Abstract
In De Doctrina Christiana (On Christian Teaching) and other works, Augustine of Hippo provides precedent for a contemporary “transcritical” approach to the interpretation and use of the Christian scriptures that may be described as a hermeneutic of love. On the basis of the Matthean form of the twofold love command in the Synoptic Gospels, Augustine insisted that the love of God and love of neighbor is the criterion of proper interpretation, so that there is “no entrance into truth except through love.” This study retrieves and develops Augustine's hermeneutical insights in terms the following key features of a contemporary Christian hermeneutic of love: A general hermeneutical dialectic between confessional and critical interpretation, a dialectic between love as subject and love as object of interpretation, the twofold love command as a “canon-within-the-canon,” love as the Christian character of the faithful interpreter, love as the overarching meaning of Scripture, love as the deeper meaning of each specific biblical text, and love of God and neighbor as the outcome of interpretation.
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