Original Research - Special Collection: HTS 75th Anniversary Maake Masango Dedication

Reading the Beatitudes (Mt 5:1–10) through the lenses of introverted intuition and introverted sensing: Perceiving text differently

Leslie J. Francis, Duncan Strathie, Christopher F. Ross
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies | Vol 75, No 4 | a5475 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v75i4.5475 | © 2019 Leslie J. Francis, Duncan Strathie, Christopher F. Ross | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 25 March 2019 | Published: 06 December 2019

About the author(s)

Leslie J. Francis, Warwick Religions and Education Research Unit, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom; and, Department of New Testament Studies and Related Literature, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
Duncan Strathie, Diocese of Birmingham, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom; and, Department of New Testament Studies and Related Literature, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
Christopher F. Ross, Martin Luther University College, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada; and, Department of New Testament Studies and Related Literature, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract

Working within the reader perspective approach to biblical hermeneutics, a recent series of empirical studies has tested the theory that the readers’ psychological type preferences between sensing and intuition (perceiving functions) and between feeling and thinking (judging functions) shape distinctive readings of biblical texts. This study advances the debate by distinguishing between the two orientations within which the functions are expressed (introverted and extraverted). The added clarity offered by this refinement is illustrated by the distinctive voices of introverted intuition and introverted sensing engaging with the Matthean Beatitudes, eight verses rich in materials to engage the perceiving functions.


Keywords

reader perspective; psychological type; SIFT method; psychology and Bible

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