Original Research

Five loaves and two fishes: An empirical study in psychological type and biblical hermeneutics among Anglican preachers

Leslie J. Francis
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies | Vol 66, No 1 | a811 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v66i1.811 | © 2010 Leslie J. Francis | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 26 February 2010 | Published: 12 August 2010

About the author(s)

Leslie J. Francis, Warwick Religions and Educations Research Unit, United Kingdom

Abstract

The sensing, intuition, feeling and thinking (SIFT) method of biblical hermeneutics and liturgical preaching has its roots in three fields: a theology of individual differences situated within the doctrine of creation, an application of Jungian psychological-type theory and empirical observation. The present study tested the empirical foundations for this method by examining the psychological-type profile of two groups of Anglican preachers (24 licensed readers in England and 22 licensed clergy in Northern Ireland) and by examining the content of their preaching according to their dominant psychological-type preferences. These data provided further support for the psychological principles underpinning the SIFT method of biblical hermeneutics and liturgical preaching.

Keywords

Bible; hermeneutics; psychological type; psychology; religion; SIFT

Metrics

Total abstract views: 6845
Total article views: 9025

 

Crossref Citations

1. Hiring labourers for the vineyard and making sense of God’s grace at work: An empirical investigation in hermeneutical theory and ordinary theology
Leslie J. Francis, Greg Smith, Jeff Astley
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies  vol: 78  issue: 4  year: 2022  
doi: 10.4102/hts.v78i4.7444

2. Reading and proclaiming the Advent call of John the Baptist: An empirical enquiry employing the SIFT method
Leslie J. Francis, Greg Smith
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies  vol: 70  issue: 1  year: 2014  
doi: 10.4102/hts.v70i1.2718

3. Accessing visitor perception of an immersive cathedral experience: applying the Jungian lenses of sensing and intuition and Bailey’s theory of implicit religion
Leslie J. Francis, Ursula McKenna
Journal of Beliefs & Values  first page: 1  year: 2025  
doi: 10.1080/13617672.2025.2516228

4. Reading the incident at the pool called Beth-zatha (John 5: 1–16) through the lenses of introverted intuition and extraverted intuition: perceiving text differently
Leslie J. Francis, Christopher F. J. Ross
Mental Health, Religion & Culture  first page: 1  year: 2025  
doi: 10.1080/13674676.2025.2462924

5. Reading the wedding at Cana in Galilee (Jn 2:1–11) through the lenses of introverted sensing and introverted intuition: Perceiving text differently
Leslie J. Francis, Adam J. Stevenson, Christopher F.J. Ross
HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies  vol: 77  issue: 4  year: 2021  
doi: 10.4102/hts.v77i4.6858

6. Evaluating Liturgical Engagement With Psalms of Lament: Reading Psalm 74 Through the Lenses of Feeling and Thinking
Leslie J. Francis, John Holdsworth, Andrew Village
Pastoral Psychology  vol: 74  issue: 2  first page: 229  year: 2025  
doi: 10.1007/s11089-024-01172-5

7. Reading and proclaiming the Birth Narratives from Luke and Matthew: A study in empirical theology amongst curates and their training incumbents employing the SIFT method
Leslie J. Francis, Greg Smith
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies  vol: 69  issue: 1  year: 2013  
doi: 10.4102/hts.v69i1.2001

8. Preaching on the revised common lectionary for the feast of Christ the King: Joy for intuitive thinking types, nightmare for sensing feeling types?
Leslie J. Francis, Greg Smith, Jonathan Evans
HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies  vol: 77  issue: 4  year: 2021  
doi: 10.4102/hts.v77i4.6746

9. Reading the Good Samaritan (Lk 10: 25–37) through the lenses of introverted intuition and extraverted intuition: Perceiving text differently
Leslie J. Francis, Christopher F.J. Ross
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies  vol: 78  issue: 4  year: 2022  
doi: 10.4102/hts.v78i4.7443

10. Do different psychological types look for different things in sermons? A research note
Leslie J. Francis, Christopher Stone, Mandy Robbins
Mental Health, Religion & Culture  vol: 18  issue: 8  first page: 712  year: 2015  
doi: 10.1080/13674676.2014.964001

11. Introverts and Extraverts Reflecting on the Experience of Parish Ministry: Conversation Between Training Incumbents and Curates
Leslie J. Francis, Greg Smith
Journal of Research on Christian Education  vol: 25  issue: 1  first page: 76  year: 2016  
doi: 10.1080/10656219.2016.1139999

12. Interpreting and responding to the Johannine feeding narrative: An empirical study in the SIFT hermeneutical method amongst Anglican ministry training candidates
Leslie J. Francis
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies  vol: 68  issue: 1  year: 2012  
doi: 10.4102/hts.v68i1.1205

13. Ways of reflecting on trauma and adversity: reading Psalm 90 through the lenses of feeling and thinking
Leslie J. Francis, Andrew Village
Mental Health, Religion & Culture  first page: 1  year: 2024  
doi: 10.1080/13674676.2024.2362234

14. Reading the resurrection appearance at the lakeside through lenses of sensing and intuition
Leslie J. Francis, Adam Stevenson
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies  vol: 80  issue: 1  year: 2024  
doi: 10.4102/hts.v80i1.9048

15. Accessing visitor evaluation of an immersive cathedral experience: applying the Jungian lenses of feeling and thinking and Bailey’s theory of implicit religion
Ursula McKenna, Leslie J. Francis
Journal of Beliefs & Values  first page: 1  year: 2025  
doi: 10.1080/13617672.2025.2529334