earticle

영어

Diverse issues pertinent to justice are incessantly disturbing contemporary society, provoking appropriate responses and, certainly, Christian ones, as well. In this context, this paper tries to critically investigate Georgia Warnke's Justice and Interpretation to see how her contentions can contribute to Christian praxis and theology, and in what ways they are limited. Warnke is among the scholars who have brought hermeneutics into the discourse of justice, conceiving justice as something that emerges through the participation of every member of the community. Warnke's understanding of justice is advantageous as it overcomes the Kantian understanding of justice. However, it is disadvantageous in overlooking the pragmatic dimension of decision making. We contend that this point of Warnke is problematic, particularly for theology that is indispensably related to praxis. In order to supplement Warnke's justice hermeneutics, this paper invites Francis Schüssler Fiorenza's reconstructive hermeneutical theology. While recognizing the importance of hermeneutics, Fiorenza tries to overcome its limitations, suggesting that we should consider the background theory of the interpreter and the text. Background theory is beneficial as it would enable the interpreter to understand both the text and himself/herself with a more critical stance. Moreover, he emphasizes three essential factors required to do hermeneutics - solidarity, community, and integrity - so that theology could place more weight on decision making toward justice. In short, this paper aims to contribute to nurturing these two points: (1) the importance of accommodating as many voices as possible in the course of decision making, and (2) the importance of decision making within time constraints for practical application in concrete situations. By this way, theology could be more concretely connected with contemporary praxis concerning the issues of justice