Knowledge by Ritual: A Biblical Prolegomenon to Sacramental Theology
Dru Johnson, "Knowledge by Ritual: A Biblical Prolegomenon to Sacramental Theology "
English | ISBN: 1575064316 | 2016 | 308 pages | PDF | 6 MB
English | ISBN: 1575064316 | 2016 | 308 pages | PDF | 6 MB
What do rituals have to do with knowledge? Knowledge by Ritual examines the epistemological role of rites in Christian Scripture. By putting biblical rituals in conversation with philosophical and scientific views of knowledge, Johnson argues that knowing is a skilled adeptness in both the biblical literature and scientific enterprise. If rituals are a way of thinking in community akin to scientific communities, then the biblical emphasis on rites that lead to knowledge cannot be ignored. Practicing a rite to know occurs frequently in the Hebrew Bible. YHWH answers Abram’s skepticism―“How shall I know that I will possess the land?”―with a ritual intended to make him know (Gen 15:7–21). The recurring rites of Sabbath (Exod 31:13) and dwelling in a Sukkah (Lev 23:43) direct Israel toward discernment of an event’s enduring significance. Likewise, building stone memorials aims at the knowledge of generations to come (Josh 4:6).
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