Seeking to train readers to ahear all that is being saida within a written text, Peter Leithart advocates a hermeneutics of the letter that is not ...
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May 04, 2011
James
rated it: 
One of the best and most fun books on reading the Bible that I have read in a long time. Leithart argues against reading scriptureto extract the one narrow meaning from the 'husk' of the text. Instead he suggests careful attention be payed to the actual words of scripture (and thus eschews paraphrases like the Message). It is through this attention to 'the letter' of scripture that we get a full sense of the meaning of scripture. And he does this in an interesting and engaging manner. He defends
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Nov 27, 2010
Jesse
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With his usual erudition and clarity, Leithart first illuminates problems we were unaware of then solves them, all with so slight an effort and so almost offhanded a manner that it is impossible not to be swept at least a little bit down the current of his thought. And why would one try to resist?
This book is magnificent. It largely focuses on the ninth chapter of John, the healing of the blind man (the one who is sent to Siloam with clay on his eyes). Leithart then begins to un More...
This book is magnificent. It largely focuses on the ninth chapter of John, the healing of the blind man (the one who is sent to Siloam with clay on his eyes). Leithart then begins to un More...
Feb 28, 2010
Pastoralmusings
rated it: 
Deep Exegesis
I enjoy reading books relating to hermeneutics. This was a particularly interesting book to me.
Peter Leithart, Senior Fellow of Theology and Literature at St. Andrews College, has added to my library a book that has opened my eyes, or opened them anew, to some important truths.
Time and space will not permit an in-depth review. For this reason I shall note what stood out to me as interesting and worthy of consideration:
1.Leithart seems to like essentially More...
I enjoy reading books relating to hermeneutics. This was a particularly interesting book to me.
Peter Leithart, Senior Fellow of Theology and Literature at St. Andrews College, has added to my library a book that has opened my eyes, or opened them anew, to some important truths.
Time and space will not permit an in-depth review. For this reason I shall note what stood out to me as interesting and worthy of consideration:
1.Leithart seems to like essentially More...
Jun 14, 2010
Paul
rated it: 
I read this book last week and found it totally engaging but very deep, as the title suggests. At first I thought he was a Fundamentalist then I thought he was a wild Postmodernist, in then end I just found a lot of wisdom and a book to re-read. I like the idea that Leithart tries to expand the meaning of texts rather than constrict it. The most challenging but interesting to me was his comparison of text to music using Bach. I don't know the technicalities of music but just intuiting what he
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Oct 31, 2011
One of the best books on exegesis and hermaneutics that I've read or consulted in a long time. Eugene Peterson's quadrogy (made-up word for 4 book series) "Eat this Book," "Tell it Slant," etc.held top honors in this category for me---and still, these books are superb---yet Leithart takes us yet deeper in understanding the layers of Scripture and the various ways we do violence to it, replacing our desire to master and control the text with a delightful openness to the many w
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Oct 20, 2009
Jerry
rated it:
Easily the best book on hermeneutics I've read, Leithart continues to delight as he teaches. He gets a lot done in 200 pages and makes you want more, much like when I've heard him preach. This is a constructive book, laying out ways to get the most out of Scripture. I would have liked to see some counter-examples of certain "maximalist" interpretations that go too far. When is it inappropriate to link two passages that both include water in Scripture? That sort of thing. If you love th
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Jan 21, 2011
Dan
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Peter Leithart has done ministers, Christian scholars and the Church in general a huge favour with this book. He declares that the Scriptures themselves ought to be the authority for how one interprets them. In evangelical, reformed and conservative Christian circles of scholarship, sola scriptura (the reformation principle that "Scripture alone" is the Church's authority for all of life and doctrine) has been the basis for the rejection of all sorts of heretical doctrines and errant p
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Sep 16, 2010
Matt
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Another good book by Peter Leithart.
In Deep Exegesis, Leithart argues for a better understanding of Biblical interpretation. He uses examples from pop culture books, Shakespeare, the Bible, classics, Greek literature, music, and even jokes to show how we can really exegete texts to gain a better understanding.
I only gave it four stars, because when it ended, I was still hoping for more.
In Deep Exegesis, Leithart argues for a better understanding of Biblical interpretation. He uses examples from pop culture books, Shakespeare, the Bible, classics, Greek literature, music, and even jokes to show how we can really exegete texts to gain a better understanding.
I only gave it four stars, because when it ended, I was still hoping for more.
Jun 15, 2011
Christopher
rated it:
Texts are husks, (words are players), texts are events, jokes, music, and all about Jesus..also texts are community property...some really great insights here on the dynamics of how we read the Word in light of our world and how the Word reads and interprets us in our world.
Jun 08, 2011
Peter
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I enjoyed reading this and learned a lot from it. Not sure I agree with every jot, but I think Leithart is closer than many to how we should read the Bible.
Oct 22, 2010
Gregory
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Amazing! I can't say enough good things about this book. Reading Leithart always makes me feel dumb, but a little smarter by the end of the book :-)
Oct 14, 2009
A. T.
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What a book. If you want to explore more deeply the ways in which Scripture "means," then this is the book for you. Rich and textured, just like it asserts Scripture itself is, it will open your eyes to new ways in which to read, understand, and interpret the Bible.
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Oct 18, 2009
Douglas
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Good stuff, as always. Peter is fantastically learned, and lots of fun. Some objections, which we will be discussing at an NSA grad forum.
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Sep 03, 2011
Robert
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Another profound book. Deeply flawed and deeply profound. The conversation cannot advance until everyone reads this!
Oct 23, 2011
Brian
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Dr. Leithart makes some rather controversial claims in this book that took me a while to work over-particularly his views on how meaning actually can be packed into a word. But, after deep thought and long reasoning, I came around.
Every chapter says something, and there were more and longer chapters than in a usual Leithart book. I cannot recommend it enough to anyone interested in hermeneutics. Aside from the orthodoxy, it does stuff you won't find in your typical exegesis book.
Every chapter says something, and there were more and longer chapters than in a usual Leithart book. I cannot recommend it enough to anyone interested in hermeneutics. Aside from the orthodoxy, it does stuff you won't find in your typical exegesis book.
Aug 20, 2010
Joshua
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Fantastic. Very helpful approach to reading all things. And I learned some good words like "defenestration" and "epithalamion".
Nov 04, 2010
Mike
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The best bit of this book for me was the illustration of competent hermeneutics using the movie Shrek. Without a lifetime exposure to both fairy tales and movies, you wouldn't understand it at all. That's often what we are like when it comes to the prophets and the New Testament.
Jan 12, 2010
Al
rated it:
Can you make something more mysterious while explaining it? This book does that, stirring a desire to read the familiar with new eyes.
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