Reading the Bible Intertextually

13: Reading the Bible in the Context of “Thick Description”: Reflections of a Practical Theologian on a Phenomenological Concept of Contextuality

204 Magdolna Orosz judgments—the biblical references lead schnitzler’s text back into the realm of the crisis of language. it is noteworthy that schnitzler, who did not directly deal with questions of language and who did not appear especially affected by the language-critical approach,70 also showed the connection of language-critical and language-skeptical moments to biblical references in another text, the (unfinished) short story Ich, moments which likewise refer to language and its use: the disintegration of identity, bound up with the contemplation of the process of designation, is here supported and undermined through a reference to the miracle of Pentecost, which has been turned into something negative and which introduces a general linguistic understanding.71 the short story consequently offers an example for dealing with outstanding elements of cultural memory, whose elements are also then suitable for intertextual reference even if their exact provenance is not always or no longer present to the recipients, as is also the case with the Bible. thus, the possibility of diverse readings of such texts presents itself, from “naive” interpretation to interpretation grounded in textual analysis. For comprehensive insights into the characteristics of intertextual references in different epochs such as modernity or postmodernity72 as well as in certain authors,73 further textual analyses are required. intertextual (literary ) reading of the Bible can lead to further results in connection with the multiplicity of biblical references and their meaning-generating power.74 the reading and interpretation of the biblical bases and the modern literary texts that make reference to them perpetuate the unending dialog of texts and the process of the intertextual generation of meaning: “there is neither a first nor last word and there are no limits to the dialogic context (it extends into the boundless past and the boundless future). Even past meanings, that is, those born in the dialogue of past centuries, can never be stable (finalized, ended once and for all)—they will always change (be renewed) in the process of subsequent, future development of the dialogue. at any moment in the development of the dialogue, there are immense, boundless masses of forgotten contextual meanings, but at certain moments of the dialogue’s subsequent development along the way, they are recalled and reinvigorated in renewed form (in a new context). nothing is absolutely dead: every meaning will have its homecoming festival .”75 205 gh Hans-Günter Heimbrock 13 Reading the Bible in the Context of “Thick Description” Reflections of a Practical Theologian on a Phenomenological Concept of Contextuality Texts in the Horizon of Practical Theology although Christianity is rightly labeled a “religion of the book,” it remains the case that texts per se do not constitute the object of practical theology as a theological discipline. rather, this discipline generally concerns actual practices in everyday life and the implications of the role of religion in culture and life. Practical theology also tends to deal with these phenomena in terms of the cognitive interests of “contextual theology.” Possibly, however, this present lack of interest in textual considerations may result in some useful questions and perspectives for our understanding of “text” and “intertextuality,” not only in terms of discoveries for practical theology itself but also for interdisciplinary conversations . if i am correct, the concept of intertextuality marks a shift in the discipline of literary studies toward a new openness to cultural interests. Here is, at last, where we will come together, for practical theology has also for its part completed the “cultural turn.” Ever since the message and tidings of the Christian faith were no longer spread by word of mouth alone but handed down primarily in the form of books, a corresponding ecclesial praxis developed that sought to cultivate, among other things, the activities of reading and studying . Both authoritative and less-authoritative texts were passed down in actual cultural contexts long before “text” and “context” were seen as problems and long before words like intertextuality became concepts essential for theological reflection. since the emergence of academic 206 Hans-Günter Heimbrock theology as the framework for reflecting on the religious life, hermeneutical attempts at theoretical reflection upon practices of reading have been made. in the differentiation of the theological disciplines in the modern academic establishment, practical theology was initially accorded no creative role. For some time, the discipline was simply viewed as a “marketing department”1 and thus not as a producer but rather merely...