Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Triadic To Trinitarian: Kevin J. Vanhoozer’S Application Of J.L. Austin’S Speech Act Theory, Joshua C. Stone

Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal

The basis for Christian theology, the Bible, has come under considerable attack by decontructionalists in their attempt to disregard authorial intent and to prove that understanding the meaning of an author's words is an impossible task. Kevin J. Vanhoozer is an evangelical scholar who has done much in defense of authorial intent and has found fertile philosophical ground in Speech Act theory. This essay looks at Vanhoozer’s use of J.L. Austin’s variety of Speech Act theory to determine if Vanhoozer uses Austin correctly, then turns to Vanhoozer’s bibliological use of Austin whereby he analogically applies Austin’s Triadic formula of a …