Is There a Meaning in This Text?: The Bible, the Reader, and the Morality of Literary KnowledgeIs there a meaning in the Bible, or is meaning rather a matter of who is reading or of how one reads? Does Christian doctrine have anything to contribute to debates about interpretation, literary theory, and post modernity? These are questions of crucial importance for contemporary biblical studies and theology alike. Kevin Vanhoozer contends that the postmodern crisis in hermeneutics—”incredulity towards meaning,” a deep–set skepticism concerning the possibility of correct interpretation—is fundamentally a crisis in theology provoked by an inadequate view of God and by the announcement of God’s “death.” Part 1 examines the ways in which deconstruction and radical reader–response criticism “undo” the traditional concepts of author, text, and reading. Dr. Vanhoozer engages critically with the work of Derrida, Rorty, and Fish, among others, and demonstrates the detrimental influence of the postmodern “suspicion of hermeneutics” on biblical studies. In Part 2, Dr. Vanhoozer defends the concept of the author and the possibility of literary knowledge by drawing on the resources of Christian doctrine and by viewing meaning in terms of communicative action. He argues that there is a meaning in the text, that it can be known with relative adequacy, and that readers have a responsibility to do so by cultivating “interpretive virtues.” Successive chapters build on Trinitarian theology and speech act philosophy in order to treat the metaphysics, methodology, and morals of interpretation. From a Christian perspective, meaning and interpretation are ultimately grounded in God’s own communicative action in creation, in the canon, and preeminently in Christ. Prominent features in Part 2 include a new account of the author’s intention and of the literal sense, the reclaiming of the distinction between meaning and significance in terms of Word and Spirit, and the image of the reader as a disciple–martyr, whose vocation is to witness to something other than oneself. Is There a Meaning in This Text? guides the student toward greater confidence in the authority, clarity, and relevance of Scripture, and a well–reasoned expectation to understand accurately the message of the Bible. Is There a Meaning in This Text? is a comprehensive and creative analysis of current debates over biblical hermeneutics that draws on interdisciplinary resources, all coordinated by Christian theology. It makes a significant contribution to biblical interpretation that will be of interest to readers in a number of fields. The intention of the book is to revitalize and enlarge the concept of author–oriented interpretation and to restore confidence that readers of the Bible can reach understanding. The result is a major challenge to the central assumptions of postmodern biblical scholarship and a constructive alternative proposal—an Augustinian hermeneutic—that reinvigorates the notion of biblical authority and finds a new exegetical practice that recognizes the importance of both the reader’s situation and the literal sense. |
From inside the book
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... criticism of certain crucial philosophical texts, but from another it seems to represent a philosophical investigation of ... critics tending to support the move. Why are they saying such terrible things about Derrida and about "decon ...
... critics and philosophers have recently called for a moratorium on the term "meaning." 18 There are many things that ... critic) is autonomous, whereas the believer is submissive; a moral belief must undergo a process of rational ...
... critic whose career mirrors some of the decisive turns in contem- porary hermeneutics. His 1967 Surprised by Sin: The Reader inParadise Lostexplores the possibility of a "Satanic reading" of Milton's epic poem.22 Fish discovered that ...
... CRITICISM: THE PLAN OF THE BOOK The history of literary criticism is one of successive preoccupation with author, text, and reader, respectively. I adopt this threefold pattern of organization, corresponding to what has been called the ...
... criticism raised the question of knowledge and the epistemol- ogy of meaning. What is the nature and method of ... critics study the integrity of the text's linguistic and literary conventions rather than the intentions of the his ...
Contents
15 | |
37 | |
Textuality and Indeterminacy | 99 |
Contextuality and Ideology | 148 |
Redoing Interpretation Agency Action Affect | 197 |
The Rationality of Literary Acts | 281 |
A Hermeneutics of the Cross | 453 |
Bibliography | 469 |
Name Index | 487 |
Other editions - View all
Is There a Meaning in this Text?: The Bible, the Reader, and the Morality of ... Kevin J. Vanhoozer No preview available - 1998 |
Is There a Meaning in this Text?: The Bible, the Reader, and the Morality of ... Kevin J. Vanhoozer No preview available - 1998 |