Allegorising: The Relevance of an Old Method of Interpretation

Abstract

The question about what texts mean for us in the present as distinct from the question what they originally meant has again come into the focus of attention. This broadening of the focus is very important for understanding religious texts as texts about God’s transforming relationship to people. This article considers the Biblical interpretation of the Church Fathers, and particularly their use of allegory, as this may inspire us to develop ways of interacting with the Biblical texts as religious texts meant to speak to our times.