Abstract
Working within the reader perspective approach to biblical hermeneutics, a series of empirical studies have tested the theory that the readers’ psychological type preference between sensing and intuition (the two Jungian perceiving functions) shapes distinctive readings of biblical narratives. More recently, closer attention has also been given to differentiation within these two perceiving functions of sensing and intuition with regard to their introverted and extraverted orientation. Against this background, the present study examines the distinctive reading of the Johannine narrative of the wedding at Cana, a passage rich in materials to engage the perceiving functions, by two groups whose dominant or auxiliary functions were introverted sensing and introverted intuition.Contribution: Situated within the reader perspective approach to biblical hermeneutics, the sensing, intuition, feeling, thinking (SIFT) method is concerned with identifying the influence of the psychological type of the reader in shaping the interpretation of text. The foundations of the SIFT approach distinguish amongst the four functions of sensing, intuition, feeling and thinking. The present study builds on this foundation by introducing the nuance of the orientation in which the function is expressed, in this case focusing specifically on introverted sensing and introverted intuition.
Highlights
The sensing, intuition, feeling, thinking approach to biblical hermeneuticsThe sensing, intuition, feeling, thinking (SIFT) approach to biblical hermeneutics, as illustrated by Francis and Atkins (2000, 2001, 2002) and as analysed by Francis and Village (2008), is situated within the reader perspective tradition of scriptural interpretation
The purpose of this section is to discuss these findings in relation to (1) established formulations and emerging issues in psychological type theory, and in dialogue with (2) previous research from the empirical inquiry into the SIFT approach to sacred texts far in the Hebrew Bible – Psalms 1 and 73 – and numerous New Testament studies, with a view to (3) confirming and extending the construct validity of function-orientations first formulated by Jung (1971) and refined by Beebe (2016), Thompson (1996) and Ross and Francis (2020)
The present study built on and developed the insights afforded by the SIFT approach to biblical hermeneutics and liturgical preaching, as proposed by Francis and Village (2008) and as tested in the series of empirical studies identified in the introductory section of the article
Summary
The sensing, intuition, feeling, thinking approach to biblical hermeneuticsThe sensing, intuition, feeling, thinking (SIFT) approach to biblical hermeneutics, as illustrated by Francis and Atkins (2000, 2001, 2002) and as analysed by Francis and Village (2008), is situated within the reader perspective tradition of scriptural interpretation. The SIFT approach proposed that the reading and interpretation of sacred text were influenced by the readers’ preferences as defined and clarified by Jung’s conceptual model of the human psyche and as developed and presented by such psychometric instruments as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (Myers & McCaulley 1985), the Francis Psychological Type Scales (Francis 2005; Francis, Laycock & Brewster 2017) and the Keirsey Temperament Sorter (Keirsey & Bates 1978). As a consequence of preferring one function over the other function, individuals tend to rely on the preferred functions and to develop those functions in their daily life, neglecting the less preferred functions
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