EMQ » July–September 2021 » Volume 57 Issue 3
By Tom Steffen and William Bjoraker
Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2020
357 pages
US$33.54
Reviewed by Cameron D. Armstrong, International Mission Board, Bucharest, Romania.
Recent research in the field of orality demonstrates 80% of the global population prefers to learn orally rather than textually. Such realities call into question status quo teaching and learning methods, most of which are disproportionately text-based. In The Return of Oral Hermeneutics, Tom Steffen and William Bjoraker move beyond typical discussions of orality by tackling the fundamental task of hermeneutics. Steffen and Bjoraker are up to the challenge.
Based on Steffen’s missionary work with the tribal Ifugao in the Philippines and Bjoraker’s ministry among Jews in Israel and Los Angeles, the authors bring insights from decades of combined experience. The book’s overarching question is how might knowing and practicing oral hermeneutics help us better understand and interpret Scripture, specifically narrative passages? To answer this question, the authors start with a case study: a storying session among Jewish seekers in Los Angeles. The case study provides the backdrop for the ideas developed in the second “propositions” section. This method of demonstrating oral hermeneutics (OH) before explaining it propositionally is a central distinction from textual hermeneutics (TH).
In the “propositions” section, the authors develop several noteworthy concepts. After explaining advances in orality research in both missions and biblical theology, the authors show how OH elucidates narrative portions of Scripture, which make up the majority among biblical genres (55–60%). Steffen and Bjoraker then delve into Hebrew hermeneutics methods, especially the oral nature of rabbinic teaching. OH lends itself to deeper interpretation of and identification with a narrative’s characters. Such “character theology” explores changes, conflicts, and clashes, as opposed to reducing narratives to a single principle often advocated by TH. Focusing on characters instead of theological principles, the authors maintain, will cause us to rethink our questions and learn to become more comfortable with the ambiguity of multiple right answers. The book then concludes with a second, follow-up storying session, offering further considerations for OH.
The Return of Oral Hermeneutics possesses several strengths. With over six hundreds footnotes, readers wishing to pursue the topic further will find a wealth of resources. Second, Steffen and Bjoraker’s explanation of how story engages the emotive, imaginative power of the brain adds persuasive weight. Third, and most importantly, the authors echo time and again that they are not seeking to abandon TH; instead, OH ought to be employed before, yet still with, TH.
One weakness of the book concerns its audience. At the outset, the authors say they are writing to anyone who teaches the Bible formally and informally (xxiii). Later, the authors claim that they are speaking “to the academic world” (3). It appears to me to be written for all who teach the Bible.
This weakness aside, The Return of Oral Hermeneutics is essential reading for anyone ministering among the oral majority. Indeed, the book represents the culmination of Steffen’s impressive work in orality studies over the last three decades. Bjoraker’s incisive understanding of Jewish hermeneutics is something of which all Christians ought to take note. The authors successfully demonstrate and explain the importance of oral hermeneutics, a powerful ancient practice necessary for all believers.
For Further Reading
Fisher, Walter R. Human Communication as Narration: Toward a Philosophy of Reason, Value, and Action. University of South Carolina Press, 1989.
Steffen, Tom. Worldview-based Storying: The Integration of Symbol, Story, and Ritual in the Orality Movement. Orality Resources International, 2018.
