Welcome

Hi, and welcome to our blog.  For those of you that don't know, one thing that came out of the recent Seventh-day Adventist General Conference discussion of women's ordination was a recognition that even though Adventists (in common with other Christians) study the same Bible, we often come to very different conclusions.  Thus, there was a call for the creation of a committee to study hermeneutics in the hope that a uniform hermeneutic will lead to a uniform theology.  This blog will explore this topic from a Biblical perspective, addressing the question of hermeneutics from a Biblical, not merely Adventist, perspective.

For those that are not familiar with scholar speak, hermeneutics is an area of study which focuses on the ideas and methods we use to interpret and understand various forms of communication--most often written texts, such as the Bible.  While this might seem a ridiculous thing to study, it is actually very important.  Depending upon our basic assumptions about the nature of the world, about the nature of language and about the nature of a given text, we can arrive at radically different conclusions from the same "evidence."  Relevant questions might include:

• who was the author?  were they favorable to the subject matter, or mocking it?  
• how was the author shaped by their environment?  are they addressing specific cultural issues or more general themes?  
• what was the author's worldview?  did they value exploration or equality or economy?
• why was this text written?  was it meant to instruct, to describe, to entertain, etc?
  what genre is this text or passage?  is the author quoting someone else, or stating an opinion?
• how might a contemporary reader understand this text?
• what use is a contemporary reader to make of it?
• how does the author talk about women or minorities?  does this undermine their credibility?
• was this text written by a corporate shill, a devotee, or a lunatic?
• is this text a translation?  if so, what would this word or concept mean in a culture that is foreign to our own?

This list is by no means exhaustive, but it does highlight some of the questions we face when we read.  Generally, when we read, we do not consciously attend to these concerns.  We assume that a person writing in English in the 21st century will probably share our basic worldview and will use particular words and ideas in ways that are more or less familiar to us.  That is usually true--though not always.  However, the further we move from a shared culture and language, the more we must pay attention to these concerns.  Shifting from Canada to America or to Britain may change what particular words mean.  Shifting to another language means we are not even using the same words, even though we may share the same history and culture.  Shifting to another time means we may use the same words to describe different experiences, or different words to describe the same experiences, and so on.  When we approach the Bible looking for a way of life, the way we answer those questions can profoundly impact our communities and our lives.  That is why hermeneutics matters.

On this blog, we will be reading through the various articles listed in Spectrum's Alphabetized Bibliography for the Adventist Hermeneutics Discussion.  Ethan Allen has agree to join Dale and I (from Storying Life) as we read through these articles and provide accessible summaries for your reading pleasure.  As much as possible, each summary will be followed by a link to the original article.  We look forward to hearing your thoughts and questions as we pursue this study.  Wherever you are coming from, we hope you find this process helpful in your own studies.