Contemporary debates over the interpretation of the Bible takes place between two poles: a literal interpretation that understands the text to be directly and straightforwardly communicating divine truths, and a historical-critical interpretation that focuses on human authorship and the text’s historical conditions. But thinkers like Augustine and Bernard of Clairvaux had a richer sense of the literal sense of a text and believed that the biblical texts they read contained many valid interpretations. In this seminar, we will explore pre-modern biblical interpretation and the many senses of Scripture, focusing on the Song of Songs and its interpretive history. We will also discuss how ancient authors considered the relationship between the text, traditional interpretations, and their own experience, and what lessons their interpretive strategies might have for contemporary readers. 

This dinner discussion will be led by Dr. Nathaniel Peters (Morningside).

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