Interpreting Together: Essays in Hermeneutics

The fact that people read and understand texts in different ways is surely one of the main sources of Christian division, and one of the reasons Christians remain divided today. What is the role of culture in shaping our ways and means of interpretation? A certain diversity in interpretations is to be expected and celebrated. But can there be agreed criteria for setting the limits to diversity? Could there be guidelines for interpreting texts and symbols ecumenically, in a way that bridges some of our confessional and cultural differences? Questions such as these have formed the basis of the work of the World Council of Church's Faith and Order commission in the area of ecumenical hermeneutics. This book brings together the text of Faith and Order's study process (A Treasure in Earthen Vessels) as well as several essays contributed along the way by participants from different confessional and regional backgrounds These essays speak to the complexity and depth of 'the hermeneutical problem' in the ecumenical task, offering insights, raising still further questions, and laying the ground for further work.