Philosophical Interpretation of Biblical Narratives

Dear Colleagues,

The philosophical interpretation of biblical narratives occupies a distinctive and arguably underserved space within religious studies—biblical narratives have historically served as a primary site of theological reflection in the Christian tradition, yet the methods brought to bear on them too often tend to divide along disciplinary lines that obscure rather than illuminate their philosophical depth. For example, historical critical scholarship has produced significant results in reconstructing the circumstances of the texts' composition, yet its methods characteristically set aside rather than adjudicate the truth claims those texts advance. Philosophical theology, meanwhile, has developed rigorous accounts of divine nature, moral order, and human persons, yet often remains distant from the narratives in which those realities are most concretely disclosed. The result is a gap between exegetical precision and philosophical rigor that this Special Issue aims to directly address. We are pleased to invite submissions of original research engaging biblical narratives through rigorous philosophical and theological analysis.

This Special Issue aims to advance inquiry wherein philosophical rigor and theological thoroughness are not alternatives but mutual demands. We proceed from the conviction that biblical narratives are not raw material merely for philosophical illustration or objects of purely historical reconstruction—they are sites where genuine arguments, divine and human, are being made, and where such arguments offer the greatest rewards to the most careful philosophical and theological attention. Contributions may approach this conviction through various means, and no single method is privileged. Some will bring analytic or continental philosophical tools—logical analysis, conceptual clarification, argumentative reconstruction—into direct engagement with the text, others will work from within the narrative itself through careful exegesis, canonical synthesis, and natural law reasoning, identifying the philosophical commitments of its human authors or, where theologically warranted, the divine mind the text mediates. Both movements are equally central, and the most compelling contributions may refuse to choose between them. What all submissions must share is a willingness to take the narrative's claims seriously as live philosophical and theological proposals—arguments that make demands on the interpreter. We seek scholarship that takes a position and defends it, is fluent in both philosophical method and theological inquiry, and demonstrates rather than merely gestures toward its conclusions.

Suggested themes include the moral argument in biblical narrative, divine pedagogy and canonical unity, philosophical theology and exegesis, natural law and general revelation in Scripture, the philosophical architecture of prophetic and apostolic discourse, biblical narrative and moral epistemology, and hermeneutical method in philosophical theology.

We hope that this Special Issue will stimulate new research at the intersection of biblical studies, philosophical theology, and the philosophy of religion in several ways. We aim to demonstrate that rigorous philosophical engagement with biblical narrative is a genuinely distinct and productive mode of inquiry capable of advancing both fields simultaneously. We hope to advance the question of canonical unity—whether consistent philosophical and theological patterns are demonstrable across Scripture independently of historical critical reconstruction. We hope to strengthen direct and sustained conversation between philosophers, theologians, and biblical scholars addressing the same texts with complementary tools. And most broadly, we hope to contribute to a recovery of the conviction that biblical narratives make genuine truth claims that repay the most serious intellectual attention, and that engaging those claims rigorously is not a retreat from scholarly precision but its fullest expression.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200-300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send this to the Guest Editor, Dr. Christian Ramsey (christian.ramsey@swcu.edu), and cc the Assistant Editor of Religions, Ms. Joyce Xi (joyce.xi@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editor for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Christian Ramsey
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• philosophical theology
• biblical hermeneutics
• natural law
• divine pedagogy
• canonical interpretation
• exegesis
• moral epistemology
• analytic philosophy of religion
• general revelation
• narrative theology