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

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