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Rating: 
Summary: Worthwhile intro to Biblical hermeneutics
Review: For the last 16 months or so, i have only reviewed books that i have finished, partly to stimulate me to finish more, partly to keep score. I did not finish this book, rather i stopped at part 3, roughly pg 180 out of 294 pages of text. I didn't finish because i scanned the material and it was of a more practical bent, which is not the reason i picked up and read the book. I am preparing to take a side branch on my creation-evolution-debate reading, looking at the hermeneutics of the justification and abolition of slavery. This book is from my pastor's library and was a textbook in a seminary class on hermeneutics, and as such is an excellent choice.The price of the book and the value of the time spent reading the book is quickly recovered in just the image of the hermeneutical spiral. I now know from further online research that the image is not original to these authors but it is however the first time i have encountered it. As such a fruitful and thought provoking image i am deeply grateful for its introduction and how the authors build systematically around it. For the hermeneutical spiral consciously breaks the circular thinking that is evident in many justifications of inerrancy or in the explanation of the Bible as the word of God, i appreciate this metaphor, for this reason. The additional image of the grid of textual analysis, surrounded by the framework of an individual's thinking, while resting on the foundation of presuppositions has united several motifs i have been aware of but didn't have a handy way to see relationally. For this to i am grateful to the authors. It is a good introduction to the topic of Biblical studies and hermeneutics and rightfully takes its place in seminary and self-study libraries.
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