Reading Scripture with Gratitude: Joseph Mangina's Contribution to Theological Exegesis

This article introduces a symposium in honour of Joseph Mangina, the previous editor of Pro Ecclesia. Mangina's two books on Karl Barth lead to his commentary on the book of Revelation, for Barth shows that Scripture matters because God matters—a conviction that informs all Mangina's work. Scripture's claims about God have practical and affective consequences for the Christian life, most prominently in our gratitude to God for his love of creatures. Thus Mangina's commentary on Revelation is not merely an exercise in interpretation but specifically theological exegesis, whose telos is an encounter in gratitude and joy with the reality of God in Jesus Christ, which no theory of interpretation can secure for us.