Building a Community of Interpreters

In Building a Community of Interpreters Walter Dickhaut argues that the practice of reading (and, by extension, listening) is no less creative than the practice of writing (and speaking); readers and hearers, just as much as writers and speakers, are producers of meaning. Hence, the work of biblical interpretation is the work--the calling--of a community. Focused on the experience of the reader (or hearer) of biblical texts, he explores such questions as: -What happens when the author disappears? -What happens when a reader opens a book to meet the author? -What happens when a book is read? -What happens when the reader changes spectacles? Into discussion of such issues as the reader's angle of vision, when texts open and close, the reader's expectations, the reader's meeting up with the text, and the functions of filters and lenses in the practice of reading and hearing, the author introduces mystery, surprise, and expectation as hermeneutical lenses that can enlarge what may be seen in biblical texts. In addition to some homiletical samples, the author concludes with a suggested teaching plan for building a community of interpreters. ""This [book] reads beautifully, is chock-full of lovely reflections and insightful asides, and has all the marks of a great preacher. Whoever heard these sermons should thank their lucky stars. I think this text is exactly the sort of intelligent spiritual reflection the best presses are looking for: warm but not soppy, reflective but not intellectualistic."" --John D. Caputo, Syracuse University ""In this much-needed volume, Walter Dickhaut recovers biblical interpretation for preaching not simply as a community practice, but also as a community event. When it comes to listening to and reading the Bible, we are in this together, and Dickhaut makes the act of interpretation one filled with expectation, suspense, surprise, and new insight."" --Thomas G. Long, Candler School of Theology, Emory University ""We have had more than enough of loud, shrill Bible interpretation, the proponents of which know what they will find before they look. Then along comes Dickhaut with his readerly patience, his waiting imagination, and his artistic capacity. . . . Readers who follow Dickhaut will be led to new ways of reading and a new sense of how the Bible is indeed disclosure beyond the already known."" --Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary ""This insightful offering of poetic prose calls those who preach, read, and hear sacred texts to engage them in a bond of mutuality, both for the text and each other. Walter Dickhaut invites speaker and listener into shared discourse, while affirming what is said and heard combine to shape insights. . . . Readers of this well-crafted book will be led to imagine the impact it might have on congregations and classrooms willing to plumb its depth."" --C. Joseph Sprague, Retired Bishop, United Methodist Church Walter R. Dickhaut is retired Fogg Professor of Sacred Rhetoric and Oratory at Bangor Theological Seminary in Bangor, Maine. While there he taught preaching and worship in the MDiv curriculum as well as calling and vocation in the DMin program. He now lives with his spouse, Marilyn, in London, Ohio.