Sidney Greidanus, The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text: Interpreting and Preaching Biblical Literature (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989), 341 pp., $12.95, paper.

The modern period has been marked by the dramatic shift of interest to hermeneutical concerns. The hermeneutical quest, long a subject of theological and exegetical concern, has now become a focus of intense debate in the academy as well as the church.

One mark of this contemporary shift has been the emergence of interest in general hermeneutics. Figures such as Paul Ricoeur, Juergen Habermas, John Thompson, and Jaques Derrida represent the intersection of philosophical hermeneutics, literary studies, and theological investigation. Hans Georg Gadamer has emerged as one of the most primary conversation partners for contemporary theologians and biblical scholars.

The preaching world has not escaped this shift in focus. Homiletics classes and discussions at seminaries and divinity schools have long incorporated the modern hermeneutical discussion in the curriculum. Most practicing preachers, however, have been left out of the circuit. This is true no longer.

Preachers seeking a solid and helpful consideration of hermeneutics in service of preaching will greet The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text with great enthusiasm. Sidney Greidanus has produced one of those rare volumes which should be read by all preachers who take the task of interpretation and proclamation with great seriousness.

Greidanus -- professor of theology at The King's College in Edmonton, Alberta -- takes as his focus the merging of interest in biblical hermeneutics and homiletics. His focus is not on general philosophical hermeneutics, but on the contemporary discussion in biblical hermeneutics -- a discussion shaped and influenced by the larger debate.

Greidanus addresses his book to the need for "a tool to bridge the gap between the department of biblical studies and that of homiletics." Nevertheless, the book's intended readership is not limited to the academy, but includes the motivated practicing preacher as well.

Preaching, suggests Greidanus, has undergone a "paradigm shift" which parallels the shift in literary studies from historical investigation to genre-based criticism -- a shift which has produced the contemporary interest in forms of sermons. In his words: "These paradigm shifts open up exciting possibilities for preaching but also some precarious hazards." Greidanus' treatment is a responsible and balanced discussion of these issues rooted in great respect for biblical preaching.

The focus on biblical preaching keeps the volume faithful to its purpose. Greidanus' high view of biblical authority is consistently evident, as is his ability to translate biblical authority into powerful preaching.

Contemporary preachers are, according to the author, even more dependent upon the biblical text than the prophets and apostles. Modern preachers, if they are to preach with authority, "must speak not their own word but that of their Sender." As ministers of the Word, preachers must submit to the biblical text, and not force the text to submit to their intent or interpretation.