Postmodern Biblical Theology

I came across this quote the other day while doing research for another topic. This quotation is fascinating for its honesty. Apparently, Clines used to be an evangelical scholar.

"I want to propose a model for biblical interpretation that accepts the realities of our pluralist context... First comes the    recognition that texts do not have determinate meanings... The second axis for my framework is provided by the idea of interpretative communities... There is no objective standard by which we can know whether one interpretation or other is right; we can only tell whether it has been accepted... There are no determinate meanings and there are no universally agreed upon legitimate interpretations.

What are biblical scholars then to be doing with themselves?... Biblical interpretators have to give up the goal of determinate and universally acceptable interpretations, and devote themselves to interpretations they can sell--in whatever mode is called for by the communities they choose to serve. I call this "customised" interpretation."

The quote is by David Clines, "Possibilities and Priorities of Biblical Interpretation in an International Perspective" Biblical Interpretation 1:1 (1993) 67-87. I found the quotation given in Craig Bartholomew "Postmodernity and Biblical Interpretation" in Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible, ed Kevin Vanhoozer, page 605.  

Login to add comments