A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance
by Benjamin J. Montoya, PhD
About the Author
Stanley E. Porter (PhD, University of Sheffield) is president, dean, professor of New Testament, and Roy A. Hope Chair in Christian Worldview at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario. A prolific scholar, he has authored, coauthored, or edited more than 130 books, including The Pastoral Epistles, Sacred Tradition in the New Testament, Linguistic Analysis of the Greek New Testament, The Synoptic Problem, Interpretation for Preaching and Teaching, and Origins of New Testament Christology.
Introduction
Although the term “hermeneutics” may be unfamiliar, the act of engaging in discussions of how to interpret or understand something, be it written or otherwise, is one we all engage in daily. What is hermeneutics? Why is it important? What is involved?
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 What Is Hermeneutics, and Why Are So Many Talking about It?
Chapter 2 Hermeneutics and the Authority of Scripture
Chapter 3 Hermeneutics at the Level of Language and Linguistics
Chapter 4 Hermeneutics at the Level of Text: Part 1
Chapter 5 Hermeneutics at the Level of Text: Part 2
Chapter 6 Hermeneutics at the Level of Biblical Theology
Chapter 7 Hermeneutics at the Level of Systematic Theology
Chapter 8 Hermeneutics at the Level of Homiletics
Summary
Chapter 1: What Is Hermeneutics, and Why Are So Many Talking about It?
The word “hermeneutics” is a term with which not many are familiar, but it is a term that seeks to describe something we all engage in daily. Each of us regularly observes the environment around us or things we read online and/or on our phones. We have to make sense of what is presented to us, and part of that involves how we understand what we perceive. What, then, is hermeneutics more specifically?
Hermeneutics is a discussion of the principles of understanding found in various models used to interpret a written text.
Although there are many parts to this definition, and a definition could be much longer and far more detailed, this particular definition provides a simple encapsulation of the kinds of things involved in the larger task of hermeneutics. There are various ways or models someone can use to understand a written text. There is not just one way to understand a text, as the history of interpretation has shown repeatedly. There are also a wide variety of principles that people consider to be able to interpret Scripture. Perhaps one of the most important terms in this definition is that of discussion. A discussion requires at least some measure to learn from others, especially when we disagree with them. Although that is a difficult thing to do, the very discussion of hermeneutics depends on it because we must make ourselves begin to see the world as others do.
Throughout the history of interpretation, some schools of thought have taken a more literal approach whereas others were more allegorical. During the Reformation, some interpreters were more systematic in their approach. Post-Reformation has seen a wide variety of approaches influenced by Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Schleiermacher. The levels of complexities of discussion of hermeneutics have only continued to deepen with time, especially with the rise of other interpretive methods, as will be considered in subsequent chapters.
Reading Scripture, on the one hand, is perhaps among the most difficult tasks in the world given the level of complexities involved. Reading Scripture, on the other hand, is among the simplest tasks as well because as long as someone can read, they can at least arrive at an understanding of the text. . . .
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