Hermeneutics At The Crossroads

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In this multi-faceted volume, Christian and other religiously committed theorists find themselves at an uneasy point in history -- between premodernity, modernity, and postmodernity -- where disciplines and methods, cultural and linguistic traditions, and religious commitments tangle and cross. Here, leading theorists explore the state of the art of the contemporary hermeneutical terrain. As they address the work of Gadamer, Ricoeur, and Derrida, the essays collected in this wide-ranging work engage key themes in philosophical hermeneutics, hermeneutics and religion, hermeneutics and the other arts, hermeneutics and literature, and hermeneutics and ethics. Readers will find lively exchanges and reflections that meet the intellectual and philosophical challenges posed by hermeneutics at the crossroads.Contributors are Bruce Ellis Benson, Christina Bieber Lake, John D. Caputo, Eduardo J. Echeverria, Benne Faber, Norman Lillegard, Roger Lundin, Brian McCrea, James K. A. Smith, Michael VanderWeele, Kevin Vanhoozer, and Nicholas Wolterstorff.

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Hermeneutics at the Crossroads Indiana Series in the Philosophy of Religion Merold Westphal, general editor Hermeneutics at the Crossroads Edited by Kevin J. Vanhoozer, James K. A. Smith, and Bruce Ellis Benson Indiana University Press Bloomington and Indianapolis This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404 -3797 USA http://iupress.indiana.edu Telephone orders Fax orders Orders by e-mail 800 -842- 6796 812-855-7931 [email protected] © 2006 by Indiana University Press All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hermeneutics at the crossroads / edited by Kevin J. Vanhoozer, James K. A. Smith, and Bruce Ellis Benson. p. cm. — (Indiana series in the philosophy of religion) Includes index. ISBN 0 -253-34746 -7 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 0 -253-21849 -7 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Hermeneutics—Congresses. I. Vanhoozer, Kevin J. II. Smith, James K. A., date III. Benson, Bruce Ellis, date IV. Title. V. Series. BD241.H368 2006 121'.686—dc22 2005031637 1 2 3 4 5 11 10 09 08 07 06 Contents preface Kevin J. Vanhoozer / vii acknowledgments / xi Introduction Bruce Ellis Benson, James K. A. Smith, and Kevin J. Vanhoozer / xiii Part 1. Philosophical Hermeneutics Revisited: Miracles, Resuscitation, Questions 1. Discourse on Matter: Hermeneutics and the “Miracle” of Understanding Kevin J. Vanhoozer / 3 2. Resuscitating the Author Nicholas Wolterstorff / 35 3. Gadamer’s Hermeneutics and the Question of Relativism Eduardo J. Echeverria / 51 4. “ The Knowledge That One Does Not Know”: Gadamer, Levertov, and the Hermeneutics of the Question Christina Bieber Lake / 82 Part 2. Derrida and Deconstruction: Haunted Hermeneutics and Incarnational Iterability 5. Hauntological Hermeneutics and the Interpretation of Christian Faith: On Being Dead Equal before God John D. Caputo / 95 6. Limited Inc/arnation: Revisiting the Searle/Derrida Debate in Christian Context James K. A. Smith / 112 Part 3. Literature’s Contribution to Christian Understandi