Dialogue: Hermeneutic and practical

Hans Georg Gadamer's (1982) hermeneutic is the dominant model for practice in North American practical and pastoral theology, as is evident in the work of three leading theorists in this field, Don Browning (1991), Thomas Groome (1991), and Charles Gerkin (1991). They use Gadamer's hermeneutic dialogue between interpreter and text to understand the dialogue between pastor and parishioner, congregation, or community. In this usage, “dialogue” undergoes shifts in meaning away from its usual denotation and connotation. Critical analysis of these changes reveals the dynamics of power in ecclesial and theological structures.