The Spirit, Hermeneutics, and Dialogues

Source: Theology Research News (TRN), Leuven’s Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies

The second half of the 20th century witnessed unprecedented enthusiasm for inner-Christian ecumenical dialogue as well as Christian-Jewish dialogue. However, at the time of the transition from the 20th to the 21st century the dialogues were marked by disillusionment and disappointment due to the fact that not enough progress was experienced with regard to concrete everyday issues.

Moreover theoretical points of disagreement remained obstacles for a real mutual understanding, the major ones being the interpretation of certain Biblical passages (esp. John 14:6 and 15:26) and their implications for Christology and the theology of the Trinity. This book explores “new hermeneutics for renewed dialogues.” To use a metaphor found in the book, the contributions of this volume are suggesting “new songs” with regard to the dialogues by proposing a future-oriented hermeneutics and a shift from an exclusive focus on Christology to including Pneumatology and thus the doctrine of the Trinity. By so doing the authors and editors intend to offer a new impetus and a new élan in Roman Catholic-Eastern Orthodox as well as Christian-Jewish dialogues. The co-authors of this book contribute pneumatological hermeneutical insights from their respective Protestant, (Christian) Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Jewish perspectives.

The ten contributions to this book share the common interest of finding viable and vital connections between the Spirit and hermeneutics. Part one is entitled “Pneumatology and Hermeneutics” and contains four contributions respectively authored by Anthony Godzieba, Wolfgang Vondey, John Levison, and Ma. Marilou S. Ibita. The studies by John Pawlikowski and Laura Tack form the second part which deals with the Spirit and Jewish-Christian Relations. In part three we meet three contributions on “The Spirit and Orthodox Theology” authored by Ekaterini Tsalampouni, Pantelis Kalaitzidis, and Viorel Coman respectively. The book closes with an epilogue (entitled “Four Questions on the Trinity, Pneumatology, and Jewish-Christian Relations”) by Amy-Jill Levine which offers a critical evaluation of the central ideas of the book.

This book is the fruit of an international, interdisciplinary conference entitled “The Spirit, Hermeneutics and Dialogues” that was held in Leuven on May 25-27, 2016. This conference was the climax and conclusion of a four-year research project which was made possible by a grant from the Research Council of KU Leuven. It is our hope that the pneumatological and future-oriented focus of this book will renew the dialogues among Jews and Christians as well as among different Christian traditions by opening new vistas for renewed dialogues (Publisher’s blurb – Peeters Publishers, 2019).

Learn More about the Editors, the Publisher, and the Series

Editors: Didier Pollefeyt, Ma. Marilou S. Ibita, Peter De Mey, Reimund Bieringer
Publisher: Peeters Publishers – Visit the publisher’s page…
Series: Annua Nuntia Lovaniensia (ANL)

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Reimund Bieringer, Peter De Mey, Ma. Marilou S. Ibita, and Didier Pollefeyt
Spirits, Hermeneutics, and Dialogues: Exploring Their Interconnectedness

1. Pneumatology and Hermeneutics

Anthony Godzieba The Question, “To What Question Is Biblical Hermeneutics the Answer?” (Time + Identity = Interpretation)
Wolfgang Vondey God Is Spirit: Pneumatology as a Challenge to Judeo-Christian Hermeneutics of the Divine Nature
John R. Levison Scripture, Spirit, and the Future of Pneumatology
Ma. Marilou S. Ibita ‘The Spirit, Hermeneutics, and Dialogues’ and the Promotion of the Dialogue School in Flanders, Belgium

2. The Spirit and Jewish-Christian Relations

John T. Pawlikowski The Holy Spirit: A Possible Foundation for a Catholic Theology of Religious Pluralism
Laura Tack Christ as the Way and the Spirit as the Guide: Stumbling Blocks and Points of Inspiration in John 14:6 for Jewish-Christian Dialogue

3. The Spirit and Orthodox Theology

Ekaterini Tsalampouni The Spirit as a Hermeneutic Lens of Israel’s Past and the Church’s Present and Future: 2 Cor 3:16-17 and Its Reception in Patristic Tradition
Pantelis Kalaitzidis Eschatology and Future-oriented Hermeneutics in Contemporary Orthodox Theology: The Case of Metropolitan John D. Zizioulas
Viorel Coman Spirit-Christology and Logos-Christology in the Debates Surrounding the Issue of the Filioque

Epilogue

Amy-Jill Levine Four Questions on the Trinity, Pneumatology, and Jewish-Christian Relations

Select Bibliography

List of Contributors