Poetical Postmodern Exegesis: Paul Ricoeur and Olivier-Thomas Venard in Dialogue
Abstract
In a postmodern linguistic turn, Paul Ricoeur pays great attention to the subject and the Biblical text itself. This helpfully presents a very pristine text, one which can move and re-create the subject who encounters the text with humility. However, when it comes to Biblical exegesis specifically, Ricoeur’s method is immanentist, a historical, and unhelpfully rejects any interpretive authority. Olivier-Thomas Venard, like Ricoeur, pays great attention to the sign-character of the Bible’s language, but offers a more holistic exegesis which takes the Bible on its own terms and is metaphysically and historically grounded. In this article, I first lay out Ricoeur’s poetical exegetical project and offer interpretive and metaphysical critiques; specifically, I contend that his “distanciated” reading of the Bible and his rejection of authority fail to interpret the Bible on its own terms. I then turn to Venard, who sympathizes with Ricoeur’s subjective and linguistic turn while remaining grounded in interpretive authority, history, and providence, offering what Matthew Levering calls a “participatory exegesis.”
Keywords:
Paul Ricoeur, Olivier-Thomas Venard, Poetics, Postmodernity, Biblical interpretationReferences
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Ave Maria University
Aaron James Weisel is a Ph.D. student in systematic theology and adjunct instructor at Ave Maria University and Editorial Assistant for the Journal of Moral Theology. He obtained his B.A. in theology and M.A. in philosophy at Mount St. Mary’s University. His scholarly work has previously been published in Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture. He is interested in theological aesthetics and the relationship between theology and literature.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4307-4766
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