The Hermeneutics of Tradition

The Hermeneutics of Tradition presents the latest scholarship on tradition as a concept and reality in the development of Christian cultures. One aim is to show that traditions are upheld, communicated, and developed within a recognizable set of interpretive guidelines (or rules) and that analysis of these sets both requires and reveals a ""hermeneutics of tradition."" The work of the authors included here presents the precarious integrity of traditions and the often tenuous hold upon those traditions exercised by the hermeneutics that drive dynamics of preservation and change. As scholars and religious worshippers continue ancient traditions of receiving strangers with generous hospitality, the coherence of tradition serves conversations about where our true differences lie.

""There is much to stimulate reflection in this welcome addition to the hermeneutical turn in theological invocations of tradition. Augustine reinterprets Cyprian, Benedict XVI and Luther embody continuity, Evangelicals are cautioned, and MacIntyre is masterfully expounded and trenchantly critiqued. Most valuable is the juxtaposition of affirmations of the necessity and flexibility of theological tradition for creatures 'in the middle' with constructive exposures of the Christian tradition's fissures, ruptures, and overlooked wounds.""
--Ben Fulford, Lecturer in Systematic Theology, University of Chester, Chester, UK

""In an age caught between the two poles, hypertheism and overhumanization, The Hermeneutics of Tradition offers fresh alternatives for negotiating the ambiguities of the texts, rituals, and symbols of the Christian tradition through the tradition. This collection of essays demonstrates that there is no such thing as traditionless existence, which entails being grounded in the certitude and stability of the truth claims and meaning of the Christian tradition while simultaneously being active interpreters toward yet undiscovered answers to old and new questions. A timely book with rich resources for how to think and live the Christian tradition.""
--Aristotle Papanikolaou, Professor of Theology, Orthodox Christian Studies Center Theology, New York, NY

""In this collection of essays, Craig Hovey and his fellow contributors open up a discussion of fundamental importance. Philosophers, such as Gadamer, MacIntyre, and somewhat earlier, Blondel, recovered the role of tradition in human understanding. These essays explore, in different trajectories, what this can mean for theology. After pursuing confessional and historical trajectories, the role of the liturgy in preserving and refining tradition is discussed. Tradition is restored to the center of Christian hermeneutics, without any disguising of ambivalence and cultural problems raised. This is a hugely important symposium.""
--Andrew Louth, Professor emeritus of Patristic and Byzantine Studies, Durham University, Durham, UK


Craig Hovey (PhD, Cambridge) is Associate Professor of Religion at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio. He is the author of numerous books, including Unexpected Jesus: The Gospel as Surprise (2012), Bearing True Witness: Truthfulness as Christian Practice (2011), and Nietzsche and Theology (2008).

Cyrus P. Olsen (DPhil, Oxford) is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His articles have appeared in The Linacre Quarterly, Ashland Theological Journal, The Heythrop Journal, Logos, and New Blackfriars.