All seminary students and pastors are familiar with the dreaded phrase “out of context.” We all know that we should interpret each biblical passage in light of its historical and literary context, and a great deal of what we learn in seminary is how to do exactly that. But when we compare our own biblical interpretation with that of the early church, we find that that theirs seems puzzling and maybe even disturbing. Are the church fathers allegorizing the text inappropriately? Are they taking most passages out of context?

In this Dean’s Forum, we’ll examine one of the most important writings from the early church to try to gain insight on this question. Athanasius is one of the most celebrated early Christian writers, and he writes against the most famous heretic of all time, Arius. Furthermore, Athanasius’s main point is that Arius is interpreting all his favorite biblical passages wrong. What is the interpretive principle that enables Athanasius to be so confident? And what can we learn from his interpretation today?

The Dean’s Forum discussion is free and is open to the public. RSVP is required for those who are planning to attend in person. NO RSVP NEEDED IF YOU PLAN TO WATCH ONLINE. Lunch will be provided to those who will be attending in person.