A Gadamerian Analysis of Roman Catholic Hermeneutics
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University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 11-19-2015 A Gadamerian Analysis of Roman Catholic Hermeneutics: A Diachronic Analysis of Interpretations of Romans 1:17-2:17 Steven Floyd Surrency University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Philosophy Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Scholar Commons Citation Surrency, Steven Floyd, "A Gadamerian Analysis of Roman Catholic Hermeneutics: A Diachronic Analysis of Interpretations of Romans 1:17-2:17" (2015). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6034 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A Gadamerian Analysis of Roman Catholic Hermeneutics: A Diachronic Analysis of Interpretations of Romans 1:17-2:17 by Steven Surrency A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Philosophy College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Thomas Williams, Ph.D. Cass Fisher, Ph.D. Michael DeJonge, Ph.D. Joshua Rayman, Ph.D. Date of Approval: October 27, 2015 Keywords: Bible, history, theology, doctrine, dogma Copyright © 2015, Steven Surrency Dedication Ad Sedes Sapientiae. For Kim, Zoe, and Gemma. May Christ be your vision. And may He be nothing to you save that which He is. Table of Contents Abstract...................................................................................................................................... iii Chapter 1: The Catholic Church in Dialogue ............................................................................... 1 Whence this Project? ....................................................................................................... 1 Why Romans 1:17-2:16? ................................................................................................. 3 A Survey of Hermeneutics ............................................................................................... 7 Gadamer ....................................................................................................................... 13 Hope for Catholic Exegesis ........................................................................................... 26 Chapter 2. Origen: Early Exegesis ............................................................................................ 34 Origen of Alexandria ...................................................................................................... 34 Heretics and Catholics ................................................................................................... 35 Patristic Catholicism ...................................................................................................... 40 “Revealed” (Romans 1:15-16) ....................................................................................... 45 “Handed Over” (Romans 1:26) ...................................................................................... 52 According to Their Works (Romans 2:6-9) ..................................................................... 54 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 58 Chapter 3. Augustine’s Interpretations ...................................................................................... 59 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 59 Illumination and Neoplatonism ....................................................................................... 61 Manicheanism ............................................................................................................... 63 Early Treatment of Romans 1 and 2 .............................................................................. 64 Ennarations on the Psalms: 1-32 (before 392) ............................................................... 65 Discourse on the Sermon on the Mount (394) ............................................................... 67 The Reply to Faustus (397) ........................................................................................... 69 Summary of Early Responses ....................................................................................... 72 Pelagianism ................................................................................................................... 73 Excurses on Pelagius’s Reading of Romans 1 and 2 ..................................................... 74 Augustine’s Newer Perspective ..................................................................................... 75 The Spirit and the Letter ................................................................................................ 77 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 85 Chapter 4. Aquinas as Hermeneutic Exemplar .......................................................................... 87 Scholasticism: Distinctions, Systematization, and the Legacy of Augustine ................... 88 Aristotle ......................................................................................................................... 92 Romans 1:17 Faith: Aristotle Allows Paul to avoid Pelagianism and Antinomianism ...... 94 Romans 1:19 Abstracting God’s Attributes with the Light of the Active Intellect: Aquinas, Augustine, and Aristotle on the Possibility of Natural Theology ................. 98 Romans 1:20 Paul Teaches Participation, Causation, Divine Simplicity, and the Doctrine of Analogy ............................................................................................... 100 Romans 1:24 Aristotle Explains How Sin Brings More Sin ........................................... 103 Romans 1:27 Aristotle Explains What Paul Means by “Nature” ................................... 105 Romans 2:8 Aristotle Explains Why Hell Is Eternal ...................................................... 106 Romans 2:13 Augustine Amends Aristotle: The Infused Virtues .................................. 107 Romans 2:14 Aristotle’s Resolution to Augustine’s Dilemma ....................................... 109 i Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 110 Chapter 5. Luther: A Catholic Test Case ................................................................................. 113 Obvious Rootedness in Tradition ................................................................................. 118 A New Horizon in Humanism ....................................................................................... 119 Contemporary Questions: The Via Moderna ................................................................ 122 Luther on Justification: Situatedness within Catholic Tradition ..................................... 127 Luther on Justification: Development in Augustinian Continuity ................................... 131 Luther on Justification: A Trajectory toward Rupture? .................................................. 139 Luther’s Innovations .................................................................................................... 142 Idolatry ............................................................................................................. 142 Hiddenness of God in Suffering ...................................................................... 145 The Lectures: Beginnings of a Radical Rejection of Tradition ...................................... 148 Romans 1 and 2 in Luther’s Preface to Romans .......................................................... 155 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 159 Chapter 6. Barth: A Hermeneutic Exemplar ............................................................................ 164 Why Barth? ................................................................................................................. 164 Barth’s Theological Background .................................................................................. 166 The Emergence of Barth’s General Hermeneutics ....................................................... 170 Barth’s Hermeneutics, Gadamer’s Hermeneutics ........................................................ 172 Barth on Romans 1 and 2 ............................................................................................ 183 Commonalities and Distinctions ................................................................................... 194 Chapter 7. A Catholic Alternative ............................................................................................ 196 A Catholic Response to Barth ...................................................................................... 196 Christ as Sache ........................................................................................................... 197 The Fixity of Words and the Flexibility of Meanings ..................................................... 200 Christ as Truth ............................................................................................................