Gadamer, Barth, and Transcendence in Biblical Interpretation

The essay reflects on how Hans-Georg Gadamer and Karl Barth view interpretation of the Christian Bible. It proceeds in three main sections. The first contends that Gadamer secularizes Christian theology, and that this has drawbacks for the sort of reading his hermeneutic can give to Christian Scripture. The second part turns to Barth, arguing that the whole structure of his approach to the Bible factors in theological commitment, with benefits for the readings he can deliver. The final part makes a case that contemporary reflection on interpretation can nonetheless glean important insights from Gadamer, especially regarding the readerly reception of texts, because his perspective has a certain sort of richness that Barth’s cannot match. The overall suggestion emerging from the interrogation of these two thinkers is that phenomenology and theology might learn from one another, that they each contribute something valuable to discussions of biblical interpretation.

A Theological Assessment of the Covenant between Judas Maccabeus and Rome: an Intertextual Analysis of 1 Macc 8:17–20

What was the biblical interpretation of the Jews’ conduct in the final stage of the history of Israel in the context of the Law of Moses right before the times of the New Testament? The proposed exegesis of 1 Macc 8:17–20, which describes the covenant between Judas Maccabeus and the Roman republic, strives to discover the theological evaluation of the behavior of the revolt’s leader conducted by the author of the book. The intertextual method is particularly helpful in discovering the right understanding of the text. This method enables one to purposefully combine the expressions found in the consecutive verses with the same expressions found in the earlier biblical books. The theology that underlies these books will reveal the right sense of the studied passage of 1 Macc. It turns out that the theological evaluation is totally different than the political evaluation, the latter being solely taken into consideration in historical-literary analyses and commentaries. The biblical author has a restrained stance toward the political success of the Maccabees. He wants to reveal their conduct in the context of the Lord’s Law, which strongly proves that the First Book of Maccabees should belong to the canon of the inspired texts.

African biblical hermeneutics and the Book of Ruth: Some observations

This article investigates interpretations of the Book of Ruth from the point of view of some African scholars. Firstly, an attempt is made to understand what is meant by African biblical hermeneutics (ABH). An overview of the emergence of ABH is given, and the question why reading the Bible from an African perspective was necessary, is addressed. It appears that African biblical scholars and an African Christian community could not relate to Western European interpretations of the Bible that reflect western experiences and concerns that were vastly different from their own postcolonial experiences and concerns since the latter part of the 20th century.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The engagement between Western and ABH is discussed, and ABH as a necessary and viable means of biblical interpretation is recognised, but a point of critique is also raised at the end of this section. Thereafter an overview of ABH as appropriated to the Book of Ruth is given, and finally, some evaluative conclusions are drawn.

The Confrontation Between Quakers and Clergy 1652-1656: Theology and Practice

The conflict between the clergy and the earliest Quakers can be better understood in the context of the ‘mainstream’ Puritan tradition. Analysis of the pamphlets interchanged is used to investigate what the participants in the confrontation were hoping to achieve, what background they were were drawing on and what theological issues arose. Analysis of the pamphlets interchanged shows that the Quakers gave priority to the abolition of the paid professional ministry, while the clergy argued that the Quaker movement should be suppressed. The Quakers claimed to be guided by the inward light of Christ, but they supported their arguments with biblical references. Neither group were willing to admit to a source for their methods of biblical interpretation, but the clergy were clearly drawing on the patristic tradition, to which Jean Calvin and William Perkins were indebted; the Quakers may have learned from earlier radical groups. Each group used theological arguments to support very different codes of conduct. The clergy claimed to be entitled to the support of the magistracy in suppressing Quakers, but in the confused circumstances of the Interregnum the extent to which such support was forthcoming varied from place to place. This article focuses on different approaches to practice arising from these theological differences.

Wiedza i światło u Jana Amosa Komeńskiego w "Labiryncie świata i raju serca" i w twórczości Fiodora Dostojewskiego – podobieństwa i różnice

In the works by John Amos Comenius (1592-1670), light often plays a key role in the interpretation of the text. This is related to the philosophy of the Baroque, according to which a person wanders through the metaphorical labyrinth of life and only later, passing through the darkness, can reach the truth. Light in Comenius' works is particularly important for cognition, to which John Amos Comenius devoted a large part of his work, both artistic and pedagogical. Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881) in his reflections on the nature of man and God also refers to the biblical interpretation according to which light is closely related to the presence of Christ. Man is faced with a choice between the light and the dark, he is lost in the choice, as if in a baroque world-maze and darkness.