Description

A Double Vision Hermeneutic unfolds the multilayered inter-subjective experience of the author himself, a Chinese pastor. Samuel Hio-Kee Ooi argues for a cultural-linguistic experience of shì – an ancient Chinese word implying not only power but also used to mean a situation, a circumstance, a tendency, and a tension that is about to be triggered off – as the locus at which the intersubjective experience takes place. To unfold this experience, the author identifies five key texts that are found in his inter-subjective experience: Text A1: Shì, an intertext of traditional Chinese works featuring shì; Text A2: Yìzhuàn, a metaphysical Confucian book of appendices; Text B1: Pauline notion of principalities and powers; Text B2: Pauline Texts I and II: Galatians and 1 Corinthians; and Text 0: Ooi’s initial or seminal experience of shì. In dialogue with Michael Polanyi and Hans-Georg Gadamer, Ooi proposes that a double vision hermeneutic will help interpret the multi-layered inter-subjective relationships between texts and the subject. He argues that study of this inter-subjective experience reveals a vital facet of Chinese Christian self, and significantly enhances the study of Chinese theology. Samuel Hio-Kee Ooi is a pastor at Hong Kong Baptist Church. He has taught at Sabah Theological Seminary, Malaysia, and Lutheran Theological Seminary, Hong Kong. ‘ ‘A Double Vision Hermeneutic’ demonstrates Dr Samuel Hio-Kee Ooi’s bold hermeneutical attempt to fuse two texts Chinese classic, Yìzhuàn, and Judeo-Christian, Galatians and 1 Corinthians in order to expound the being and experience of a Chinese Christian. The consequences of Dr Ooi’s labour will go beyond a personal soul-searching journey; it opens up a horizon of conversation for those who are called to appropriate intersubjectivity to better understand beings and experiences.’ Poling Sun, Principal of Baptist Theological Seminary, Singapore.