Three's a Crowd: Pentecostalism Hermeneutics and the Old Testament

Synopsis: Threes a Crowd brings together the three dialogue partners of Pentecostalism hermeneutics and the Old Testament. Previous attempts by Pentecostal academics to define a distinctive Pentecostal hermeneutic have focused on issues and application to the New Testament consequently estranging the Old Testament from the conversation. This book engages the hermeneutical practices of Pentecostal and Charismatic groups in reading the Old Testament in ways that are representative while critical of their movements ideological bases and visions. While the issue of understanding and developing a viable Pentecostal hermeneutic has continued to be debated within the academic journals of the community for over a decade most discussion has focused on the prescription of ideals rather than on the actual practice of the contemporary community. By examining the reading practices of the Pentecostal and Charismatic community this book suggests a unique and rounded reading method that maintains the strengths of Pentecostal reading practices while addressing their inherent weaknesses. In this way the voices of the three dialogue partners emerge in a mutual fellowship that engages both the needs of the Pentecostal community and informs the wider ecumenical dialogue. Endorsements: Threes a Crowd embodies an invitation to engage spiritual evangelical lay and non-traditional modes of biblical interpretation. It is a helpful reminder that hermeneutics is not crowded and that the Hebrew Bible is not closed off from ordinary interpreters evangelical or otherwise. -Jione Havea United Theological College and School of Theology Charles Sturt University Jacqueline Greys Threes a Crowd provides new insight into the dynamic realties of Hermeneutics Old Testament and the Pentecostal reading communities. The fact that Grey is a female Pentecostal scholar specializing in the Old Testament and working outside a North American context significantly strengthens the important contribution of her meticulously researched and delightfully articulated work. Her monograph provides a fresh voice in the Pentecostal hermeneutical dialogue; this is a must read. I highly recommend it. -Kenneth J. Archer Pentecostal Theological Seminary Jacqui Grey has provided for us here an important and insightful analysis of Pentecostal engagement with mainstream biblical scholarship offering as she does an astute vivid analysis of the nature of ordinary Pentecostal biblical interpretation which contributes to a fresh integrated practical model for critical reading of the Bible in this developing tradition. This is a significant contribution to our awareness of everyday and scholarly Pentecostal/Charismatic hermeneutics. -Andrew Davies University of Birmingham Author Biography: Jacqueline Grey is Academic Dean of Alphacrucis College in Sydney Australia. She is the author of Them Us & Me: How the Old Testament Speaks to People Today (2008) and coeditor of Raising Women Leaders: Perspectives on Liberating Women in Pentecostal Charismatic Contexts (2009).