McMaster Divinity College Linguistics Circle – Monthly Meeting
Presenter: Dr. Jim Dvorak (Vice President Academic and Professor of New Testament)
Title: “Considering the Constraints of Context in the Exegetical Process”
We have another Linguistics Circle gathering coming up, this Thursday, November 9, 7–9pm. Our presenter this month is Dr. Jim Dvorak (Vice President Academic and Professor of New Testament), whose paper is entitled “Considering the Constraints of Context in the Exegetical Process.” Dvorak states:
“There is a growing tendency for young exegetes to rely quite heavily upon their own intuition to interpret biblical texts. Since, by definition, intuition derives from one’s instinctive feelings rather than conscious reasoning, it should always be checked against and subject to principled exegetical methodology that is built upon a principled theoretical base. This is because unchecked intuition tends to result in eisegesis rather than exegesis. One common area in the exegetical process where intuition and the assumptions interwoven therewith may set an exegete on a trajectory towards eisegesis is that of context. In this paper, Dr. D. describes a model of context that should help exegetes avoid anachronistic and ethnocentric readings of biblical texts”
Anyone who is interested in joining is most welcome to join this and future meetings. As usual, there is a pre-Circle dinner gathering at 5pm. We will meet in Cullen Hall near the back doors (that face the centre of campus) and walk together to the selected restaurant.