Effective History and the Cultivation of Wise Interpreters

Abstract Theological interpreters' longstanding interest in premodern biblical interpretation makes it reasonable to explore the theory and practice of reception history and H-G. Gadamer's notion of Wirkungsgeschichte. I argue that, although debates about attending to premodern interpretation through producing histories of reception, on the one hand, and arguments about Wirkungsgeschichte, on the other hand, are or can be closely related to each other, they are not necessarily connected. Claims about the importance of premodern interpretation for theological interpreters can be deeply grounded in attention to Wirkungsgeschichte and the cultivation of an effective historical consciousness, but this account of Wirkungsgeschichte is separable from the theory and practice of reception history.