Hermeneutics of a Sent Disciples : a proposal

I recently picked up Hermeneutics: An Introduction from the EBC library.

Here I intend to propose my own hermeneutics before I begin reading the book and then, in about a weeks time, respond to what I have read and re-formulate my hermeneutic based on what I have learned. The project is not too ambitious, but I do hope to critique and better my own hermeneutic.

The author's definition of hermeneutics is
"Hermeneutics explores how we read,understand,and handle texts, especially those written in another time or in a context of life different from our own. Biblical hermeneutics investigates more specifically how we read,understand,apply, and respond to biblical texts."

First of all let me state my belief that hermeneutics is one of the most important issues facing the Church today, specifically as Christians try to engage personally and corporately in a world of diversity, violence, injustice and confusion. The divisions between high church and low church, 'Christian realist' and 'Peace Church', first world and third world, Emergent and Established seem to be caused by how we interpret the Scriptures.

Secondly I can not say I believe in a 'pure' hermeneutic, one separate from historical and social conditions. Even the concept of 'hermeneutics' can not be separated from the recent history of Christianity,the western academy and continental philosophy. Basically what I am saying is that any possible hermeneutic is text-ured, meaning that it is formed and built under the influences of certain texts. The primary one of these texts is the Scriptures themselves but also certain philosophical and theological texts - even the unconscious influence of Schleiermacher on Christians who have never read him. Finally even the personal and communal experiences we have are like 'text's, a metaphor I find appropriate.

Thirdly if a hermeneutic is text-ured it should also have a strong memory. Not only of the tradition of the church but of the tradition's hermeneutic. In the ancient Church, in the age of the patristics, one hermeneutic was the rule of faith which was basically a general understanding of the Gospel which guided the interpretation of scripture. Other 'rules of faith' or sources of authority include the Wesleyan Quadrilateral and the Eastern Orthodox emphasis on Theoria.

Now to my hermeneutic itself -

First of all I adopt and adapt the patristic Rule of Faith. An issue with interpreting scripture through the gospel is that a primary text of the gospel is scripture itself. This new part of the the rule of faith I will call the Missio Dei. That concept already has a history of it's own, as illustrated by the wikipedia article, but I am using it here as part of my hermeneutic. Why? Where as the rule of faith interpreted as the Gospel is certainly a step in the right direction often in talking about the Gospel the references to the New Testament are abundant but reference to the Old Testament is scarce. The missio dei is an altogether better concept. Through the work of both NT Wright and Christopher Wright (which I have yet to read) the connections between the incarnation,life,death and resurrection of Christ and God's work through the old testament is profoundly connected under the Missio Dei, which is latin for the sending (of) God.

I will not go into it here but the basic belief that the sent-ness of missionaries is part of the deeper character not only of the church, or the scriptures, but of God himself. Thus the Missio Dei becomes the first part of my hermeneutic. Thus the sent-ness.

The second aspect is an adoption and adaptation of Theoria and Theosis. Both of these presuppose a God who not only acts but also reveals himself to and transforms people. Theoria is this vision of God and theosis is becoming like God (in the sense of Character). I want to build on these concepts with the ideal of discipleship. Discipleship not only acknowledges both theosis and theoria, albeit perhaps in Methodist-evangelical fashion, but also is grounded in the scriptures as a call of Christ to the apostles. Discipleship builds on the concepts of theoria and theosis as possibility by also acknowledging ecclesia in the form of community as well as the call to political discipleship. Here I can once again point out the text-ured part of this hermeneutic, as community is a value coming out of much discussion in the Emerging Church and political discipleship coming out of liberation theologies and Peace Church type thinking.

So here then is my hermeneutic: one of sent disciples.