scholarly journals Karl Barth’s interpretation of Scripture from the perspective of a possible “second naivety”

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
HL Bosman
Keyword(s):  
New World ◽  
Inner Core ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
Historical Criticism ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Critical Scholarship ◽  
Point Of Departure ◽  
Methodological Reflection

Although the theological exegesis of Karl Barth cannot be depicted as “naïve”, his cumulative style of interpretation presupposes that the Bible entails a “new world” that has a threefold character and that requires a “second naivety” as suggested by Paul Ricoeur (i.e. an interpretive position beyond criticism) as its hermeneutical point of departure: (i) an inner core of divine revelation in Jesus Christ; (ii) the prophetic and apostolic witness in the Bible that makes the divine core accessible for interpretation; (iii) the proclamation or preaching of the biblical witness that is rooted in this “second naivety”. Critical scholarship in general and historical-criticism in particular are not rejected outright, but theological exegesis must move beyond criticism. In the early part of his career Barth, when appointed as a lecturer in New Testament, Barth took serious note of critical biblical scholarship. However, the jury is still out whether critical biblical exegesis remained an important point of reference in Barth’s later publications and whether his reluctance to engage in hermeneutical and methodological reflection caused a lack of the self-criticism presupposed by a “second naivety”.

Slavery, Women's Rights, and the Beginnings of Feminist Biblical Interpretation in the Nineteenth Century

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-169
Author(s):  
Claudia Setzer
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Women's Rights ◽  
Negative Evaluation ◽  
Women’S Rights ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Critical Scholarship ◽  
Elizabeth Cady Stanton ◽  
Abolitionist Movement

Progressive movements create social changes that reach far beyond their original contexts. Such movements challenge authoritative texts and interpretations in the culture, generate alternative understandings of authoritative works that may be applied to other struggles, create a social arena for the dissemination of ideas, create patterns of thought that may be re-constituted in other forms, and may leave intact some related social problems. The abolitionist movement demanded a confrontation with slavery in the Bible and the development of non-literal exegesis. It also provided a conduit for the new methods of European biblical scholarship, particularly through the preaching and writings of abolitionist Theodore Parker. Three nineteenth-century women, Sarah Grimké, Frances Willard, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, in spite of differences in their biographies and religious commitments, shared similar methods of interpreting the Bible to argue for women’s rights. This article argues that habits of interpretation and knowledge of emerging historical-critical scholarship that these women learned in the abolition movement carried over into their fight for women’s rights. Like many nineteenth-century Christians, they subscribed to a belief in progressive revelation, occasional Orientalism, and a sometime negative evaluation of Judaism. Yet they show a remarkable anticipation of contemporary feminist biblical scholarship in their understandings of the effect of culture on interpretation, their view of gender as socially constructed, and their descriptions of God and Jesus as both male and female.

A Hermeneutics of Social Embodiment

1986 ◽  
Vol 79 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 176-186
Author(s):  
Wayne A. Meeks
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Theology ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
The Other ◽  
Literary Analysis ◽  
Clear Distinction ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
New Testament Studies ◽  
Biblical Scholar

When Krister Stendahl's article “Biblical Theology” appeared in the Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible in 1962, it caused no little consternation in some circles. He insisted that the primary intellectual task of the biblical scholar was to make a clear distinction between what the text meant in its original setting and what it means. That ran directly counter to the practical aims of the dominant interpretive schools of the day, which wanted, as Karl Barth had once said, to dissolve “the differences between then and now.” Today the distinction for which Stendahl argued so lucidly is taken for granted in most biblical scholarship, and the question is whether there can be any significant connection between “then” and “now.” New Testament studies threatens to divide into two contrary ways of reading texts. One is a rigorously historical quest, in which all the early Christian documents alike, canonical and extracanonical, are treated as sources for reconstructing the diverse and curious varieties of the early Christian movement. The other way of reading cares not at all where the texts came from or what they originally meant; by purely literary analysis it wishes to help text and reader to confront one another continually anew.

Naturalizing the Bible

2019 ◽  
pp. 197-215
Author(s):  
Scott Gerard Prinster
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Historical Criticism ◽  
High Profile ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Modern Development ◽  
American Protestantism ◽  
Religious Professionals

The modern development of secular knowledge exerted a powerful influence over the Protestant interpretation and use of the Bible. As German innovations in biblical scholarship spread in the early nineteenth century, scholars and their readership began to scrutinize more closely the historical and empirical accuracy of Scripture. Although these methods first met with widespread resistance in the United States, intellectuals continued to wrestle with the possibility of reconciling natural science and the Bible. Religious professionals attempted to insulate the laity from controversial scientific interpretations of Scripture, but a number of high-profile events such as heresy trials nevertheless attracted broad public attention. A growing schism in American Protestantism was deepened as more orthodox movements renounced the use of naturalism and historical criticism, while a significant number of religious liberals promoted scientific interpretations to keep the Bible relevant to the modern world.

Exploring a Strange New World: A Theological Response to Craig R. Koester

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-37
Author(s):  
Frank D. Macchia
Keyword(s):  
New World ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
Imperial Cult ◽  
History Of Interpretation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
History Of

Craig A. Koester’s commentary on Revelation seeks after what Karl Barth referred to as the ‘strange new world within the Bible’. He seeks to locate the book fundamentally within the ancient conflict between the confession of Jesus as Lord and the Roman imperial cult. In the process, the reader comes to appreciate where the history of interpretation has detoured from the book’s original purpose. There are throughout the commentary a number of theological issues raised. Noteworthy are soteriology (the triumph of grace) and pneumatology (the meaning of the seven spirits). The essay seeks to explore these themes.

5. Hermeneutics and theology

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Zimmermann
Keyword(s):  
Religious Identity ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
Protestant Reformation ◽  
Divine Revelation ◽  
Dietrich Bonhoeffer ◽  
Historical Criticism ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Divine Inspiration ◽  
History Of

Theology interprets divine revelation. For Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, religious identity and daily living depend on divine revelation as collected in a sacred text—the Torah, the Bible, and the Quran, respectively. ‘Hermeneutics and theology’ looks at what divine inspiration entails in these religions and the importance of tradition in understanding. It also discusses how the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century was a defining event in the history of hermeneutics; the rise of modern historical criticism; and the theological interpretations of Karl Barth, Rudolf Bultmann, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Finally, the recent hermeneutic trends of narrative theology, a reworking of historical criticism, and canonical criticism are considered.

scholarly journals Tekstualitas dan Intratekstualitas dalam Hermeneutika Pascaliberalisme

2000 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-157
Author(s):  
Andreas Himawan
Keyword(s):  
Reader Response ◽  
New World ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
Linguistic Turn ◽  
Stanley Hauerwas ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Stanley Fish ◽  
Hans Frei ◽  
Interpretive Communities ◽  
Reader Response Criticism

Perkembangan hermeneutika dalam gerakan teologi pascamodern, seperti yang dapat disimak dari kalangan pascaliberalisme, memperlihatkan beberapa kecenderungan yang menarik. Gerakan teologi pascamodern ini jelas berkaitan erat dengan apa yang disebut sebagai perkembangan “the linguistic turn,” yang mendominasi wacana filfasat pascamodern. Karena itu, teori-teori dan kritik-kritik kesusasteraan menjadi salah satu alat utama dalam interpretasi dan evaluasi teologi masa kini. Perkembangan teologi pascamodern ini juga memperlihatkan kecenderungan kembali kepada hermeneutika Karl Barth, yang melihat teks formatif kekristenan sebagai “a strange new world within the Bible.” Pada satu pihak, pengaruh teori kesusasteraan telah mendorong pemakaian reader-response criticism, yang melihat proses membaca sebagai proses penciptaan makna. Di bawah pengaruh tokoh seperti Stanley Fish, teolog-teolog saat ini banyak berbicara mengenai interpretive communities. Pada pihak lain, di bawah pengaruh Karl Barth, orang-orang dalam gerakan yang sama terdorong untuk mengutamakan teks formatif kekristenan sehingga mereka menganjurkan pembacaan yang realistik (realistic reading) terhadap narasi-narasi Alkitab, dan melihat narasi-narasi ini dapat menciptakan satu dunia realita yang lebih nyata daripada dunia yang kita kenal dengan panca indera kita. Teologi pascaliberal adalah salah satu dari gerakan teologi pascamodern yang mementingkan teks dan mengutamakan pembacaan realistik tersebut. Memang, di kalangan teologi pascaliberal sendiri terlihat juga kecenderungan untuk mengikuti jalur Stanley Fish, seperti yang dilakukan oleh Stanley Hauerwas. George Lindbeck dan Hans Frei, yang dianggap sebagai pelopor gerakan pascaliberalisme, juga memperlihatkan kecenderungan menempatkan interpretive communities sebagai pencipta makna (dan bahkan kebenaran) teks. Tulisan ini akan saya fokuskan hanya pada penekanan mereka terhadap teks dan memperlihatkan beberapa penyimpangan dari pandangan Barth tentang tekstualitas. Tulisan ini juga memperlihatkan bahwa antara mementingkan teks qua teks dengan mementingkan komunitas pencipta kebenaran teks jaraknya sangat tipis.

'Ilahle Elinothuthu'?* the Lay Reader and /or the Critical Reader- Some Remarks On Africanisation

1999 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerrie F. Snyman
Keyword(s):  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Edward Said ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Critical Scholarship ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Lay Reader ◽  
Fundamental Shift ◽  
Point Of Departure

AbstractThis article intends to link Africanisation, lay readings and critical scholarship. Its point of departure is the dialectic of colonial inferiority complexes and the realisation of a Babelesque confusion as a defining element of South Africanness. Within this socio-political context the focus falls on Semeia 73 ('Reading with': an exploration of the interface between critical and ordinary readings of the Bible), drawing some implications for a grassroots reading of Esther 9 as well as the role of critical scholarship in the Afrikaans Reformed tradition. Bearing in mind the work of Edward Said on the subject of intellectuality, the article suggests that as long as the renewed focus on the lay reader represents only a change in political grid and power relations, it does not initiate a new trend in hermeneutics. A fundamental shift will only occur when the underlying reading strategies of lay reading are revealed and critically assessed. Instead of merely reproducing the ideological mechanisms and alignments whereby description becomes prescription and the local is represented as universal, it is suggested that these mechanisms should be challenged by the critical reader, even when and while socially engaged.

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