If you try to understand hermeneutics in order to control interpretations, you will neither control interpretations nor understand hermeneutics.
If all you want to do is to understand interpretations, your hermeneutics can reach deep and explain much. Your hermeneutics won’t help you control interpretations — but you’ve forgone that anyway.
Follow-on from Facebook:
Marion Grau from your writings?
Akma Adam From my “about to” writings 😉
Judy Stack-Nelson I love this a million times!
Kat Herding my brain got a cramp from reading that. thanks a lot!
Stephen Hodgson omg do you know how much shit you are forcing me to research…?
Stephen Hodgson can’t I just be nice and dumb?
Paul Dove Lempke I didn’t know controlling interpretations was a thing?
Akma Adam Well, exactly, Paul. But a large part of biblical hermeneutics involves — to put things crudely — trying to rationalise authoritative interpretations such that one can tell people what they must or must not do (or “believe”).
Stephen Hodgson Oh, paul, it’s the backbone of perverting faith. And (for me) finding your own interpretation is … well, your job. (by ‘your’ I mean ‘everyone’s’
Stephen Hodgson to state my own faith, (this is probably stupid) I always ask myself ‘what would my heroes do’? and you usually don’t want to hear the answer. But you do it because it’s right. (phil sucks.)