Word and World: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Biblical Interpretation Today

Abstract

Bonhoeffer's call for the “non-religious interpretation of biblical concepts” is well known. However the question of what these ideas might have to do with the task of biblical interpretation itself is less often considered. In this article I argue that Bonhoeffer's concern was for adequate attention to be given to the matter of the reception of revelation, in contrast to Barth's “positivism of revelation”. This formulation is suggestive of a theological account of hermeneutics that affirms the “worldly” and human aspects of the interpretative task. Bonhoeffer's insistence that the Word is in the world makes possible a form of theological interpretation that embraces the insights of non- or even anti-theological forms of biblical interpretation.