Abstract
Psalm 73 is a challenging Psalm in which the Psalmist draws on rich imagery to juxtapose doctrine and experience and to juxtapose the goodness of God with divine retribution. Drawing on data provided by 15 theological educators within the Anglican Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf, this study tests the thesis that the imagery of Psalm 73 will be perceived differently by sensing types and by intuitive types and that the issue ‘Is God really good to the upright?’ will be judged differently by feeling types and by thinking types. The findings from this study are consistent with the broader hermeneutical theory that the psychological type profile of the reader, in terms of perceiving preference and judging preference, plays a formative part in shaping the interpretation of biblical material.Contribution: Situated within the reader-perspective approach to biblical hermeneutics, the SIFT method is concerned with identifying the influence of the psychological type of the reader in shaping the interpretation of text. The present study demonstrates that this theory holds true for the way in which theological educators read Psalm 73.
Highlights
The Psalms comprise a core component of the biblical tradition and a core resource within Christianity worship
Building on the empirical research tradition concerned with exploring the SIFT approach to biblical hermeneutics and liturgical preaching, the aim of the present study was to invite an international group of theological educators serving within an Anglican context in Cyprus to work in type-alike groups to explore their reading of two sections drawn from Psalm 73
In keeping with the SIFT approach to biblical hermeneutics, the present study was designed to explore the different responses to Psalm 73 that might be associated with preferences for the four psychological functions first differentiated by Carl Jung (1971) in Psychological Types
Summary
The Psalms comprise a core component of the biblical tradition and a core resource within Christianity worship. Some of the Psalms are challenging and problematic in terms of the messages they convey and the images of God they imply. Psalm 73 is amongst the challenging and problematic Psalms. The Psalmist is facing a crisis of confidence in inherited religious doctrine. The doctrine proclaims that God is good to the upright, but the Psalmist’s experience shows that the wicked prosper better than the upright. The Psalmist resolves this paradox in terms of revelation received in the sanctuary of God, revelation that affirms the final destruction of the wicked. Commenting on Psalm 73, Kirkpatrick (1903:431) pointed to ‘the double problem of the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous’. The problem debated in ancient Israel is no less a problem within the Christian community today
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