A Transpersonal Conversation

Abstract

This article develops and deploys a participatory hermeneutic for Pentecostal theology through a dialogue with transpersonal psychology. It takes as representative the work of Jorge Ferrer and Jacob Sherman for its interdisciplinary approach. After brief contextualization within Pentecostal hermeneutics and the larger cultural history of spirituality, it highlights the salient features of a participatory approach. Then it moves to a short overview of Bruno Barnhart’s constructive participatory interpretation of history. Afterward, the prophetic word of knowledge, exemplified in John 4, is rescripted through the foregrounded participatory hermeneutic to demonstrate its cachet. The study ends with critical reflection on the examined content and the hermeneutical endeavor within Pentecostal theology.