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What is Theological Interpretation? An Ecclesiological Reduction
Author(s) -
TREIER DANIEL J.
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.1468-2400.2009.00477.x
Subject(s) - interpretation (philosophy) , parallels , narrative , theology , philosophy , popularity , character (mathematics) , epistemology , reduction (mathematics) , sociology , psychology , social psychology , mathematics , mechanical engineering , linguistics , geometry , engineering
This article addresses ‘theological interpretation’, first, by constructing a coherent narrative framework to account for its recent popularity via key players, common practices and a genealogy. Second, by addressing disagreements that remain within this movement via a kind of ‘ecclesiological reduction’, the article's descriptive starting point brings theological implications. In particular, strong parallels surface between the fortunes of theological interpretation and another essentially contested concept –‘postliberal’ theology. Both ‘postliberalism’ and ‘theological interpretation’ have fuzzy boundaries precisely due to their character as trans‐denominational forms of scholarly ecumenism through which God may help renew the church's engagement with Scripture in the post‐Christian West.