Justifying Language: Paul And Contemporary Literary Theory (studies In Literature And Religion)

Taking three terms from the letters of Paul as a thematic guide, Kevin Mills investigates the respective roles of faith, hope and love in language and interpretation, and uses them to uncover and to question some of the key assumptions in deconstructive and postmodernist discourse. Its critical approach to interpretation theory (from Origen onwards), challenges the reader to reassess Pauline categories such as 'letter' and 'spirit', and to re-think the possibility of Christian engagement with contemporary literary theory. "Paul's treatment of older biblical texts has been of fundamental importance for subsequent approaches to interpretation. Recently his central distinction between 'letter' and 'spirit' has been of particular interest to deconstructionists, as a classic statement of 'logocentric' discourse (the search for an ultimate meaning)." "Justifying Language investigates the respective roles of Pauline faith, hope and love in language and representation, pitting them against some key assumptions in deconstructive and postmodernist theories. Kevin Mills's critical approach to interpretation challenges the reader to reassess Pauline categories such as 'letter' and 'spirit', and to rethink the possibility of Christian engagement with contemporary theory." "Previously, examinations of this relationship have either attempted to reconstruct theology in line with the postmodern rejection of truth and universal values, or have attempted to demonstrate how deconstruction can be reconciled with (some particular) Christian discourse. Justifying Language does not attempt any such reconciliation. Instead, it develops a Christian understanding which challenges rather than accommodates modern approaches."--BOOK JACKET Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction....Pages 1-10 Language, Faith, Understanding....Pages 11-44 Justification of Faith....Pages 45-75 Pressing On....Pages 76-106 The Letter of the Spirit....Pages 107-139 Love and Do as You Like....Pages 140-175 Conclusion....Pages 176-177 Back Matter....Pages 178-207 Taking three terms from the letters of Paul as a thematic guide, this work investigates the respective roles of faith, hope and love in language and interpretation, and uses them to uncover and to question some of the key assumptions in deconstructive and postmodernist discourse.