The mirror
Whenever I am teaching people about hermeneutics, or the ‘science’ of interpretation, I save one little device until last. It is a small brown envelope bearing the legend ‘vital hermeneutical equipment- open with care’. At a given moment, we all rip open the envelopes to reveal…a mirror. The point is this: the interactions which take place in front of the text are at least as important as those which have taken place behind its production. Try as we might to find out the the historical background of a text and the author’s intent, we cannot know it fully because we weren’t there. In front of the text, however, there are all sorts of factors of which we should be aware. How does my particular character, background , experience and even prejudice make me read this text? To what extent do my philosophy, my acquired wisdom and even my gender affect my reading? These things will happen, without a doubt. The important thing is to be aware of them..
I saw an interesting example of this at work today. This morning’s Google Doodle marks 156 years since Emmeline Pankhurst’s birthday. You can see it below:
An hour or so ago, I read this tweet from a trainee woman ordinand:
The hermeneutics going on here are fascinating. On the one hand, you could say that it is a piece of misinterpretation. On the other, a line can be drawn between Pankhurst’s courageous stand and the historic decision by Synod yesterday. Not only that, but there are all kinds of connecting lines to be drawn between the experience and aspirations of the tweeter and the interpretation of the doodle.
The hermenutical mirror is alive and well, it would seem.
