Much discussion about biblical hermeneutics centers on determining the roles that the author, text, and reader should play in the process of interpretation, and the history of hermeneutical approaches is often traced as a movement from a focus on the author’s intention to a focus on the details of the text itself and finally, in the postmodern turn, to the contributions made by readers. Although some scholars today embrace postmodernism wholesale and give primary attention to the role of readers, arguing that they create meaning in the process of interpretation, most biblical interpreters seek to hold author, text, and reader in tension, assigning each a significant role in the interpretive process.
I would argue for a hermeneutical approach that seeks to discern what the author intended to convey by paying close attention to the details of the text understood in its literary and historical-cultural background. In this, I am assuming that the author had a point he (or she) wanted to communicate and signaled that intention using the standard rules of word usage, grammar, and syntax as well as recognizable literary forms, while also relying on the original audience to hold certain historical-cultural background assumptions. However, I would also argue that (1) meanings, while determinate (that is, having fixed limits), may be complex rather than singular and (2) as readers, we each come to the text with expectations and presuppositions that influence our interpretation, highlighting certain aspects of the text and hiding others. Therefore, on the negative side, we will only ever be able to approximate, not fully grasp, the complex meaning of a text. But more positively, we are each uniquely situated to grasp certain aspects of a text’s meaning and therefore have a valuable perspective to offer to others. And by reading in community with people who come from different backgrounds, we can overcome some of our own limitations by encountering readings that challenge our perspectives.
So what expectations or presuppositions do we have in the Vineyard that make us uniquely situated to grasp certain aspects of the biblical authors’ intentions? In talking recently to Derek Morphew, the Academic Dean of Vineyard Institute, I was persuaded that if there is one characteristic that defines Vineyard theology, it is a focus on the kingdom of God with the understanding that the power of the eschatological kingdom can break into the present. So how should this central theological theme influence our hermeneutical approach to Scripture? I would like to suggest three avenues for further consideration.
The full paper is attached to this post as a PDF.
