READING, INTERPRETATION, REINSCRIPTION: THREE PERSPECTIVES ON ENGAGING WITH TEXTS

  • Douglas G Lawrie Department of Religion and Theology University of the Western Cape

Abstract

Introduction When one tries to describe what happens when people engage with texts, problems of terminology inevitably arise, not only because technical terms proliferate, but also because .. the ordinary, basic terms are used in different senses and with different intentions in various theories. It is probably by now beyond the power of any scholar or school to impose a uniform terminology. People, having invested heavily in their terminologies, do not abandon them easily (cf Burke 1966:19). Terms, one could argue, are merely tools, yet when it is a matter of coming to terms with our world, changing tools is no light matter. A world fashioned by means of a different set of tools would be a different world. Or, in Kenneth Burke's terminology, a different terminological screen would obscure some of the trusted old verities and reveal disconcerting new ones (Burke 1966:45ft).
Published
2013-06-12
Section
Empirical Biblical Hermeneutics