Prior to coming to Greenville, SC, Rev. Carlberg was accepted to do doctoral work at Westminster Seminary, PA in the field of philosophical hermeneutics. A large part of his study was to focus on the further development of his own model of interpretation, called “Covenantal” or Roundhouse Hermeneutics. Here Rev Carlberg shares three papers intended to introduce the reader to the central aspects of the hermeneutical debate.

Paper 1:  What is hermeneutics and what does a truly reformed and consistently Christian model of interpretation look like? Here Rev. Carlberg provides a brief description of hermeneutics as well as an extended outline of his own model of Covenantal Hermeneutics (aka Roundhouse Hermeneutics).

To read this paper, click here.

Paper 2:  The Reader Response approach to hermeneutics claims that the process of interpretation results in a meaning that is as much a product of the individual reader as it is of the text. As such, the notion of a stable meaning, derived from the text, is lost. Meaning will vary from reader to reader. Here, Rev. Carlberg responds to these claims by showing that a God-centered hermeneutic maintains both the activity of the interpreter as well as the integrity of a text-derived meaning.

To read this paper, click here.

Paper 3:  Heidegger, Derrida, and Wittgenstein are three major figures in the field of hermeneutics. Here Rev. Carlberg applies the model of Covenantal Hermeneutics to summarize and critique their central thoughts.

To read this paper, click here.