In Pursuit of an Ethics of Biblical Interpretation: Assessing Cheryl Anderson’s Evaluative Process through Interpretations of Romans 1:18-32.

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the possible elements of an ethics of biblical interpretation by critically examining an evaluative process proposed by Cheryl Anderson. The intention of an ethics of biblical interpretation is to ensure that interpreters take responsibility both to treat the biblical text justly and to ensure that those others who are potentially affected by their interpretations are not harmed. Anderson’s evaluative process suggests that four elements are required for interpretations to be considered ethical. These include the plausibility of the interpretation, an assessment of the contemporary context, critical self-awareness exhibited by the interpreter and an analysis of the potential consequences of the interpretation, with harmful interpretations being dismissed. In this study these elements are explored in detail and their suitability as part of Anderson’s evaluative process is analysed by applying them to six example biblical interpretations of Romans 1:18-32, to evaluate whether these interpretations can be considered ethical according to Anderson’s elements. These elements are shown to correlate with the main categories of others that are affected by interpretations, that is, the text, the contemporary readers, the interpreter and those who are impacted by interpretations, and this relationship is examined. The controlling role of the interpreter and the potential for Anderson’s evaluative process to safeguard the text, the contemporary readers and those affected by the interpretation, within the interpretive process is discussed. The dissertation identifies significant challenges to the implementation of two of Anderson’s required elements, that is, critical self awareness and the analysis of consequences, and suggests areas for further research. This dissertation concludes that, although Anderson’s evaluative process contributes valuable insight into potential constituent elements of an ethics of biblical interpretation, its implementation cannot be considered feasible at this time.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

mth

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

masters

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Walsh, Kimberly

• BS Y Beibl

Dc Identifier Grantnumber

UWTSD

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:3876