglas Sweeney and Daniel Treier edited a Festschrift in his honor, ''Hearing and Doing the Word: The Drama of Evangelical Hermeneutics,'' published in 2021 by T&T Clark () and consisting of essays by his former teachers and students and present colleagues.

Academic contributions

Vanhoozer has written several books, including ''The Drama of Doctrine: A Canonical-Linguistic Approach to Christian Theology'', which won the ''

Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "evange ...

'' 2006 Book Award for best book in theology, and ''Faith Speaking Understanding: Performing the Drama of Doctrine'', which won the ''

'' 2015 Book Award for best book in theology. He has edited several others, including the

Gold Medallion Book Award The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) is an international non-profit trade association whose member companies are involved in the publishing and distribution of Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to ...

winner ''Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible'',2006 Gold Medallion Book Awards Winners - Bible Reference & Study category
''The Cambridge Companion to Postmodern Theology,'' and, with Charles A. Anderson and Michael J. Sleasman, ''Everyday Theology: How to Read Cultural Texts and Interpret Trends''. In his work ''Is There a Meaning in this Text?'', Vanhoozer gives an in-depth response to the challenges of

Deconstructionism The term deconstruction refers to approaches to understanding the relationship between text and meaning. It was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who defined it as a turn away from Platonism's ideas of "true" forms and essences w ...

to biblical hermeneutics. Primarily, he engages the thinking of

Jacques Derrida Jacques Derrida (; ; born Jackie Élie Derrida; See also . 15 July 1930 – 9 October 2004) was an Algerian-born French philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction, which he utilized in numerous texts, and which was developed t ...

, but

Stanley Fish Stanley Eugene Fish (born April 19, 1938) is an American literary theorist, legal scholar, author and public intellectual. He is currently the Floersheimer Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo Scho ...

and

Richard Rorty Richard McKay Rorty (October 4, 1931 – June 8, 2007) was an American philosopher. Educated at the University of Chicago and Yale University, he had strong interests and training in both the history of philosophy and in contemporary analytic phi ...

also receive attention. Vanhoozer develops a theory of communicative action that relies strongly on the speech-act theory of

J. L. Austin John Langshaw Austin (26 March 1911 – 8 February 1960) was a British philosopher of language and leading proponent of ordinary language philosophy, perhaps best known for developing the theory of speech acts. Austin pointed out that we use l ...

, in which a biblical text is seen as a communicative act involving "locutions" (the text itself), "illocutions" (the stance of the author to the locution, e.g. questioning, asserting, promising, etc.), and "perlocutions" (the goals that the author hopes to accomplish through the text). Among the conclusions that Vanhoozer draws from viewing a text as a communicative act are the involvement of the author, text, and reader in the process of interpretation. The intended meaning of the author can be discerned to a certain degree from the text. The text (

langue and parole ''Langue'' and ''parole'' is a theoretical linguistic dichotomy distinguished by Ferdinand de Saussure in his '' Course in General Linguistics''. The French term ''langue'' ('n individuallanguage') encompasses the abstract, systematic rules and ...

) is not an arbitrary "playground" but part of a covenantal relationship between all people. As a result, the intention of the author can be adequately decoded. Another consequence is that the reader/interpreter has a responsibility to honor the intentions of the author and try to interpret the text in a way which re-creates the author's intended meaning. This responsibility is coupled with a freedom to determine the significance in the context of the interpreter's community.

Works

Books

* * * * * * * * * * *

Edited works

* * * * * * * * * *

Articles

* * *

Online writings

The Promise of Consensus: Towards a Communicative Hermeneutic
(PDF)
Types of Postmodern Theology
(PDF), an excerpt from the ''Cambridge Companion to Postmodern Theology''

* ttp://www.biblicalfoundations.org/?p=117 Vanhoozer's response to Kostenberger's review of ''The Drama of Doctrine''

Audio

The Stage, the Story and the Script
(

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

Asbury Theological Seminary Asbury Theological Seminary is a Christian Wesleyan seminary in the historical Methodist tradition located in Wilmore, Kentucky. It is the largest seminary of the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. It is known for its advocacy of egalitarianism, giving ...

, March 15, 2007
Doing Church: The Theater of the Gospel
(MP3), Asbury Seminary, March 16, 2007
The Strange New Status Symbol of the Cross
(MP3), Wheaton College, March 19, 2008
What has Vienna to do with Jerusalem? Barth, Brahms, and Bernstein's Unanswered Question
(

RealMedia RealMedia is a proprietary multimedia container format created by RealNetworks with the filename extension . RealMedia is generally used in conjunction with RealVideo and RealAudio, while also being used for streaming content over the Internet. T ...

)

References

External links

Kevin J. Vanhoozer, PhD—Research Professor of Systematic Theology
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. *Anon
"Experience the Drama"
(PDF), ''Trinity Magazine'', Spring 2006. *Davies, G.

''Exiled Preacher'', September 21, 2007. * Poythress, V.
Book Review: ''Is There a Meaning in This Text?''
''

Westminster Theological Journal ''Westminster Theological Journal'' is an evangelical theological journal published by Westminster Theological Seminary and edited by Vern Poythress Vern Sheridan Poythress (born 1946) is an American philosopher, theologian, New Testament schol ...

'', June 2, 2012. * Blue, S. A.
"Meaning, intention, and application: Speech act theory in the hermeneutics of Francis Watson and Kevin J. Vanhoozer"
''Trinity Journal'', Fall 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vanhoozer, Kevin Westminster Theological Seminary alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge American Calvinist and Reformed theologians Trinity International University faculty Living people 1957 births Wheaton College (Illinois) faculty Academics of the University of Edinburgh 20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 21st-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians Hermeneutists Critics of atheism