'What does Theology do, actually? Exegeting Exegesis': Ivana Noble

"What does theology do, actually?" is a conference series hosted by the University of Bonn. Under this years title "Exegeting Exegesis", we had the privilege of hearing from many speakers from all over the world.

From our fourth panel of the conference, we share with you Ivana Noble's talk, thank you to her for letting us share!

Panel description: Religious Communities: On the Confessional Construction of the Bible(s)
Exegesis deals with the Bible. But what exactly is a Bible how does our concept of “Bible” impact our way of reading and interpreting it? It seems obvious that this question depends on the denominational background, beginning with the fact that there is no consensus on the exact extent of the OT canon between Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christians. This may lead to the question of how “Jewish”, “Catholic”, “Protestant”, “Orthodox” or “Pentecostal” exegesis might be described. On the other hand, it might be worth asking to what extent these respective approaches to “Bible” also depend on cultural backgrounds: If we ask how, when, by whom, and with what intentions the Bible is read, the answers might differ significantly from country to country.

Conference description:
Central to the purposes of the What Does Theology Do, Actually? series is to observe, document, and describe the functions of theological knowledge production and communication as experienced, cultivated, and institutionalized around the world today. WDTD seeks not to do theology but to observe what theology does. The forms of theological communication vary widely by cultural and academic-institutional context. By comparing approaches to the same theological disciplines across these diverse contexts, WDTD aims to contribute to a contemporary theory of transcultural trends in contemporary theology.

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