Sunday, October 2, 2022
Mary Magdalene
Thursday, September 22, 2022
Derrida's Différance and Biblical Interpretation
Yung Suk Kim
Derrida's deconstruction theory challenges readers to rethink meaning altogether. He argues that there is no absolute unity or coherence in the text, which is an entangled web of various signifiers/significations that defy one single meaning. Derrida coins différance to connote the double meaning of differing and deferring. The signified is not fixed once and for all and must be different because the signifiers are like drops of water in the ocean. Likewise, we should delay meaning forever. Derrida differs from Saussure, who believes that even though there is no one-to-one link between the signifier and the signified, the signified is achieved in a given system of relations.
A common misunderstanding about Derrida is he undermines faith and relativizes truth, promoting "anything goes." That is not true because deconstruction challenges the orthodoxies that subjugate the marginalized or voiceless. It defies "closure" in the text and sees new voices of fairness and justice. A parable is a type of deconstruction literature that resists conventional wisdom and helps readers to see something differently, subverting their world.
As a case in point, we can take 1 Cor 12:27: "You are the body of Christ and individually members of it." The traditional interpretation focuses on the body's metaphorical organism: "You are the members of the body, which is the church, whose head is Christ, and individually, you are members." Here, the body is an organism metaphor, and the achieved meaning is unity in Christ and membership in him. But in fact, there is an alternative reading that resists the tradition. I read the body of Christ as the "Christic body" in the sense that the Corinthians must embody Christ, individually and communally. Here, the body is a metaphor "for a way of living" (for example, see 1 Cor 6:15-20). 1 Cor 6:15 reads: "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I, therefore, take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! " (NRSVue). Paul’s point is the body is for God, which means they must embody Christ in their lives.
If we translate the body of Christ as “Christ-like body,” this use of the genitive case is called an attributive genitive. We see this example in "the body of sin” (Rom 6:6), which we understand as "the sinful body."
The alternative interpretation underscores the ethical union with Christ and the diversity of the community. That is the Corinthians must follow Christ and honor one another. Then, they can maintain a Christ-like community. Christ is not the owner of the church, but its foundation. The point is not mere membership to the church but impregnable participation in Christ and his faith.
*Note: I have argued for an alternative reading of "the body of Christ" through a number of articles and books. My debut book is Christ's Body in Corinth: The Politics of a Metaphor (Fortress, 2008). The most recent book on Paul is How to Read Paul: A Brief Introduction to His Theology, Writings, and World (Fortress, 2021).
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
Kant, Modernity, and Biblical Interpretation
Understood this way, postmodernity, if it exists at all, is not a blow to the Kantian modern sensibility. Instead, it is an heir to modern philosophy in ways that we can embrace lofty standards of universal law coupled with self-critical observations about our world.
Likewise, in biblical interpretation, we can distinguish between the knowable and the unknowable. The former is a rough representation of reality reflected in ancient texts, communities, societies, and empires. Otherwise, reality itself is unknowable. So, what we need is a humble spirit as well as a critical mindset.
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
Collapse of Logocentrism: From Kant to Saussure to Derrida
Saussure (1857-1913), a founding figure of modern linguistics, argues there is no one-to-one link between the signifier (word) and the signified (an actual thing). That is, he disputes the logical connection between them. The signifier must be imperfect and what comes out of it is multiple. For example, the "war" in a certain context signifies myriad things.
Derrida (1930-2004) more forcefully challenges logocentrism in his deconstruction theory. That is, no literature can set forever meaning to readers because there are internal systems of collapse within the literature. All in all, meaning is not fixed once and for all, as his coined term différance conveys meaning's difference and deferral.
Friday, September 2, 2022
"Test everything" (Biblical Interpretation)
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Key Concepts in Tanakah
God is hesed. Therefore, people should be also kind and loving to one another.
Because God is the way, people should turn back to him. That is what "repentance" means. The equivalent word in Greek is metanoia (μετάνοια).
צְדָקָה (tsedaqah): righteousness
God is the one who is righteous, the basis of human existence and action.
מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat): justice
Because God is righteous, people should seek justice in all spheres of life.
TaNaKh: Torah (תּוֹרָה), Neviim (נְבִיאִים), Ketuvim (כְּתוּבִים)
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
What am I?
Like a vapor, I am evanescent.
Like a reed, I am wavering.
Like dust, I am small.
But I'm not vanity.
I am a gift of God.
Friday, August 26, 2022
Interpolation (1 Cor 14:33-36)
But this above advice to women is untrue and impractical because not all women are married. Some may have lost their husbands already. Even if they had their husbands at home, their husbands would not know all the answers.
If Paul prevented women's participation in the church, he must have been conflicting himself or schizophrenic because elsewhere he advocated women's leadership and their free participation in worship. All men and women in the church equally received the gift of the Spirit. Therefore, we can hardly believe that Paul wrote the above passage.
Thursday, August 25, 2022
My YouTube Channel
These days I don’t have much energy to make new videos for my YouTube channel. But I can do so anytime if I want. There are 66 videos on my channel with 204 subscribers. Someday I will come back to make more.
Wednesday, August 24, 2022
3Cs for success in class
Commitment
Plan things and set aside time for reading.
Confidence
Believe in yourself. You can do it, and it can happen.