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Why Theological Hermeneutics Needs Rhetoric: Augustine's De doctrina Christiana
Author(s) -
ANDREWS JAMES
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
international journal of systematic theology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.149
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 1468-2400
pISSN - 1463-1652
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2400.2009.00475.x
Subject(s) - hermeneutics , rhetoric , interpretation (philosophy) , philosophy , theology , rhetorical question , invocation , epistemology , linguistics
To define theological interpretation, this article appeals to Augustine's De doctrina christiana . The article argues against the claim that De doctrina is a rhetorical handbook and asserts instead that the treatise can best be described as an ‘expanded hermeneutics’, that is, a hermeneutics that includes rhetoric. The discussion highlights that rhetoric is defined loosely as ‘communication’: the focus is on the target audience, not the mode of delivery. De doctrina is put into dialogue with a contemporary proponent of theological interpretation, Stephen Fowl, to highlight its distinctiveness. The article concludes that the paradigm for theological interpretation is the sermon.