Description:
In one of his most influential articles Vorster (1988b) reiterates his conviction that historical understanding cannot establish communication between the New Testament and modern readers, suggesting the adoption of a post-modern, intertextual approach. This article criticises the way Vorster reaches his conclusions with regard to the development of New Testament scholarship. In post- modern spirit it is suggested that the project of using all-encompassing categories as analytic strategy be replaced by lots of specific pragmatic questions about which parts of various traditions may be useful for some current purposes. Rather than setting interpretation over and against communication, it is argued that interpretation, that is explanation and understanding, is a form of communication. Conceptualising New Testament scholarship as one of the discourses on the world, the value of the enterprise stands in relation to its achievement of meaningful conversation which takes context seriously.