A Thick Description of Hybrid Theological Interpreters

Abstract

In Chap. 3, we discussed the Asian North American theologian Peter Phan and the events that surrounded the reception to and interpretation of his book Being Religious Interreligiously. That presentation was meant to illustrate the general contours that comprise the “what and the what-not” of an Asian North American contextual hermeneutical style characterized by hybridity. Upon further examination, the figure of Phan himself presents an interesting case study that can illustrate the central role of the theological interpreter in the enterprise of theology or religious discourse as suggested by David Tracy’s description of theology-as-hermeneutics mentioned in Chap. 2. To reiterate, the theological/religious interpreter (aka, “theologian”) is the one who engages a “classic” (such as a biblical passage or a theological/religious topic/notion) in a hermeneutical conversation, intentionally making his or her own particular background, context, and “preunderstandings” bear upon this activity. It is this same person who, in the course of the conversation, influences or reinterprets and/or is influenced or changed by the classics with which she/he engages in conversation.