📘 Lexicon Entry: Analogical Reading

Hermeneutical approach that maintains transcendence-immanence tension in biblical interpretation, reading texts as both fully human documents and vehicles of divine revelation without collapsing either dimension.

Analogical Reading represents a hermeneutical approach that preserves the tension between transcendence and immanence in biblical interpretation. This method reads scriptural texts as simultaneously fully human documents, embedded in specific historical and cultural contexts, and vehicles of divine revelation that transcend their immediate circumstances. Rather than collapsing either the human or divine dimension, analogical reading maintains that Scripture operates through an analogical relationship between human language and divine truth, where texts bear genuine meaning without exhausting divine mystery. This approach provides a theological alternative to Primitive Biblicism by integrating critical scholarship with theological discernment, avoiding both literalist reduction and historical-critical reductionism. The method emphasizes christological interpretation as the analogical center while preserving textual diversity and community-based discernment in the interpretive process.

Theological Alternative

hermeneutics, biblical interpretation, analogical metaphysics, theological exegesis, christocentric reading, transcendence-immanence

Geevarghese-Uffman, Craig. “Analogical Reading.” *Political Theology Lexicon*. https://www.commonlifepolitics.com/p/lexicon. Accessed [date].

Scripture operates through analogical relationship between human language and divine revelation

Biblical interpretation requires both historical-critical engagement and theological discernment

Texts bear genuine meaning without exhausting divine mystery

Christological reading provides analogical center without eliminating textual diversity

Community interpretation balances individual insight with collective wisdom

Literalist collapse that treats biblical language as univocal with divine reality

Historical-critical reductionism that eliminates theological dimension

Allegorical excess that disconnects interpretation from textual foundation

Fundamentalist certainty that claims direct access to divine meaning

Postmodern relativism that eliminates stable textual meaning

Integration of historical-critical and theological approaches

Christological center providing hermeneutical key without eliminating textual complexity

Community discernment balancing individual and collective interpretation

Attention to both literal sense and spiritual significance

Recognition of text’s capacity to bear meaning beyond authorial intention

Analogical Metaphysics as philosophical foundation for understanding divine-human relationship

Trinitarian understanding of divine revelation through incarnate Word

Pneumatological dimension recognizing Spirit’s role in interpretation

Ecclesiological emphasis on community as context for faithful interpretation

Christological center organizing interpretive framework

Jesus’s parable interpretation demonstrating analogical relationship between earthly and heavenly realities (Matthew 13:1-23)

Paul’s typological reading of Hebrew scriptures through Christ (1 Corinthians 10:1-11)

Scripture’s self-testimony to divine inspiration while acknowledging human authorship (2 Timothy 3:16)

Jesus’s hermeneutical principle: "These are written that you may believe" (John 20:31)

Emmaus road interpretation demonstrating christological reading (Luke 24:13-35)

Theological Interpretation Movement: Scholars reading scripture as both historical document and theological witness

Canonical Approaches: Reading individual texts within broader canonical context

Lectio Divina: Contemplative reading practices that integrate critical and spiritual dimensions

Contextual Hermeneutics: Reading scripture through particular cultural lenses while maintaining universal dimensions

Interfaith Dialogue: Engaging religious texts of other traditions with both respect and critical discernment

Contemporary theological interpretation movement demonstrates renewed interest in analogical approaches within critical biblical scholarship

Studies show how analogical reading enables both academic rigor and theological depth in seminary education

Research in canonical interpretation reveals how analogical methods preserve textual diversity while maintaining theological coherence

Interfaith hermeneutical studies demonstrate analogical reading’s capacity for respectful yet critical engagement with other traditions

Related Primary Concepts: Analogical Metaphysics, Interindependence

Key Mutations Addressed: Primitive Biblicism, Binary Apocalypticism, Tribal Epistemology

Theological Alternatives: Being With, Relational Receptivity

Historical Context: Medieval four-fold sense, Reformation hermeneutics, contemporary theological interpretation movement

May 24, 2025

*This entry is part of the Political Theology Lexicon, accessible exclusively to subscribers. View the complete lexicon to explore related concepts and the full theoretical framework.*

Patristic Development: Early church fathers developed typological and allegorical approaches maintaining both literal and spiritual senses

Medieval Systematization: Four-fold sense of scripture (literal, allegorical, moral, anagogical) as analogical framework

Reformation Clarification: Protestant emphasis on literal sense while maintaining christological center

Modern Critical Methods: Historical-critical approaches challenging traditional analogical reading

Contemporary Recovery: Theological interpretation movement recovering analogical approaches within critical scholarship