It is required for a theologian, who is committed to both faith and theology, to keep integrity in order to not lose the continuity between them. This may cause two serious inner problems. The first is with the authenticity of one’s personal faith, because the theologian, due to the theological training, no longer see the Bible in the way s/he used to do. And the other is with the vocation of contributing to the faith community, because the theologian, due to the recognition that pious expressions of faith are not technically accurate, may feel uncomfortable with using religious language especially when preaching. The first problem could be solved by establishing hermeneutical perspective on the biblical interpretation, which shows the impossibility of literalist reading of the Bible and the importance of readers’ existential self-understanding in interpretation and thus affirms diverse interpretations to be authentic. Also, one of the most distinct features of Christianity is the translatability—to translate requires interpretation—of the Bible under and into particular contexts. Accordingly, the form of Christian faith does not have to be so universal that an individual believer’s interpretation is seriously prohibited. The latter problem may be deleted if one understands the nature of symbolic language, the use of which is necessary in revealing the truth and thus enables a doubly-committed theologian to help the Church. For something ultimate and infinite can never be gripped by something contingent and finite. In so doing, however, one must bear in mind that the symbolic language also unavoidably distorts that which is symbolized.

Cornelius Van Til is known for his work in the field of apologetics. His distinctive approach emphasized consistency between methodology and theology in order to defend the Christian faith. Though often neglected, his doctrine of God provided the foundation for his methodology. The nature of who God is informs how we know him and how we interpret his word. The three most prominent contours of his doctrine were: the Creator-creature distinction, incomprehensibility, and the ontological Trinity. The value of these particular emphases is that they are key touchpoints for diagnosing apologetic methods and affirming the Christian system of truth. The nature of his assessment of methodology at the worldview level along these contours has wide-ranging implications for other disciplines, including hermeneutics. The following study explores the relevance of Van Til’s doctrine of God for contemporary biblical hermeneutics in terms of consistency between method and theology proper as revealed in the Bible. Van Til’s doctrine of God is relevant for contemporary hermeneutics both, in how ‘hermeneutics’ has come to be defined and in terms of how its relationship to metaphysics has been understood. In the former, there has been movement toward a more explicitly holistic definition, one that provides a general theory of understanding involving worldview assumptions. In the latter, the relationship between hermeneutics and metaphysics has been unavoidable. It has also been unstable and inconsistent. Van Til speaks to each of these trends from a self-conscious, Christian worldview. His work focused on worldview considerations and presuppositions, including metaphysical and epistemological concerns. It is argued that Van Til’s contributions are not only relevant for evaluating hermeneutical methods, but also contribute to some concerns of recent developments in the field. Two such developments which have influenced evangelical hermeneutics are Speech Act Theory (SAT) and Theological Interpretation of Scripture (TIS). Van Til’s contributions strengthen the effort to give due consideration to the divine author in discussions of meaning and method, but also serve to help critically evaluate and round out both. Lastly, the relevance of his theology proper is seen regarding the contemporary hermeneutical issue of the NT use of the OT. This provides a brief case study concerning a prominent contemporary issue in evangelical hermeneutics. Van Til’s contribution asks deeper questions regarding method and meaning which further the discussion, and detects flaws in some attempts to make sense of how the NT uses the OT.

abstract: This is a hermeneutic study on experiences being gifted, teaching gifted students and/or raising gifted children. This study focuses on how our horizon, which is a result of our past experiences, has an impact on how we make sense of our world and influences our attitudes and actions. As became clear during the conduct of the research, gender was the dominant characteristic of the horizon and unconscious hermeneutic processes these women used to make sense of their experiences. Gender, it became clear also impacted their self-understanding of who they were, what were their possibilities in life, and the decisions they now make as parents and teachers. For this study the researcher interviewed twelve teachers and parents from two different districts who are involved in gifted programs. Some of them had children involved in gifted classes, some were in gifted programs as a child, some worked in gifted programs as an adult and some were a combination of the three. Data consisted of twelve original interviews. Four of the original twelve were selected and each was interviewed a second time. Data from both interviews was analyzed hermeneutically. Included in the study are each participant's horizon and a topical analysis of the interviews. In addition, a thematic analysis is included which ties each interview to themes and cultural norms. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2012

This doctoral thesis argues that Gadamer’s hermeneutical ontology is grounded in part in Plato’s ontology of ideas. In making this argument, this thesis will aim to substantiate the following claims on the basis of Gadamer’s sustained focus on the principles of his hermeneutical ontology and Plato’s ontology of ideas, and the hypothesis that the former has a substantial basis in the latter: one, that the hermeneutical object maintains both a unitary and multiple existence; two, that the unity and plurality of the hermeneutical object presuppose their speculative unity within a single, ontological framework; and three, that language functions as the medium between the unitary and multiple existences of the hermeneutical object following their logical separation. Overall, this thesis aims to make an original contribution to Gadamer studies and his views on language and hermeneutical experience by arguing that his understanding of the ontology of the hermeneutical phenomenon shares a common philosophical ground with Plato’s theory of ideas. This thesis begins, therefore, with the idea that the essential finitude of human knowledge necessitates that the conception of truth in Gadamer’s hermeneutics rests upon the principles of unity and multiplicity in order to be meaningful. From there, we illustrate that Gadamer locates these principles in Plato’s late ontology, and that in developing the central concepts of his hermeneutics he remains faithful to the Socratic turning toward the ideas. Plato clarifies for Gadamer how, in recognizing the internal limits of our knowledge, we efface ourselves in light of the unlimited scope of the ideas that constitute our understanding of the world, and necessitate that this understanding is shared and developed with others. In addition to the introduction and conclusion, this dissertation has five chapters. Chapter one demonstrates that the hermeneutical object has both a unitary and multiple existence, and that the truth that hermeneutical reflection obtains must therefore attend to both the essential unity and multiplicity that belong to this object. Chapter two uncovers Gadamer’s approach to Plato’s theory of ideas, principally through his understanding of Plato’s participation thesis and the arithmos structure of the logos. Chapter three demonstrates that, because of its essential historicity, hermeneutical consciousness does not require a standard of objective certainty in order to validate its truth-claims extra-historically or extra-linguistically. It is shown, rather, that such standards are known historically and are therefore subject to change in light of our shared experiences of them. Chapter four elaborates Gadamer’s characterization of hermeneutical understanding as theoretical, i.e. as a mode of participation in the intelligible structures of reality that implies the practical activity of the participants. This chapter also examines the speculative structure of language that Gadamer applies to his hermeneutics, and how he uses this structure to situate the Platonic One and Many historically. Finally, chapter five further elaborates Gadamer’s identification of hermeneutics as a practical activity as a way to distinguish between authentic and inauthentic experience. In light of this distinction, this chapter demonstrates that authentic experience necessarily implies a justificatory demand toward others that secures solidarity and goodwill in social and political institutions.

Meister Eckhart understands that human beings are thrown into meaning, that we live out our lives in meaning and that the source of this meaning is beyond our understanding. We always have an understanding of the world in which we live but we do not determine this understanding and we do not have the ability to understand the source of this understanding. This is the basic principal of philosophical hermeneutics which we also find in the work of Heidegger and Gadamer. However, there did come a time when human beings became arrogant enough to view the world as ‘n collection of objects which can be fully and finally known by manking. During the age of enlightenment man understood himself as the source of meaning and asserted his power over understanding. This arrogance would not last long. During the nineteenth century scalars like Dilthey recognized the fundamental historicity of human being. Dilthey understood that man is bound to the meaning of his age. However, he could not reject the arrogance of the scientific worldview which staked a claim on the possibility of absolute knowledge. Thus he chose to carry this prejudice into the sphere of the human sciences and constructed a new foundation for man’s power over meaning. We who study hermeneutics enjoy praising Heidegger for his insight and contribution towards hermeneutics. It is said that Heidegger discovered the absolute finitude and historicity of human being. This may well be true, but it is a shame that scholars mostly ignore the contribution of Edmund Husserl. In this document I claim that it was Husserl who laid the foundation for the new movement in hermeneutics in Germany of which Heidegger and Gadamer has been the major exponents. In the words of Gadamer, this movement may be called “Philosophical Hermeneutics” since it does not only include a method for understanding but also encompasses a way of thinking about human being in general. In my view the current discourse on the origin and development of philosophical hermeneutics represents a great injustice since the philosophy of Husserl is neglected in this discourse. In this writing I shall try to rectify this injustice by illuminating the contribution that Husserl has made to philosophical hermeneutics. Firstly I will show that Husserl’s philosophy is fundamentally about meaning. In his early distributive psychology he struggles with the question of the origin of concepts. With his concept of intentionally he rejects the traditional ontology of the object in order to make place for the ontological integrity of meaning. Unlike his predecessors he claim that objects are determined by meaning instead of the other way around. In his transcendental phenomenology he goes a step further by proclaiming that the Ego is nothing but pure existence and that consciousness in nothing but he existence of meaning. These insights are easy to overlook due to Husserl’s obsession with epistemology. His philosophy is all but consistent. But it is especially by means of this inconsistency that Husserl makes his contribution to philosophical hermeneutics. We may compare Husserl with Moses. Like Moses he reaches the top of the mountain Sinai where he can look upon the Promised Land. But, unlike Moses, he turns his back on this new land and stares back at the desert of epistemology. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Philosophy / unrestricted

The aim of this study was to explore psychotherapists‘ practice of mindful acceptance. I employed the hermeneutic phenomenological approach with the intention of creating thick descriptions of how mindful acceptance is performed in therapy sessions with clients by psychotherapists with backgrounds in mindfulness. The findings for this study came from a variety of sources including, pre-interview questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, field notes, and feedback from member checks with participants. The results pointed to four themes: 1) recognizing, 2) allowing, 3) befriending, and 4) accepting self and others. The participants‘ practice of mindful acceptance was facilitated by various psychological processes including 1) decentering, 2) exposure, 3) emotion regulation, 4) self-acceptance, and 5) compassion. In their descriptions of mindful acceptance, the participants were able to simultaneously demonstrate acceptance of their internal processes and acceptance of their clients. The participants‘ accounts suggest that intrapersonal and interpersonal processes of acceptance are one and the same and that, in effect, to accept ourselves is to accept others. This study, in a context-specific way, provides accounts of how acceptance of clients can be done. The results of this study have implications for future therapist training and as well as therapist self-care.

Recent years have seen a growing interest in and the publication of more formal scholarship on philosophical hermeneutics and environmental philosophy--i.e. environmental hermeneutics. Grasping how a human understanding of environments is variously mediated and how different levels of meaning can be unconcealed permits deeper ways of looking at environmental ethics and human practices with regard to environments. Beyond supposed simple facts about environments to which humans supposedly rationally respond, environmental hermeneutics uncovers ways in which encounters with environments become meaningful. How we understand and, therefore, choose to act depends not so much on simple facts, but what those facts mean to our lives. Therefore, this dissertation explores three paths. The first is to justify the idea of an environmental hermeneutics with the hermeneutic tradition itself and what environmental hermeneutics is specifically. The second is to demonstrate the benefit of addressing environmental hermeneutics to environmental philosophy. I do this in this dissertation with regard to the debate between anthropocentrism and non-anthropocentrism, a debate which plays a central role in questions of environmental philosophy and ethics. Thirdly, I turn to environmental justice studies where I contend there are complementarities between hermeneutics and environmental justice. From this reality, environmental justice and activism benefit from exploring environmental justice more deeply in light of philosophical hermeneutics. This dissertation is oriented toward a continuing dialogical relation between philosophical hermeneutics and environments insofar as environments are meaningful.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the rate of divorce since the onset of democracy (1994). The author intends to examine the causes of divorce as well as the impact of divorce on the parties involved. The author believes that gender equality and women rights are possible contributing factors to the problem of the high rate of divorce South Africa is witnessing today (this will serve as our research gap). Qualitative method will be employed in this study. Interviews will be conducted with the divorcees. The participants (the divorcees) will be our source of knowledge. Interviews will be recorded and subsequently transcribed. Now that divorce is rampant, it is the duty of the clergy to pastorally care for the divorcee. The author will propose a pastoral care model to help the divorcee cope with their situation. The author will as well analyse some biblical passages that are sometimes misinterpreted by theologically untrained pastors to reject the divorcee. Since our study is in the area of practical theology, the author will focus on the practical application of the biblical passages addressing the issue of divorce that are often misunderstood, and therefore, misapplied. Stigma associated with divorce, especially in African culture and context will be discussed. The findings from this study will be evaluated and analysed. Thematic analysis will be employed. And from the analysis of the findings, the author will then be able to give recommendations. Recommendations will be made with regard to caring for the divorcee within the church (the body of Christ). / Dissertation (MA (Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Practical Theology / MA (Theology) / Unrestricted

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / The problem of the dissertation is to describe, analyze, and evaluate the biblical hermeneutics of the Marburg New Testament scholar Ernst Fuchs, in the light of his own general hermeneutics and with particular reference to parable interpretation. The primary concern of the dissertation is to elucidate and to evaluate the movement in Fuchs' thought from the presuppositions of interpretation to interpretation itself. The nature of the presuppositions, their effect on the object of interpretation, viz., the parables and the historical Jesus, and the implications of these presuppositions for biblical hermeneutics constitute the subject of inquiry. [TRUNCATED]

Prophecy is a poorly understood genre, commonly understood as literature primarily focused on mantic visions of future events. A more nuanced understanding of literary prophecy recognizes the limits of this view, as well as the diversity of genres within many prophetic texts. These two views present one problem: forced readings of prophecy as a kind of reverse history on the one end and the problem of generic diversity on the other, resist an easy scheme of classification for prophetic literature. This study elucidates some of the problematic assumptions of primarily Biblical prophecy, and suggests that contemporary genre theory"“which views genre it terms of function more than a mere scheme of literary kinds"“can offer a unified conception of prophecy. From this, I suggest that prophecy can be defined as goal-oriented literary rhetoric intended to re-orient the reader or hearer into face-to-face aesthetic proximity with the Divine. The definition is defended utilizing a reading of the Denkschrift section of Isaiah, focusing primarily on chapter 5. The implications of this definition and the reading that follows are then explored through the lens of contemporary hermeneutics, where the theophanic encounter implicit in a reading of prophetic text is explored, and the proximity of second-person orientation is re-introduced to suggest that Biblical prophecy is intended to create a lived experience of the Covenant, where fidelity to the Covenant amounts to a face-to-face encounter with God.