Literal, figurative and that 'other' category of interpretation

Linguists wank long and loud about the various factors that make up meaning: gesture, tone, reference, context etc. etc. With this background it's almost painful to hear definitions of 'fundamentalism' such as "insistence on a literal interpretation of the Bible". Such a definition is about as naive as a fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible, and even less useful.

The following from the Bruderhof gives you a hint as to why theological exegesis is the song that never ends (to borrow from Lambchop):

Give to Caesar what is Caesar's? A rabbi adds a new twist to one of Jesus' most puzzling teachings.

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