Tag: hermeneutics
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A Living Text
Once upon a time in a class, the professor said, offhand, in passing, not the main point, “so you have the juxtaposition of images – the source of all meaning …” That basic theory has stayed with me, like a meteor crater, one of the things I really learned in seminary. The juxtaposition of images […]
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Reflecting on 2 Samuel 6
What should we ourselves make out of the story we are studying for Sunday, September 12, the story of David bringing the Ark of God up to Jerusalem (in 2 Samuel 6)? The story describes dramatic events that happen long ago, far away, and that center on a powerfully sacred object that no longer exists. […]
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A lot to think about
Whenever an author writes anything, it’s the author who chooses the words, the language. Well, more or less, depending on what that author has to choose from. An author who only speaks English can’t choose words that aren’t available in English. And then, if the author wants the writing to mean anything to anyone, she […]
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“What It Means”
I’m sitting at the registration desk in the emergency room. The cheerful young lady on the other side of the Plexiglas barrier hands me a sheet of paper with a lot of words on it, and x’s by all the blank lines. “Initial four places and sign once,” she instructs. I skim the paragraphs. “I […]
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New Perspectives, and Their Implications
Our wonderful pastor preached on 2 Samuel 11:1-15 yesterday – from one perspective, “the familiar story of David and Bathsheba.” She pointed out that historically Christian readers have carefully protected the Great King David’s reputation, even here. The NRSV’s editorial heading reads “David commits adultery with Bathsheba.” Even though “commits adultery” presumes or assumes, and […]
Matters of Interpretation 