Jeremy Webb | McMaster Divinity College (original) (raw)
MA in Biblical Studies, specializing in hermeneutics and textual interpretation
Address: Sierra Vista, Arizona, United States
less
Related Authors
Canadian Baptist Theological Seminary and College
Israel College of the Bible, Netanya, Israel
Uploads
Papers by Jeremy Webb
In the face of the growing influence of postmodern culture, the Christian Church is wrestling wit... more In the face of the growing influence of postmodern culture, the Christian Church is wrestling with new ideas which relativize meanings of texts, sometimes in alarming ways. This thesis is an effort to reconcile relativity of meaning in interpretation by synthesizing a few tenets of reader-response theory with Ludwig Wittgenstein’s theory of meaning as expressed in his work on aspect perception. The result is a model of meaning which acknowledges reader experience as the primary engine for interpretation, although not to the neglect of authorial intent, appropriate methodology, and universal truth. The model ultimately offers a framework and language for understanding the mechanics of interpretation as well as a paradigm for evaluating one’s own attitude, or hermeneutical disposition, toward authors, readers, texts, and interpretation.
In the face of the growing influence of postmodern culture, the Christian Church is wrestling wit... more In the face of the growing influence of postmodern culture, the Christian Church is wrestling with new ideas which relativize meanings of texts, sometimes in alarming ways. This thesis is an effort to reconcile relativity of meaning in interpretation by synthesizing a few tenets of reader-response theory with Ludwig Wittgenstein’s theory of meaning as expressed in his work on aspect perception. The result is a model of meaning which acknowledges reader experience as the primary engine for interpretation, although not to the neglect of authorial intent, appropriate methodology, and universal truth. The model ultimately offers a framework and language for understanding the mechanics of interpretation as well as a paradigm for evaluating one’s own attitude, or hermeneutical disposition, toward authors, readers, texts, and interpretation.