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
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© 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