Ethics Of Biblical Interpretation

Daniel Patte argues here that when male European-American scholars interpret the Bible to produce a universally legitimate reading, they silence the Bible itself. Their reading practices exclude feminist, African American, and other so-called "minority" readings, as well as the interpretations of conservative and liberal laity. He further claims that ethical accountability requires recognizing that all exegesis consists of bringing critical understanding to ordinary readings, especially faith interpretations. Patte concludes that biblical studies must affirm the legitimacy of diverse ordinary readings and lead to an open discussion of the relative value of these readings.

Inter-disciplinary studies are emerging rapidly to meet the insistent demands of the modern age. Biblical interpretation is itself inter-disciplinary, drawing together the biblical traditions and others to address the problem of interpreting texts. Christian ethics is also multi-disciplinary and thus no stranger to this new ethos. To bring these two areas together is a potentially creative undertaking. It comes at a time when much attention is being paid to reading texts and the interpretive tradition. The author's principal aim is to read the Bible in the context of moral concern. Attention is paid to the liberal quest and to eschatology and ethics (each marking a distinct epoch in the relationship of Bible and ethics), before the post-critical age is studied under the rubric 'participation in meaning'. The final section deals with ethics and historical reading, and with ethics and contemporary reading. The book concludes with a discussion of selected practical topics.

This volume explores key approaches to the method and study of biblical ethics of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament with an interdisciplinary focus.

The Meanings We Choose is an engagement with responsible bible reading-Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and New Testament texts-for the past as well as for the present and future. Its stated perspectives are multi-denominational Christian but the implications of such readings go far beyond a specific confessional framework. In the present political climate the aware, responsible "personal" is meaningful for any community, confessedly religious as well as otherwise. While the articles collected in this volume, broadly speaking, can and perhaps should be compartmentalized as ideological criticism, their significance for reading ideologies "different" from their own is more than considerable.

Reviews and critiques the major attempts at biblical ethics over the past twenty years by both biblical theologians and theological ethicists, focusing on New Testament ethics as an illustration.

In this major study, leading feminist biblical critic Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza focuses on Paul and his interpreters. She questions the apolitical ethos of biblical scholarship and argues for an alternative rooted in a critical understanding of language as a form of power. Modern biblical criticism, she reasons, derives much of its methodology and inspiration from an outdated notion of modern science. It professes value-neutrality and detachment from the world of politics and history. Yet, Schussler Fiorenza maintains, this posture belies an objectivity that fails to engage the sociopolitical context of both the text and today's reader. It also does not recognize the rhetorical character of biblical texts and readings. If language is understood in the sense of ancient rhetorics as a form of power that constitutes reality, then an ethics of interpretation is called for. The task of biblical studies is to identify and assess the ethical resources and moral visions of biblical religions. "Only then," Schussler Fiorenza contends, "will bibical studies be a significant partner in the global struggles seeking justice and well-being for all."

The field of biblical studies has championed the historical-critical method as the only way to guarantee objective interpretation. But in recent decades, scholars have pursued hermeneutical approaches that provide interpretations useful for marginalized communities who see the Bible as a resource in their struggles against oppression. Such liberative strategies remain on the margins. The Liberation of Method argues that this marginality must end, and that liberative methods should become central to biblical studies.

Exegesis has ethical dimensions. This innovative essay collection, largely about Hebrew Bible/Old Testament texts, is written by an international team – all Doktorkinder of a pioneer in this area, Professor John Barton, whose 70th birthday this volume celebrates.