American Scriptures: Transformations of Scriptural Authority and the Canon in Eighteenth-and Nineteenth-Century American Protestantism

美国圣经：十八世纪和十九世纪美国新教圣经权威和正典的转变

• 批准号: 461862132
• 负责人: Professor Dr. Jan Stievermann
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Abteilung Kirchengeschichte
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Units
• 资助国家: 德国
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/461862132?language=en
• 关键词: American; Scriptures; Transformations; Scriptural; Authority

Based on two case studies, this project examines a basic tension in early American (primarily Reformed) Protestantism: On the one hand, it was characterized by an intense biblical piety with inner-canonical forms of exegesis that affirmed the authority of the recognized Holy Scriptures. On the other hand, already around 1700, there were strongly spiritualistic tendencies that not only emphasized the necessity of a Spirit-filled exegesis, but also implied the possibility of immediate illumination and new revelations. From these tendencies grew “targumizing” practices of interpretation that pushed across the boundaries of the canon. During the 19th century, new religious movements developed that then openly claimed to be expanding and completing the Bible. The project as a whole thus focuses on the reciprocities between interpreting and appropriating existing sacralized texts and the production of new ones. The first case study examines two eighteenth-century New England theologians, Cotton Mather (1693-1728) und Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), who are situated in the transitional period between Puritanism and early evangelicalism. Both exhibit a simultaneous trend toward a more “scientific” exegesis and toward its deepened spirtualization, with the latter being informed by mystical-esoteric traditions. The goal of this sub-project is to better understand the ways in which Mather and Edwards were navigating between these two poles of a rationalistic, academic and inner-canonical hermeneutic and an “enthusiastic” devotional creativity. Of particular interest is how exegesis bleeds into prophetic discourse in interpreting Revelation and the debates over an eschatological restitution of the gifts of the Spirit. The second case study looks at “inspired” lay exegetes and self-declared prophets in the context of Swedenborgianism, Spiritualism, and Transcendentalism during the 19th century, such as Andrew Jackson Davis (1826-1910), Amos Bronson Alcott (1799-1888), and Cora Hatch (1840-1923). In different ways, their texts all combine spiritualistic interpretations of Scripture with prophetic-visionary claims. The subproject aims to examine how exactly these texts understood their relation to the canonical Bible and Christianity, whose deeper “spiritual” meaning they were purportedly revealing. How did these figures conceptualize revelation and inspiration? And what kind of authority did they ascribe to Swedenborg and his writings? Special attention will be paid to the practices and processes through which these new religious movements were sacralizing particular writings.

基于两个案例研究，本项目考察了早期美国（主要是改革宗）新教的基本张力：一方面，它的特点是强烈的圣经虔诚与内部规范形式的训诂，肯定了公认的圣经的权威。另一方面，早在1700年左右，就出现了强烈的唯灵论倾向，不仅强调圣灵充满的解经的必要性，而且暗示了直接启示和新启示的可能性。从这些趋势中产生了跨越正典边界的“targumizing”解释实践。在19世纪，新的宗教运动发展起来，然后公开声称要扩展和完善圣经。因此，整个项目的重点是解释和挪用现有的神圣文本与新文本的生产之间的相互作用。第一个案例研究考察了两位十八世纪新英格兰神学家，科顿·马瑟（1693-1728）和乔纳森·爱德华兹（1703-1758），他们处于清教主义和早期福音主义之间的过渡时期。两者都同时表现出一种趋势，即更“科学”的训诂学和更深入的灵性化，后者是由神秘的深奥传统所告知的。这个子项目的目的是为了更好地理解马瑟和爱德华兹是如何在理性主义的、学术的、内在规范的解释学和“热情的”虔诚的创造力这两个极端之间导航的。特别令人感兴趣的是，在解释《启示录》和关于圣灵恩赐的末世恢复的争论中，训诂学是如何渗透到预言话语中的。第二个案例研究考察了19世纪Swedenborgianism，唯心论和超验论背景下的“受启发”的外行注释者和自称为先知的人，如Andrew Jackson Davis (1826-1910), Amos Bronson Alcott（1799-1888）和Cora Hatch（1840-1923）。以不同的方式，他们的文本都结合了对圣经的唯灵论解释和预言异象的主张。这个子项目旨在研究这些文本如何准确地理解它们与正典圣经和基督教的关系，它们据称揭示了基督教更深层的“精神”意义。这些人物是如何将启示和灵感概念化的？他们赋予斯威登堡和他的著作什么样的权威？我们将特别关注这些新的宗教运动将特定作品神圣化的实践和过程。