Biblical Interpretation in the Anabaptist Tradition, by Stuart Murray
2000. 278 pp. ISBN-13: 978-0968554333
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“What Stuart Murray has brought to light in his study of Anabaptist hermeneutics is of enormous theological and practical relevance, both for our understanding of the spectrum of Christian biblical interpretation and its contemporary appropriation. For too long we have neglected voices on the margins of the Christian churches which offer a perspective on biblical interpretation that picks up methods of reading deeply rooted in Scripture itself. Stuart Murray's book does much to illuminate one of the most challenging movements in Christianity. It will be of benefit to historians, theologians and all of us who are seeking ways of being faithful to Jesus Christ at the beginning of a new millennium.” – Christopher Rowland, Dean Ireland Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture, Oxford University
"This is an important study of one of the crucial questions in Anabaptist history and theology. A number of studies have addressed Anabaptist methods and understandings of Biblical interpretation and the hermeneutics of individual Anabaptists like Pilgram Marpeck and Peter Riedeman, bur Murray is the first to present a thorough treatment of Anabaptist hermeneutics that draws on all of the strands of the movement, from the Swiss Brethren to the revolutionaries of Munster. In addition to the praise Murray should receive for taking on this ambitious effort of synthesizing the disparate voices of Anabaptism, his work is notable also for its attention to contemporary theological issues. After explicating what he takes to be the Anabaptist hermeneutic tradition, Murray turns to the question of its relevance for contemporary Christianity. Rather than attempting a broad-brush billboard advertisement, Murray examines two areas of possible dialogue: with the Pentecostal movements, important because they are the fastest growing segment of Christianity; and with liberation theology, which in the 1980s received considerable attention for its attacks on traditional ways of doing theology." - Mennonite Quarterly Review
Stuart Murray Williams spent 12 years as an urban church planter in East London and has continued to be involved in church planting as a trainer, mentor, writer, strategist and consultant. For 9 years he was Oasis Director of Church Planting and Evangelism at Spurgeon’s College, London. Since then, under the auspices of the Anabaptist Network, he has worked as a trainer and consultant, with particular interest in urban mission, church planting and emerging forms of church. He is the founder of Urban Expression. He has written books on church planting, urban mission, emerging church, the challenge of post-Christendom and the Anabaptist tradition.