Kindle Notes & Highlights
Read between
May 21 - July 6, 2020
Instead, the emphasis of this book will be on introducing the reader to the basic concepts of Reception Theory and the role these concepts can play in how we study the Bible. At times, this means that, as author and readers, we will have to wrestle with a few philosophical
first historical context we need to understand is the context in which a text was originally written and how the original audience would have understood the text.
The second historical context is the history of the reception of the biblical texts as recorded in the various commentaries, sermons, creeds, confessions, art, and music of the church.
This brings us to the third historical context. We need to understand to a certain extent how and why we read a particular story or epistle the way we do. In order to do this, we must be students of our own culture, historical context, and religious tradition.
Parallel to the three historical contexts I want to position three levels of reading. The first level is reading for pleasure or devotional reading.
The second level of reading focuses on literary features.
The third level of reading examines the nuts and bolts contained in the text. The intention at this level is to try and determine the answers to two questions. The first is: what does the text say? This may involve exploring further questions about the meaning of a word, the background to a particular idea, the literary structure or genre of the text, and so on. This is the level with which most readers will be familiar. It is at this level of reading that the traditional methods and approaches to biblical interpretation are at home. The second question asks, what does the text say to me?
what did the author and the original audience believe? Or to put it differently: what were the presuppositions that they brought to the text?
The second question is: how did the author employ these expectations and beliefs in the text? Did
I’ve mentioned above, how I answer the question, why did the author write this? can have a profound impact on how I interpret and apply a particular passage.
three motifs that occur in the various stories. The first is the incredible proportions of the fish—far larger than most of us, skeptics that we are, could ever accept. The second is the kêtos appearing as an island that lured the sailors to go ashore, only to have them beat a quick retreat to their ships when their activities roused the beast. And finally, there is the theme of being swallowed by the sea monster, whether individually, in groups, or by the shipload.
been to explore how the unspoken network of beliefs and preunderstanding every reader brings with them shapes how they interpret the Bible. Because we are so at home with our preconceptions and preunderstandings we are usually unaware of how powerfully they shape how we read.
The first presupposition we need to examine concerns the epistemological regard paid to individual judgment.
We deceive ourselves into thinking that we are able to escape our position in tradition and history and impartially study the Bible.
The second unspoken presupposition in many modern hermeneutical models is an implicit trust in methodology, the belief being that the proper use of a method insures the correct result.
are several corollaries that attend this premise. The first is that the Bible can be studied like any other object. Like a specimen under the microscope, the Bible is reduced to something that can be objectively mastered. The second corollary is that the proper use of method will yield the correct interpretation.
Since apostolic authorship was one of the highest criteria for accepting a text as authoritative Hebrews had three strikes against it from the very start.
The main point I want to bring out from the example of Hebrews is that the New Testament canon was formed through a three-way dialogue between the various New Testament texts, the reading community of the early church, and the impact these texts had on other readers, primarily preserved in the writings of the church fathers.
The most quoted summation of the multiple levels of signification found in the allegorical method is from Nicholas of Lyra (1270–1340): Littera gesta docet, The literal sense teaches what happened, quid credas allegoria, allegory, what you are to believe, moralis quid agas, the moral sense, what you are to do, quo tendas anagogia. anagogy, where you are going.
Biblical competency is gained from three primary sources. The most significant is that of the actual organization of the Bible. Because Paul’s letters are grouped together in the New Testament, a reader should acquire an exposure to one of his letters by reading it in light of the others.
A second source is the religious tradition a reader belongs to.
third source of our competency as biblical readers is inherited. The culture that we are raised in shapes our reading skills and competency.
The literary complexity of the book of Revelation should keep alert readers on their toes from start to finish, as it frequently shifts from one form of literature to the next. It requires a literary competency in at least four different genres: apocalyptic literature, prophetic literature, epistles, and hymns or poetry. The complexity of this book is one reason why it is so confusing and challenging for so many readers.
Therefore, from a theological perspective, the concept of the body of Christ underlines the importance of reading in and with the Judeo-Christian tradition.
We could state this as a rule: the hermeneutical experience of tradition is characterized by a challenge to our expectations or understandings.
This is one of the more significant reasons for reading the Bible with the giants of the past: we need the insights of those in the past with whom we may disagree with the most, in order to mature in our own biblical world view.
On the plus side, the split between meaning and significance recognizes the historical reality of a text like the Bible. This is clearly seen in the split that is made between meaning (what the author intended when the book was written) and significance (what subsequent generations of readers have perceived in the text). On the minus side, to argue that the term meaning is restricted to the original act of communication misses the fact that every generation of readers perceives meaning when they read the text. It does not take very long when reading the
performance. The practice of playing a musical instrument
The challenge that the history of the biblical interpretation presents us with is: How will we engage the Bible? Will we merely repeat what we have been taught? Will the laborious work that is needed in order to engage the text in a relevant manner and allow it to speak to us afresh today be undertaken? How we approach the Bible today to a large extend determines how we will pass it on to the next generation.
The tradition of biblical interpretation is similar in many respects to a road map. Instead of merely displaying the terrain and various routes, this map is a record of the interpretive dialogue and debate over the meaning of the Scriptures.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Jonathan Edwards was reforming Calvinism in America, which had emphasized the sovereignty of God to the point where the believer’s responsibility to present the gospel to others was obscured.
We have an incredibly rich heritage in this one text alone. I cannot help but think that we shall be held responsible for our stewardship of this heritage in the future; a stewardship that requires us to appropriately
engage the past and actively participate in the transmission of this living tradition of interpretation. At the same time, given such a rich history, it would be very premature to claim that we now possess the definitive interpretation of any passage of Scripture. To do so would be to claim we know better than all who came before us and, in our hubris, to deny that those who come after us will have anything to contribute.
As a historical map for the reception history of the text you are studying begins to take shape, keep a sharp eye out for those commentators that the church has recognized as authoritative on this passage: the summit dialogue of interpreters.
One of the biggest challenges that the reception history of biblical interpretation presents us with is the role one individual can play.
The first horizon of interpretation is the horizon of the author and their audience (chapter 1). The second horizon of interpretation is the living tradition of interpretation that inhabits the period between the authors putting their pens down to our picking up the manuscript today. The third horizon of interpretation is the one we dwell in, our historical horizon.
The first is pleasure or devotional reading. The second is reading the Bible with an eye to its literary structure and composition. And the third level involves engaging with the detailed studies that look at the nuts and bolts of the text: the words the author used, the historical background of the work, and considerations of theological themes embedded in the passage.
When we read devotionally we want to bring the text to life, to imaginatively engage it, to vicariously experience the situations, story, and message contained in the letters on the page. The second level of reading, by contrast, is less imaginative and more investigative. At the second level we want to ask questions about the literary features of the text,70 about the overall argument of the letter to the Romans, the narrative structure and flow of the Gospel of John, and wider questions such as how this or that book fits into the entire biblical canon.
The purpose of asking about genre is to help us determine what game is being played and thus know what the rules are. Epistles are one of the genres found in the New Testament.
The three levels of reading can also be compared to viewing a work of art. Pleasure reading is similar to gazing at a picture: we appreciate its beauty and allow it to work its magic on us. At the second level of reading we consider the overall composition of the work. What color scheme did the artist employ? Is there a story or message embedded in this work of art? At some point our interest may be caught by a particular detail in the picture. What type of canvas, brushstroke, or technique did the artist use? How did the artist convey the impression of depth or lighting? Is there a story
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The first question is, “how are the words, ideas, and references in the text related to the beliefs and expectations of the historical horizon in which it was penned?”
The second primary question at the third level of reading is, “how is the biblical text originally a response to a question, problem, or need?” In some instances it is fairly easy to discern the answer to this question.
The fact that we are told that Nicodemus comes to Jesus alone “at night” is a small detail that could be easily overlooked (John 3:2). Light and darkness, night and day, are themes that John develops throughout his gospel. This theme starts in the prologue, when we are told that Jesus is the light that has come into the darkness and that the darkness is not able to overpower or comprehend it (1:5). Nicodemus’s encounter with Jesus needs to be understood within this context, especially since he comes to see Jesus, the light of the world, at night, and the conversation ends with Jesus chastising
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two elements that are under his or her control concern how they address what the audience regards as relevant and the preconceptions that members of the audience bring with them.
Between these two poles lies a middle ground in which practical relevance and theoretical curiosity captures the audience’s attention, and if carefully balanced, will sustain their attention.
Once again there is a middle ground, where interest is created and flourishes, that lies somewhere between telling people what they already know and negating their preconceptions.
There seem to be three traits that make some interpretations “more equal” than others. There are those readings that present a fresh perspective on a passage, that introduce a paradigm shift in regard to how a passage is read.
In a similar manner, if there is a particular biblical text, interpreter, school of thought, or reading of a biblical passage that seems to possess the potential for digging a lot deeper, then it may be worth taking the time and energy to mine it.
By distance I am referring primarily to three concepts: temporal distance, cultural distance, and linguistic distance.
