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- Why Hermeneutics?
In this little volume, Anthony Thiselton makes an impassioned appeal for closer attention to the philosophy of hermeneutics. Emilio Betti provocatively observes that hermeneutics ought to constitute an obligatory course for most degrees in the humanities. Hermeneutics, he insists, teaches patience, tolerance, respect for other views, understanding, and humility, while holding one's own views with firmness and generosity. Yet many teaching institutions do not yet recognize this. With this in mind, Thiselton first considers and responds to those who argue that hermeneutics is not necessary. Then he considers anew more sophisticated thinkers on the subject. Types of texts and hermeneutical models, he argues, are almost infinite, a fact many biblical scholars do not recognize. In the field of biblical hermeneutics, too many view the Bible as one thing, or as a monochrome landscape--it is not. The culmination of Thiselton's case consists in a sustained reflection on the impressive work of Paul Ricoeur, selecting thirteen points of genuine advance his work makes. With a glossary of fifty technical terms this is a volume that will prove helpful to student and scholar alike.
Anthony Thiselton is Emeritus Professor of Christian Theology in the University of Nottingham and the University of Chester. He is also Emeritus Canon Theologian of Leicester, and of Southwell and Nottingham, and a Fellow of the British Academy. He has published over thirty books, including The Two Horizons (1980), New Horizons in Hermeneutics (1992), and Thiselton on Hermeneutics (2006).
“I have learned much from Thiselton about the fundamental importance of hermeneutics for the study of the Bible. I hope others will do likewise!”
—Walter Moberly, Durham University
“Christians must focus on hermeneutics, and this book provides the opportunity for conversation with a master, someone who has devoted his life to the discipline. Tony Thiselton has done more than anyone to lay bare the issues and the history of the discussion, and his latest offering on the topic focuses on the importance of hermeneutics and the main contours of the discipline, especially with regard to Paul Ricoeur.”
—Klyne Snodgrass, North Park Theological Seminary
“An expert and lucid guide in hermeneutics, Professor Thiselton here outlines its significance for a new generation of students. His exposition of key figures, especially Ricoeur, confirms the importance of a patient, tolerant, humble, and appropriate reading of texts. Those seeking a point of entry to the subject would do well to begin here.”
—David Fergusson, University of Edinburgh
“Anthony Thiselton’s Why Hermeneutics continues to expand our horizons of understanding about what is involved in reading texts. . . . Thiselton here presents the most compelling case I have yet come across for viewing hermeneutics as a relevant if not essential component of university education—in the humanities and divinity alike.”
—Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
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