Product Description

Written by a brilliant young author, this book develops an evangelical theological hermeneutic that sees meaning in the text of Scripture.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #754059 in Books
• Published on: 1998-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 496 pages

From the Back Cover
Is 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 postmodernity? 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.

About the Author
Kevin J. Vanhoozer (Ph.D., Cambridge University) was senior lecturer in theology and religious studies at New College, University of Edinburgh and is now research professor of systematic theology at Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois.

Customer Reviews

deconstructs both modern and postmodern literary criticisms
giving a broad sweep of the history of literary criticism, from early modern dispositions, right through to the highly subjectified postmodern ideas that govern 21st century hemaneutics. he writes lucidly, and sharply critiques both the modern and postmodern conditions. he concludes by building up a more biblical framework that can withstand the postmodern onslaught, and yet avoids the objectified standpoint often occupied by the modern mindset. thus leaving room for the work of the spirit in both bringing revalation from the text, to illumin it, and to recontexutalize it and bring hope to this world.

Long winded and critically underminded by thiselton
Vanhoozer is long winded at times, and follows the classical line of establishing authorial intent as a guiding principal for interpretation. Which although it true in most cases of biblical exegesis when you come to the parables of Jesus Vanhoozers method comes unstuck. His belittleling of reader response as a valid hermeutical tool is the undoing of his entire thesis. Thiselton however sees the value of reader response in being able to listen polyphonic voices contained within the parables. Vanhoozer has allowed his boring evangelical tendancies to cloud his mind from the clearly advantageous liberal methodology Thiselton employs. Overall an interesting and valid peice of work, worthy of a place on any student shelf. But unduly undone by his wholly evangelical leaning. Something I my self do not share, going for a more post-liberal, post-femenist line.

Exegesis in the postmodern matrix
As an undergraduate I found this book to be a facinating overview of the issues that postmodern hermeneutics raise in relation to the idea of 'Biblical interpretation'. Vanhoozer is a very eloquent writer, and always a good read. However, I would say that he has moved on somewhat since this early, (and if I may say so) typically reactionary evangelical interaction with Derrida et. al. Still I continue to think that its worth a read, its a good starting point.