As a postmodern paradigm increasingly dominates the thinking of our culture in general, any hermeneutic which cannot account for its loci of meanings within that postmodern paradigm will become nonsensical and irrelevant. If for no other reason than that, we must move beyond the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy to explore the possibilities of a Pentecostal hermeneutic in a postmodern age. (Cargal 1)

With this quote from Timothy B. Cargal, Bradley Truman Noel sets out the agenda of his book: to describe a pentecostal hermeneutic which takes postmodernism seriously.

Fortunately for Noel, pentecostalism already shares deep affinities with postmodernism (to the extent to which it is not infiltrated by what Sam Reimer describes as “generic evangelicalism.”) Kenneth J. Archer calls pentecostalism a paramodern movement because it was born in a modern era while it simultaneously rejected major tenets of modernism. Noel goes one step further:

Early Pentecostals would have never considered themselves Postmodern (as is currently defined), but their early thinking, as evidenced in both their writing and approach to Scripture, demonstrates remarkable consistencies with Postmodern thought. (179)

Noel plots a middle course between the rejection of postmodernism by Robert P. Menzies and the radical embrace of postmodernism by Timothy B. Cargal. He endorses Archer’s hermeneutic strategy “which promotes a tridactic negotiation between the Spirit, the Scriptures, and the Pentecostal community” (178).

Pentecostal and Postmodern Hermeneutics is an important book for people looking to explore the deep resonance between postmodern culture and pentecostalism.

Noel, Bradley Truman. Pentecostal and Postmodern Hermeneutics: Comparisons and Contemporary Impact. Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2010.