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The necessity of a right understanding
Hermeneutics is vital for all theology, and here is a good guide, says Anthony Thiselton
SCM Core Text: Theological hermeneutics
SCM Press £21.99 (978-0-334-02901-4) Church Times Bookshop £19.80 HERMENEUTICS has become a buzz word in many church circles. People rightly see that, in the end, the use of the Bible depends on hermeneutics. Yet it was only around 1970 that this became an official course or module in British universities. When I introduced it into the University of Sheffield, there was still a shortage of good textbooks. Apart from Palmer’s book, only more specialist sources existed, of which none constituted a wholly suitable textbook for undergraduate students. Now, at last, Dr Jensen has produced a work that is sufficiently accurate and scholarly to take seriously, yet which covers a range of biblical and philosophical issues necessary for the student. There are other introductory books on the market, but this commands confidence by its solid scholarship. Dr Jensen first defines hermeneutics as the theory of interpretation and art of understanding, but from the first he underlines its necessity for all theology and theological theories of knowledge. He then examines hermeneutics in the ancient world, with its introduction of allegorical interpretation among the Greeks. He discusses rabbinic Midrash, but he is more dismissive of the term “typology” than L. Goppelt, R. Longenecker, or even Richard Hanson. There is an unexpectedly short section on the New Testament. Among patristic writers, Origen’s threefold scheme and Augustine’s theory of signs receive detailed attention, but Theodore and Chrysostom are treated too hastily, in a paragraph. The period from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment received some 40 pages, excluding Augustine. A good chapter on Schleiermacher follows, with his emphasis on the art of understanding and grammatical and psychological interpretation. Dilthey, Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud are then crammed together in one chapter under “Historicism”. Existentialism follows, but with more on Heidegger than on Bultmann — although Jonas on Gnosticism rightly finds a place. The next chapter examines the later Heidegger and Gadamer competently; but Ricoeur is squashed into the same chapter, which conveys a false impression to students. Fuchs is also discussed, though Fuchs explicitly claims that he is not influenced by the later Heidegger. The remainder of the book covers sign systems, Barthes and Childs, feminist hermeneutics, and post-colonial hermeneutics. The time spent on Saussure is accurate, and leads on to structuralism; but the sections on Lacan and post-structuralism are understandably less readable than earlier chapters. Derrida and Mark Taylor are treated too briefly to make much sense; but the great merit of this book is to show the necessity of hermeneutics and these topics for theology, and Dr Jensen is right to discuss these issues, including the fragmentation of feminism. It is, on the whole, a very good introductory textbook. Some differences of opinion may be due to personal judgement; and I warmly recommend this book to our University library, and especially to students. Canon Anthony C. Thiselton is Professor of Christian Theology at the University of Nottingham. To order this book, email the details to Church Times Bookshop (please mention "Church Times Bookshop price") |
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