George B. Caird

George Bradford Caird (1917-1984) was a British New Testament scholar and theologian who significantly influenced twentieth-century biblical hermeneutics and theological methodology. Educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge, and Mansfield College, Oxford, he served as principal of Mansfield College and later as Dean Ireland's Professor of Exegesis at Oxford. Caird's contributions to the philosophy of religion centered on his sophisticated analysis of religious language and metaphor in biblical texts. His work "The Language and Imagery of the Bible" (1980) demonstrated how metaphorical thinking shapes theological discourse about God, arguing against literalist interpretations while maintaining the referential nature of religious language. He emphasized that biblical writers employed complex metaphorical systems to express truths about divine reality that transcend ordinary descriptive language. Caird's approach influenced subsequent discussions about how human language can meaningfully refer to God, bridging the gap between biblical studies and philosophical theology. His hermeneutical insights remain foundational for understanding the relationship between scriptural interpretation and theological truth claims.