Die histories-kritiese metode(s) in perspektief

Abstract

The historical critical method in perspective
The historical critical method has made a major contribution to the scientific study of the Bible, especially since the 18th century. The historical critical method, influenced by 19thcentury positivistic and evolusionistic principles of the natural sciences has mainly concentrated on the intention of the original author, the original situation and the growth of the text. The text as it stands has to a large extent been neglected. In reaction to this the text-immanent and structuralistic approaches emerged during the 20th century. The ideal situation would be to combine the three basic elements of the communication process, i.e. the author, the text and the reader in a complementary exegetical model.