There is at present a ferment over theologicalinterpretation, some backlash against this seemingly new development, and a bitof unsettlement in the state of historical approaches to the Bible. Butstudents and scholars are not always clear about what the differences andsimilarities are between historical and theological approaches to the Bible.According to literary critic Northrop Frye's work "The Great Code: The Bible and Literature,""There have always been two directions in Biblical scholarship, the criticaland the traditional, though often they have merged." What is the nature of thiscontrast? What is the rationale for each approach? Do the approaches conflict, or can they be reconciled? How should the approaches be assessed by believersand academics? To what extent are today's debates about theological exegesisrevisiting an old, perhaps even a perennial, issue, and to what extent do theydeal with a new topic?This reader encourages students and scholars to explorethese important questions by bringing together some of history's mostinfluential discussions of the issues as well as some of the present day's mostdistinguished attempts to weigh in on the debate.