JAMES CALLAHAN OFFERS VALUABLE INSIGHT INTO THE COMPLEX NOTION of biblical perspicuity. He sets the issues within the history of the church and traces how the Bible's clarity has been understood practi- cally and theologically over time. With precision and care he clarifies the role of historical context, authorial intent and reader response in a constructive articulation of how we come to understand Scripture's meaning.

Contemporary literary studies inform his discussion and suggest the importance of intertextuality and intratextuality in the reading of Scripture. Ultimately, Callahan argues, Scripture must be viewed as a privileged text within a privileged community. Nevertheless, it must be read, not arrogantly, but with humility under the searching glance of the God who caused it to be written.