2 to transform human experience.

Another example is his exposition of the feeding of the five thousand. He believes "it should be understood, not as a magical multiplication of

loaves and fishes but as a generous change in the spirit of the crowd who were moved by our Lord to share their eatables so that everyone

had enough. Which would be a greater miracle ...?" Again, he dismisses the narrative as being an account of an actual historical event. It, too, is dressed in "Hebrew old clothes."

In his recommendations on preaching from the miracle narratives in general, he calls for careful analysis of the story. He writes :

"Before preaching on a miracle, we should first weigh the evidence for it and then examine whether its face value or some deeper value is more in keeping with our Lord’s

redeeming pu^ose. The decisive factor is what would be most appropriate to such a One as Jesus Christ.’’^

His concept of the "lx)rd’s redeeming purpose" and "what would be most appropriate to such a One as Jesus Christ" serve as exegetical presuppo­ sitions by which to distinguish Hebrew old clothes from Biblical truth.

In his general recommendations regarding preaching from the apocalyp­ tic literature, he stresses the need to understand the historical period

^Ibid., p. 65. ^Ibid., p. 66 ^Ibid.

in which this genre was used and the purposes toward which it was written.^ He criticizes the writings as being "often unmerciful and unspiritual, with a tendency to spectacular materialism." Then he points out the "elements of permanent validity" in these writings. He speaks of God as the Lord of history marching unseen towards the fulfillment of His purpose and the hope formed from this knowledge. These "elements of permanent validity" are the meanings which the preacher should discover within this sort of literature.

Following these various expositions, Cowan then proceeds to discuss "the right perspective for expounding the New Testament."^ He writes:

"The Bible contains the Word of God, but the complete Word of God is Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, and Jesus Christ is the final authority by which everything in the Bible must be tested and judged.

This thesis serves as a theological hermeneutic that affects his overall interpretation of Biblical material. A text or passage is to be understood in the light of one's understanding of Jesus Christ. The "Lord's redeeming purpose" and "what would be appropriate to such a One as Jesus Christ" become guides by which to determine the meaning of Biblical subject matter.

Combining these examples and his theoretical information, an inter­ pretative pattern begins to emerge. Cowan recommends that a text or

^Ibid., p. 63. ^Ibid.

^Ibid., pp. 63-64. "^Ibid., pp. 70-72. ^Ibid., p. 72.

passage should be carefully exegeted. Its historical background, its ’’local colour,” the purpose of its author, and its literary genre should all be considered. The meaning for the time in which it was written is to be ascertained and from it should be derived its meaning for all time. These ’’elements of permanent validity” should then become the foundation of the sermon.

One of the major guidelines that aids a preacher to discover the meaning of a text is Jesus Christ. Since He is ’’the authoritative truth about the divine character and purpose,”^ one is more able to discern the difference between ’’Hebrew old clothes” and the true menaing of the text. Since the Word was mediated through imperfect persons, ’’the redeeming purpose of the Lord” or ’’what would be appropriate to such a One as Jesus Christ” become ways by which one can ascertain the ’’elements of permanent validity.”

In his interpretative pattern, one also notices that Cowan does not always exposit a single phrase or verse of Scripture as the basis for a

sermon. He reconmends that ”a whole passage should be expounded from the modem viewpoint and in relation to life, clamping down on present problems

and tensions. One does not need to waste time hunting for texts. Take a goodly slice of Scripture, and you will find much in it which insists on

o

being tasted.” Throughout his entire Lectureship the examples he offers are almost all exposited from this perspective of the wider view.

^Ibid.

As regards his particular theological slant, Cowan was clearly more inclined toward theological liberalism than were others such as Craig, McIntyre, and Stewart. His interpretations of the miracle stores and the apocalyptic literature are examples of this inclination. Further­ more, Cowan was educated at the University of Glasgow (M.A., 1903) and

the United Free Church College in Glasgow (Licensed, 1906). He was therefore educated during the zenith of liberal theology’s popularity within Scottish academe. This, perhaps, would help to account for his continued adherence to some of its perspectives.

Even though Cowan was more oriented toward liberal theology than were these others, he did keep up with some of the developments in contemporary Biblical and theological scholarship. Compared to Craig, McIntyre, and Stewart, Cowan was not as influenced by these recent developments, but he certainly knew and used the works of some of the more popular theological figures.

For instance, certain aspects of Barthian theology were noted by Cowan as being critically important. One such aspect was Barth’s insis­ tence upon the centrality of our evangelical task and the sovereignty of God. As he wrote:

’’Thus Karl Barth provides a necessary corrective for an arid moral ism and recalls us to our evangelical task, which is to bring our hearers face to face with God as the sovereign reality.

Although Cowan could not be considered a disciple of Karl Barth, he was

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acquainted with his work and used it when it suited his purposes.

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See, Ibid., p. 23. In addition, Cowan also employed the work of Emil Brunner in a similar fashion. See, Ibid., pp. 6, 25, 65, and 116.

This same utilitarian approach was used by Cowan with regard to the work of C. H. Dodd, Paul Tillich, and Oscar Cullman. He noted Dodd's

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understanding of the nature of angels and realized eschatology,

Tillich's perspectives on the demonic and the problems associated with the usage of religious language,^ and Oscar Cullman’s concept of salvation- history.^ Although he was not an adherent of any one of these scholars, he did know of their work and employed it to support his arguments.

Turning now to consider the more personal and subjective aspects of Biblical interpretation, one discovers in Cowan's lectures a curious change of placement. There is no mention of the devotional use of

Scripture for the understanding of a text or the import of the preacher’s personality as a vehicle for ascertaining truth. The importance of per­ sonal experience in being able to clearly understand parts of Scripture is played down. He states that "No one is expected to preach form his own little patch of experience but rather from the funded experience of a people as recorded in the B i b l e . T h e s e more subjective aspects remain

^Ibid., p. 61.

p. 88, Cowan posited that both "realized eschatology" and eschatology" are combined in the New Testament.

p. 62. pp. 112-113. ^Ibid. "futuristic ^Ibid. hbid. C

Ibid., p. 88. He also saw the unity of the Bible in terms of "the mighty acts of God." As he writes, "it (the Bible) is the record of God’s mighty acts in fulfillment of His redeeming purpose, ...." See, Ibid., p. 16.

Important to the overall task of preaching but not as a vehicle to discern the meaning of Biblical subject matter. They appear, more or less, relegated to the application phase of sermon construction. In Cowan's Lectureship, these more personal and subjective aspects of Biblical interpretation, so prevalent in the lectures of the 1940s, are given a different plaçaient.

This is not to say that there are no subjective factors involved in Cowan’s method of interpreting Scripture. His understanding of Jesus Christ, which serves as a guide to discovering the true meaning of a text, appears to be quite subjective. For instance, the changing of the water into wine is dismissed as an actual event because it is not truly

in keeping with the character of Christ.^ One wonders here if his personal views toward the consumption of alcoholic beverages did not

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