The Symbolism of Holiness: Holy Being and Holy Living Interpreted Through Paul Ricoeur’s Philosophical Anthropology

Through a reading of Paul Ricoeur’s hermeneutics, this book explores how Judeo-Christian holiness emerges in both being and doing in the lives of human persons in a postmodern world.

Both the Old and New Testament testify that God requires holiness, yet the topic remains elusive in both understanding and actuality. Ricoeur offers a solution to this dilemma; he believed that experiences of evil and the sacred cannot be communicated directly, but only through symbols and myth. In the same way that Ricoeur interpreted the human experience of evil in relation to the Fall story in Genesis, this book interprets holiness through the symbolism communicated in the Genesis Creation narrative. When interpreted through Ricoeur’s hermeneutics, the symbols of holiness in this story offer tools to understand how to be holy and live a holy life. What results is holiness as holy being, holy doing, and holy being-in-the-world in front of the biblical texts. Holiness emerges ＂like God,＂ a holy identity, ethic, and lifestyle in human beings that reflects the trifold holiness of the Triune God.

Curtis Lee, Jr. is Associate Professor and Dean of the School of Professional Studies at Lindsey Wilson College, Kentucky, USA.