Interpretation and Obedience

"Interpretation that seeks to let the old word be the living, authoritative word must be an act of obedience. Obedient interpretation in the social context of the Western church is to see how the Bible authorizes, evokes and permits a world that is an alternative to the deathly world of or dominant value system. Conversely, obedience that seeks to act according to the convenatal intentionality of the God of the Bible must be an act on interpretation. Interpretive obedience is an act of imaginative construal to show how the non-negotiable intentions of Yahweh are to be discerned and practiced in our situation. " from the preface. Drawing on specific texts that speak to cosmic hurt and personal possibility, Walter Brueggermann demonstrates the essential connection between faithful reading of the biblical text and faithful living in a world of banal, yet threatening values.