In this paper (downloadable in full below), Sean Winter observes that 'whatever convictions we hold about what biblical interpretation ought to be, in empirical terms we ought to face up to the fact that all interpretation generates disagreement. Therefore, our obedient commitment to the human work of “churchly biblical interpretation” leads to the inevitable consequence that we will disagree with each about what the biblical texts mean. This state of affairs then raises an important theoretical question: how do we understand interpretative diversity in theological perspective in our tradition?'
He says that 'covenant fellowship includes engagement with scripture because scripture is the means by which that fellowship is initiated and sustained [and] that the appropriate word for that engagement is interpretation.'
This means that 'biblical interpretation should be viewed as “the church’s active, diverse and ongoing engagement with the biblical texts” and that a genuinely Baptist account of the hermeneutical task will “permit interpretive diversity and disagreement as a hallmark of the church’s life and not insist on particular interpretive decisions as the necessary hallmark of being ‘biblical.’”
'In situations of disagreement within the Christian community, there is often the search for a solution via adjudication. Both parties look for, or more commonly they believe themselves to be, a person or persons who have sufficient authority to be able to resolve disputes and establish clear boundaries. This is as true in the
interpretative task as it is in other aspects of church life. In structural terms, the need for adjudication reflects a model of church in which some—usually a few—are invested with or claim the relevant authority by virtue of their title or role or education or gifts: the “government church” [model].'
'When interpretative disagreement is on the surface of our church life and when pressures within and without the church call for definitive statements and clear positions, the temptation can seem to be overwhelming. And yet an understanding of the church as a community of friendship provides us with resources for resisting this
solution to the conflict that arises from their diversity. '
'Central to the Baptist vision is the idea that the identity, belief, and practices of the church are not determined by these forms of authority or by the interpretative decisions that are reached by appeal to them, but they are instead the result of the participation of a covenanted people into the life of God. Friendship is a form of relationship that allows space for all this because as we learn to become friends with one another, we are, in fact, responding to God, who in Jesus Christ calls us God’s friends.'
'What does this look like in practice? Well, perhaps if Baptists can learn to read as friends, we will do what friends often do—think for example of members of a book group or a dinner party conversation discussing a recent novel. We will find ways of sharing our views and interpretations honestly and openly, of listening to alternative views and interpretations, of allowing the richness of the conversation to take us back to the text with new eyes, and of agreeing to disagree, and all this without threatening the free yet committed relationship that friends share.'
However, 'conversation, thus understood, is not the exchanging of views or interpretations. It is the encounter with difference in which I allow for the possibility that I might be wrong and might have to change my views on the truth, or my interpretation of the text. As friends converse we discover “the other as other, the different as different” and therefore “the different as possible.”'
'To speak of conversation and argument in this way is, I propose, to speak of the requirement to give testimony. A person who says “this is what scripture means” to another is, from this perspective, saying neither “agree with my interpretation or we must break relationship” nor “this is what I think the text means but I am telling you for information only.” To bear witness is to seek to persuade the other that my witness is true, which is another way of
saying that exegesis is argument, that to interpret is to make a claim and that every act of interpretation is in some sense an act of proclamation.'
'Of course, understanding our relationship with one another in this way will make some feel vulnerable, while others will exploit their power in order to take advantage of the situation. The fact that rhetoric often takes unpalatable forms does not mean that we can escape the reality of our situation. For Baptist communities, it is vital to recognize that it is the persuasive testimony of scripture that calls the church into being. To bear witness to one another fully, truly, and openly is a risky strategy. However, far from being a threat to the unity and identity of the church, this mutual witness is constitutive of its identity, for in the work of interpretation we play
our part in the covenantal drama of God’s saving action in Jesus Christ.'
'In sum, the church’s existence depends on the covenantal action of God who calls this community into existence and whose love sustains the covenantal relationships within the community. To speak this way of the church is to speak of it as a community of friends and thus as a place where diversity, disagreement, and even conflict are inevitable, but not ultimately destructive. Scripture’s authority within this community is established by virtue of its role within God’s covenant-making relationship with us. Thus, our diversity, disagreement, and even conflict over the meaning of scripture are inevitable, but not ultimately destructive. Although the church is often tempted to seek definitive adjudication of competing interpretations, this is a temptation that ought to be resisted.'
'Although the conflict of interpretations can be avoided by an appeal to the all-pervading importance of good relationships, the inevitable downplaying of the need for the church to search the scriptures is too high a price to pay.'
'When we read, interpret, talk, and argue about what the Bible means, we are actually engaging in the process of conversation and argument that should, when rightly understood, hold the church together. For as long as we are responding to these texts, we are responding to the God who speaks through them. There is always the need for vigilance, lest scripture is elevated or demoted to a place that distorts its overall role within the divine economy. But as we read in the community of friends, we do well to heed the imperatives to “be attentive, be intelligent, be responsible, be loving, and, if necessary, change.”
Originally published in The ‘plainly revealed’ Word of God: Baptist Hermeneutics in Theory and Practice, ed. Helen Dare and Simon P. Woodman, (Macon GA: Mercer University Press, 2011).
He says that 'covenant fellowship includes engagement with scripture because scripture is the means by which that fellowship is initiated and sustained [and] that the appropriate word for that engagement is interpretation.'
This means that 'biblical interpretation should be viewed as “the church’s active, diverse and ongoing engagement with the biblical texts” and that a genuinely Baptist account of the hermeneutical task will “permit interpretive diversity and disagreement as a hallmark of the church’s life and not insist on particular interpretive decisions as the necessary hallmark of being ‘biblical.’”
'In situations of disagreement within the Christian community, there is often the search for a solution via adjudication. Both parties look for, or more commonly they believe themselves to be, a person or persons who have sufficient authority to be able to resolve disputes and establish clear boundaries. This is as true in the
interpretative task as it is in other aspects of church life. In structural terms, the need for adjudication reflects a model of church in which some—usually a few—are invested with or claim the relevant authority by virtue of their title or role or education or gifts: the “government church” [model].'
'When interpretative disagreement is on the surface of our church life and when pressures within and without the church call for definitive statements and clear positions, the temptation can seem to be overwhelming. And yet an understanding of the church as a community of friendship provides us with resources for resisting this
solution to the conflict that arises from their diversity. '
'Central to the Baptist vision is the idea that the identity, belief, and practices of the church are not determined by these forms of authority or by the interpretative decisions that are reached by appeal to them, but they are instead the result of the participation of a covenanted people into the life of God. Friendship is a form of relationship that allows space for all this because as we learn to become friends with one another, we are, in fact, responding to God, who in Jesus Christ calls us God’s friends.'
'What does this look like in practice? Well, perhaps if Baptists can learn to read as friends, we will do what friends often do—think for example of members of a book group or a dinner party conversation discussing a recent novel. We will find ways of sharing our views and interpretations honestly and openly, of listening to alternative views and interpretations, of allowing the richness of the conversation to take us back to the text with new eyes, and of agreeing to disagree, and all this without threatening the free yet committed relationship that friends share.'
However, 'conversation, thus understood, is not the exchanging of views or interpretations. It is the encounter with difference in which I allow for the possibility that I might be wrong and might have to change my views on the truth, or my interpretation of the text. As friends converse we discover “the other as other, the different as different” and therefore “the different as possible.”'
'To speak of conversation and argument in this way is, I propose, to speak of the requirement to give testimony. A person who says “this is what scripture means” to another is, from this perspective, saying neither “agree with my interpretation or we must break relationship” nor “this is what I think the text means but I am telling you for information only.” To bear witness is to seek to persuade the other that my witness is true, which is another way of
saying that exegesis is argument, that to interpret is to make a claim and that every act of interpretation is in some sense an act of proclamation.'
'Of course, understanding our relationship with one another in this way will make some feel vulnerable, while others will exploit their power in order to take advantage of the situation. The fact that rhetoric often takes unpalatable forms does not mean that we can escape the reality of our situation. For Baptist communities, it is vital to recognize that it is the persuasive testimony of scripture that calls the church into being. To bear witness to one another fully, truly, and openly is a risky strategy. However, far from being a threat to the unity and identity of the church, this mutual witness is constitutive of its identity, for in the work of interpretation we play
our part in the covenantal drama of God’s saving action in Jesus Christ.'
'In sum, the church’s existence depends on the covenantal action of God who calls this community into existence and whose love sustains the covenantal relationships within the community. To speak this way of the church is to speak of it as a community of friends and thus as a place where diversity, disagreement, and even conflict are inevitable, but not ultimately destructive. Scripture’s authority within this community is established by virtue of its role within God’s covenant-making relationship with us. Thus, our diversity, disagreement, and even conflict over the meaning of scripture are inevitable, but not ultimately destructive. Although the church is often tempted to seek definitive adjudication of competing interpretations, this is a temptation that ought to be resisted.'
'Although the conflict of interpretations can be avoided by an appeal to the all-pervading importance of good relationships, the inevitable downplaying of the need for the church to search the scriptures is too high a price to pay.'
'When we read, interpret, talk, and argue about what the Bible means, we are actually engaging in the process of conversation and argument that should, when rightly understood, hold the church together. For as long as we are responding to these texts, we are responding to the God who speaks through them. There is always the need for vigilance, lest scripture is elevated or demoted to a place that distorts its overall role within the divine economy. But as we read in the community of friends, we do well to heed the imperatives to “be attentive, be intelligent, be responsible, be loving, and, if necessary, change.”
Originally published in The ‘plainly revealed’ Word of God: Baptist Hermeneutics in Theory and Practice, ed. Helen Dare and Simon P. Woodman, (Macon GA: Mercer University Press, 2011).
| Sean Winter - Persuading Friends, Friendship and Testimony in Baptist Interpretative Communities |
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