Transformative Reading: An Evangelical Metamodern Approach to Understanding Biblical Interpretive Practice

Abstract

Like many denominations in the secularized West, the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec have been engaged in debates regarding sexuality and marriage over the past decade. As these debates have developed, it has become increasingly clear that at their center are differences in biblical interpretive practice. Yet it is my experience that, by and large, many evangelicals, particularly in the Canadian Baptist context, do not know how to discuss their interpretive practice. In order to work through difficult topics, such as the one mentioned above, Christians need to develop the ability to reflect both on how they are interpreting Scripture and how they see others interpreting Scripture, so that they can coherently and constructively discuss their interpretations with others with whom they disagree. In this dissertation, I utilize a hermeneutic theory, metamodern cultural theory, and a proposed revision of an integrative theological method, the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, to develop a a paradigm for observing and describing differences in biblical interpretive practice. Using the aforementioned debates concerning sexuality and marriage as an illustrative example, the project reveals that metamodern interpretations of scripture are complex and tension-filled, and that amidst this complexity, the prioritization (or lack thereof) of theological reflection sources prompts particular interpretive applications. When they are able to perceive the multivalent nature of interpretation, readers are better equipped through this work to think carefully and critically about how they come to their interpretive conclusions and how those conclusions draw them towards faithful living in Christ via situational application of the biblical text.