Virtue Hermeneutics PDF Download

Author: Robert M. Eby
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1666712817
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Contemporary hermeneutics is an unavoidable, but deeply troubled, discipline. At the root of the problem is the classic epistemological question, "What makes an interpretation justifiable?" Since the beginning of Modernity, interpreters have offered multiplied answers to this question. Historicity, linguistics, social constructs, and contemporary flashes of revelation are but a few of the proposed solutions, but if the question is ultimately epistemological, it follows that the answer may emerge from this same place. Current research in the field of virtue epistemology has awakened interest in a new path forward for hermeneutics by looking to a time before the emergence of unstable modern frameworks. In Virtue Hermeneutics, a justified understanding of Scripture that engages all of the participants in the interpretive dialogue (author, text, reader, and reading community) is discovered in the interpretive character of the wise reader. From this starting point, hermeneutics is able to move forward in a way that is responsive to contemporary challenges to discerning literary meaning. Ultimately, a justified understanding is one that virtuously engages the author, the text, and all reading communities. The illuminating work of the Holy Spirit in hermeneutics takes on a refreshing and meaning-filled place when readers readmit intellectual virtues into the discussion.

Author: Andrew P. Rogers
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134795157
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 323

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Book Description
Despite many churches claiming that the Bible is highly significant for their doctrine and practice, questions about how we read the Bible are rarely made explicit. Based on ethnographic research in English churches, Congregational Hermeneutics explores this dissonance and moves beyond descriptions to propose ways of enriching hermeneutical practices in congregations. Characterised as hermeneutical apprenticeship, this is not just a matter of learning certain skills, but of cultivating hermeneutical virtues such as faithfulness, community, humility, confidence and courage. These virtues are given substance through looking at four broad themes that emerge from the analysis of congregational hermeneutics - tradition, practices, epistemology and mediation. Concluding with what hermeneutical apprenticeship might look like in practice, this book is constructively theological about what churches actually do with the Bible, and will be of interest to scholars, students and practitioners.

Author: Jacob L. Goodson
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1498505155
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 227

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Book Description
Dr. Jacob L. Goodson will be doing a book signing for Narrative Theology and the Hermeneutical Virtues: Humility, Patience, Prudence at Eighth Day Books in Wichita, KS, on Saturday March 21, 2015, at 4:00pm. In Narrative Theology and the Hermeneutical Virtues: Humility, Patience, Prudence, Jacob L. Goodson offers a philosophical analysis of the arguments and tendencies of Hans Frei’s and Stanley Hauerwas’ narrative theologies. Narrative theology names a way of doing theology and thinking theologically that is part of a greater movement called “the return to Scripture.” The return to Scripture movement makes a case for Scripture as the proper object of study within Christian theology, philosophy of religion, and religious ethics. While thinkers within this movement agree that Scripture is the proper object of study within philosophy and religious studies, there is major disagreement over what the word “narrative” describes in narrative theology. The Yale theologian, Hans Frei, argues that because Scripture is the proper object of study within Christian theology and the philosophy of religion, Scripture must be the exclusive object of study. To think theologically means paying as close attention as possible to the details of the biblical narratives in their “literal sense.” Different from Frei’s contentions, the Christian ethicist at Duke University, Stanley Hauerwas claims: if Scripture is the proper object of study within Christian theology, then the category of narrative teaches us that we ought to give our scholarly attention to the interpretations and performances of Scripture. Hauerwas emphasizes the continuity between the biblical narratives and the traditions of the church. This disagreement is best described as a hermeneutical one: Frei thinks that the primary place where interpretation happens is in the text; Hauerwas thinks that the primary place where interpretation occurs is in the community of interpreters. In order to move beyond the dichotomy found between Frei’s and Hauerwas’ work, but to remain within the return to Scripture movement, Goodson constructs three hermeneutical virtues: humility, patience, and prudence. These virtues help professors and scholars within Christian theology, philosophy of religion, and religious ethics maintain objectivity in their fields of study.

Author: David I. Starling
Publisher: Baker Academic
ISBN: 1493405756
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
A Fresh Approach to the Art of Biblical Interpretation This book offers a fresh approach to the art of biblical interpretation, focusing on the ways Scripture itself forms its readers as wise and faithful interpreters. David Starling shows that apprenticing ourselves to the interpretive practices of the biblical writers and engaging closely with texts from all parts of the Bible help us to develop the habits and practices required to be good readers of Scripture. After introducing the principles, Starling works through the canon, providing inductive case studies in interpretive method and drawing out implications for contemporary readers. Offering a fresh contribution to hermeneutical discussions, this book will be an ideal supplement to traditional hermeneutics textbooks for seminarians. It includes a foreword by Peter O'Brien.

Author: Kevin J. Vanhoozer
Publisher: Zondervan Academic
ISBN: 0310114519
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 449

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Book Description
Reading the Bible to the glory of God. In 1952, C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity eloquently defined the essential tenets of the Christian faith. With the rise of fractured individualism that continues to split the church, this approach is more important now than ever before for biblical hermeneutics. Many Christians wonder how to read the text of Scripture well, rightly, and faithfully. After all, developing a strong theory of interpretation has always been presented by two enormous challenges: A variety of actual interpretations of the Bible, even within the context of a single community of believers. The plurality of reading cultures—denominational, disciplinary, historical, and global interpretive communities—each with its own frame of reference. In response, influential theologian Kevin J. Vanhoozer puts forth a "mere" Christian hermeneutic—essential principles for reading the Bible as Scripture everywhere, at all times, and by all Christians. To center his thought, Vanhoozer turns to the accounts of Jesus' transfiguration—a key moment in the broader economy of God's revelation—to suggest that spiritual or "figural" interpretation is not a denial or distortion of the literal sense but, rather, its glorification. Irenic without resorting to bland ecumenical tolerance, Mere Christian Hermeneutics is a powerful and convincing call for both church and academy to develop reading cultures that enable and sustain the kind of unity and diversity that a "mere Christian hermeneutic" should call for and encourage

Author: Paul D. Murray
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192659723
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 576

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Book Description
Receptive Ecumenism asks not what other churches can learn from us, but 'what can we learn and receive with integrity from our ecclesial others?' Since the publication of Receptive Ecumenism and the Call to Catholic Learning: Exploring a Way for Contemporary Ecumenism (OUP, 2008), this fresh ecumenical strategy has been adopted, critiqued, and developed in different Christian traditions, and in local, national, and international settings, including the most recent bilateral dialogue of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC III). The thirty-eight chapters in this new volume, by academics, church leaders, and ecumenical practitioners who have adopted and adapted Receptive Ecumenism in various ecclesial and cultural contexts, show how Receptive Ecumenism has grown and matured. Part One demonstrates how Receptive Ecumenism itself is capable of being received with integrity into very different ecclesiologies and ecclesial traditions. In Part Two, this approach to transformative ecumenical learning is applied to some recurrent ecclesial problems, such as the understanding and practice of ministry, revealing new insights and practical opportunities. Part Three examines the potential and challenges for Receptive Ecumenism in different international settings. Part Four draws on scripture, hermeneutics, and pneumatology to offer critical reflection on how Receptive Ecumenism itself implements transformative ecclesial learning. Addressing the 70th Anniversary of the World Council of Churches, Archbishop Justin Welby, said that 'One of the most important of recent ecumenical developments has been the concept of "Receptive Ecumenism"'. This volume provides an indispensable point of reference for understanding and applying that concept in the life of the Christian churches today.

Author: Derek J. Tidball
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1610973143
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 483

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Book Description
An international cast of theologians come together in this volume to offer essays in tribute to the late Stanley J. Grenz, one of the leading theologians of his generation. Accordingly, the volume includes timely explorations in some of the most exciting areas in contemporary theology. It is only fitting that these very explorations revolve around the key motifs of Grenz's theology (Trinity, community, eschatology) and the key sources from which he drew for theology's construction (Scripture, tradition, culture). While engaging key features seen in Grenz's work, some of the essays here interact with Grenz's own writings, reflecting on his theological journey and his contributions to evangelical theology. In these ways, this volume highlights the kind of evangelical theology that so many have experienced in recent years and of which Stan Grenz was a leading proponent. Revisioning, Renewing, Rediscovering the Triune Center, then, makes a significant contribution to discussions in contemporary theology while itself setting out to honor the life and work of an eminent theologian who did so much for evangelical theology.

Author: Kevin Hermberg
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1780937350
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 373

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Book Description
The correlation between person and environment has long been a central focus of phenomenological analysis. While phenomenology is usually understood as a descriptive discipline showing how essential features of the human encounter with things and people in the world are articulated, phenomenology is also based on ethical concerns. Husserl himself, the founder of the movement, gave several lecture courses on ethics. This volume focuses on one trend in ethics-virtue ethics-and its connection to phenomenology. The essays explore how phenomenology contributes to this field of ethics and clarifies some of its central issues, such as flourishing and good character traits. The volume initiates a conversation with virtue ethicists that is underrepresented in the current literature. Phenomenology and Virtue Ethics offers contributions from prominent phenomenologists who explore the following issues: how phenomenology is connected to the ancient Greek or Christian virtue tradition, how phenomenology and its foundational thinkers are oriented toward virtue ethics, and how phenomenology is itself a virtue discipline. The focus on phenomenology and virtue ethics in a single volume is the first of its kind.

Author: Mark A. Tietjen
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 0253008719
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 171

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Book Description
“Tietjen offers the kind of approach that encourages us to put the emphasis where it rightly belongs: on Kierkegaard’s philosophical ideas.” —Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews In contrast to recent postmodern and deconstructionist readings, Mark A. Tietjen believes that the purpose behind Kierkegaard’s writings is the moral and religious improvement of the reader. Tietjen defends Kierkegaard against claims that certain features of his works, such as pseudonymity, indirect communication, irony, and satire are self-deceived or deceitful. Kierkegaard, Communication, and Virtue reveals how they are directly related to the virtues or moral issues being discussed. In fact, Tietjen argues, the manner of presentation is a critical element of the philosophical message being conveyed. Reading broadly in Kierkegaard’s writings, he develops a hermeneutics of trust that fully illustrates Kierkegaard’s aim to evoke faith in his reader. “Tietjen’s critique of deconstructionist readings of Kierkegaard along with an emphasis on employing a hermeneutic of trust clearly distinguishes his work from other treatments of Kierkegaard as a virtue ethicist and edifying writer.” —Sylvia Walsh, Stetson University

Author: Robert J. Dostal
Publisher: Northwestern University Press
ISBN: 0810144522
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 447

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Book Description
In Gadamer’s Hermeneutics Robert J. Dostal provides a comprehensive and critical account of Hans-Georg Gadamer’s hermeneutical philosophy, arguing that Gadamer’s enterprise is rooted in the thesis that “being that can be understood is language.” He defends Gadamer against charges of linguistic idealism and emphasizes language’s relationship to understanding, though he criticizes Gadamer for too often ignoring the role of the prelinguistic in our experience. Dostal goes on to explain the concept of the "inner word" for Gadamer’s account of language. The book situates Gadamer’s hermeneutics in three important ways: in relation to the contestability of the legacy of the Enlightenment project; in relation to the work of his mentor, Martin Heidegger; and in relation to Gadamer’s reading of Plato and Aristotle. Dostal explores both Gadamer’s claim on the Enlightenment and his ambivalence toward it. He considers Gadamer’s dependence on Heidegger’s accomplishment while pointing out the ways in which Gadamer charted his own course, rejecting his teacher’s reading of Plato and his antihumanism. Dostal points out notable differences in the philosophers’ politics as well. Finally, Dostal mediates between Gadamer’s hermeneutics and what might be called philological hermeneutics. His analysis defends the civic humanism that is the culmination of the philosopher’s hermeneutics, a humanism defined by moral education, common sense, judgment, and taste. Supporters and critics of Gadamer’s philosophy will learn much from this major achievement.