10. Hermeneutical Reflections
The methodology of textual interpretation is a time-honored topic in New
Testament Studies. In the title of the present work as well as in various
passages throughout the book I preferred to write about a “cognitive
approach”rather than a“cognitive method.”The choice of words has been
intentional, in the sense that a cognitive turn in the study of the New
Testament, to my mind, does not imply the addition of yet another step to
the standard methodological procedures of interpreting the New Testament.
When we study biblical texts, the methods of source criticism, form criticism,
and redaction criticism can be applied one after the other. Other methods,
such as composition criticism, rhetorical criticism, as well as different forms of
ideological and literary criticism, can be used instead of or in addition to the
above-mentioned methods. All of these methods come in discrete packages, as
it were, which can be used in various combinations. A cognitive approach,
however, is not meant to be yet another self-contained package. For example,
it is not my expectation that a cognitive turn will render source criticism or
feminist criticism obsolete; it not the case, either, that something called
“cognitive criticism”would have to be carried out before or after applying
redaction criticism, for example. The thesis of this book is that the cognitive
turn will influence many (and possibly all) traditional exegetical methods,
strengthening them with new insights and tools, and sometimes adjusting
their foci.
In addition to contributing to incremental change in exegetical methods,
I also expect the cognitive approach to expand the horizon of New Testament
Studies. For example, the use of computational models, the exploration of the
nexus of religious experience and religious innovation, or the study of magic
and miracle, have the potential of initiating directions of investigation that do
not neatlyfit into any of the existing methods. Such novel research interests, in
turn, might lead to the development of new research methods in a strict sense:
for example, combining experimental research with textual studies, or the use
of computer modeling will require the adoption of methodological skills and
know-how that are (partly) available in otherfields or will be developed by
biblical scholars, probably in co-operation with experts in otherfields. As