A Hermeneutic of Imagination - by Knut M Heim (Paperback)

About the Book

This book argues that imagination should play a vital role in reading the Bible because it transforms the study of Scripture into a vibrant source of intellectual stimulation, emotional connection, and spiritual growth.

Book Synopsis

To read the Bible well, we need to employ our imagination. This volume is the first book-length study that takes the Bible's imaginative nature seriously. It integrates insights from disciplines like neuroscience, metaphor theory and cognition, translation theory, the affective sciences, humor studies, and the interdisciplinary study of imagination itself into the academic and theological study of the Bible.

Knut Heim and Jeffrey Oetter show that reading with imagination is a critical hermeneutic of engagement that fosters close, deep, lusciously savored, and pleasurable readings of the biblical texts. Bringing current scholarship from a variety of disciplines to bear on biblical interpretation, this book explains that Scripture employs often subtle literary techniques--including figurative language, emotions, and humor--that require imagination to recognize and interpret. Imagination helps us develop genuinely biblical ideas that get us closer to the meaning intended by the Holy Spirit and the original authors, resulting in more accurate interpretations when paired with traditional approaches. Even textual aspects that have until now remained odd, foreign, and confusing can become occasions for imaginative engagement that reveal new meaning and significance.

A Hermeneutic of Imagination makes the case that reading with imagination is crucial for unlocking the Bible's full potential because it transforms academic study of the Bible into aesthetically inspiring, intellectually stimulating, emotionally rewarding, theologically rich, and spiritually transformative adventures of the mind that contribute to problem-solving and human flourishing today.

From the Back Cover

"Persuasive and compelling"

This book makes the case that imagination plays a crucial role in reading the Bible because it transforms the study of Scripture into aesthetically inspiring, intellectually stimulating, emotionally rewarding, theologically rich, and spiritually transformative adventures of the mind.

"How refreshing to read a book that endorses imaginative and creative readings of Scripture! Heim and Oetter have given us renewed justification to look for the strange, the abnormal, and even the fantastical in the pages of the Bible and to celebrate the human mind's ability to endlessly explore fresh possibilities of interpretation. A life-affirming, imaginative book that deserves a key place on your theological bookshelf!"
--Katharine Dell, University of Cambridge

"This is a really useful book to enable us to work out the vital role of imagination in the study of the Scriptures. It's good on the theory, and it has lots of useful examples."
--John Goldingay, Fuller Seminary (emeritus)

"A persuasive case for why reading the Bible with imagination is essential for faithful biblical interpretation. This book builds bridges between academic and ecclesial interpretive practices with clarity and conviction. Relevant to a broad audience--from students to academics and beyond--this work opens new avenues for unlocking Scripture's full potential."
--Cami Brubaker, Bethel University

"This book brings together the best of both literary and theological readings of the biblical text in an illuminating hermeneutic of imagination. Imagination is convincingly argued as the needed quality through which literary texts intended as sacred witness can reveal their full power."
--Bruce C. Birch, Wesley Theological Seminary (emeritus)

"Persuasive and compelling, this book is a must-read for all who employ their imaginative capabilities to authentically unlock the Bible's imaginative nature."
--Madipoane Masenya (Ngwan'a Mphahlele), University of South Africa (emeritus)

About the Author

Knut M. Heim (PhD, University of Liverpool) is professor of Old Testament at Denver Seminary in Littleton, Colorado, and the pastor at Deer Park United Methodist Church in Bailey, Colorado. He previously taught at The Queen's Foundation, University of Birmingham, and Trinity College, University of Bristol.

Jeffrey R. Oetter (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is the pastor at New Hope Community Church in Aurora, Colorado, serves on the staff for Young Life, and is an adjunct professor of Old Testament at Denver Seminary in Littleton, Colorado.