Our Hermeneutical Task

I am on a real hermeneutical kick these days. After reading the articles mentioned on my last post, I finished Slaves, Women and Homosexuals by William Webb and continued my slow reading of Gadamer's Truth and Method. There is much for us to ponder as we study the Biblical text and think about what it is leading the Church to do.

I believe we have to read the Bible with a redemptive-movement hermeneutic. This means that we study biblical trajectories and ponder how those trajectories speak into our culture. For example, both women and slaves are treated better as scripture moves through time. The same can be said for homosexuals in the fact that they are no longer murdered, but cannot be said for the acceptance of their actions. As I wrote before, we must interpret scripture with the help of the Spirit, seeing the life in the text today.

This requires the church. Moltmann wrote that it was the Spirit, which is true, but we need to be able to discern the voice of the Spirit, which is done in community. We need to the voices of other believers (and even non-believers) to bounce ideas off one another and speak truth into our lives. Following a redemptive-movement hermeneutic is tricky and easily prone to error. The Spirit must be heard, and it is through the individual and the church of individuals that this happens. Our hermeneutical task is to listen to God's Spirit speak through the text, the culture, and our fellow believers, past and present. What a task!

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: The Crucified God by Jurgen Moltmann.