SPRINGFIELD, Missouri – Dr. Robert Eby of the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (AGTS) recently wrote “Virtue Hermeneutics: New Horizons in Textual Understanding,” a book on contemporary biblical analysis and interpretation published by Pickwick Publishing (an imprint of Wipf and Stock). Eby serves as director of the seminary’s Cordas C. Burnett Center for Biblical Preaching and as an associate professor of biblical exposition and preaching at AGTS.
“Virtue Hermeneutics” seeks to provide a framework to answer the question, “What makes an interpretation justifiable?” Using a multifaceted understanding of scripture, Eby creates a hermeneutical approach responsive to the contemporary challenges of discerning literary meaning. The method established in “Virtue Hermeneutics” engages the author, the text, and all reading communities.
“While most texts on this subject deal with challenges from the perspective of frameworks, skills, and methods, the deeper I explored the challenges, the more I was convinced that the problems were often centered in the intellectual and moral character of the interpreter,” Eby said.
Eby, who has written on virtue epistemology for the Society of Pentecostal Studies, as well as several articles for Influence magazine, wrote “Virtue Hermeneutics” with graduate curriculum in mind.
“My inspiration flows from a deep commitment to the power and authority of God’s Word as we come to understand its message,” Eby said. “It is not a deficiency of the Scriptures but of our approaches that have caused problems in the field of hermeneutics.”
The book can be purchased on Amazon.
About Dr. Robert Eby
Eby spent his early years in northern Indiana. He earned a B.A. in Biblical Languages from Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri, completed an M.A. in Contemporary Theology at Lincoln Christian Seminary in Lincoln, Illinois, and earned a Ph.D. in Biblical Interpretation at AGTS.
Before joining the AGTS faculty, Eby was a lead pastor in Illinois for 24 years and served as a presbyter in the Illinois District of the Assemblies of God.
Eby lives in Springfield with his wife, Lori, and their three sons, Austin, Tyler, and Bryant.
About AGTS & Evangel University
AGTS serves the larger Pentecostal and evangelical traditions with 21st century leadership for the Church and its mission. AGTS is accredited by The Association of Theological Schools and The Higher Learning Commission. AGTS is the embedded seminary of Evangel University, the national school of the Assemblies of God.