Gorbenko V. Theological hermeneutics of Richard Hays

For the first time in the national theology, an integral analysis of the main works of Richard Hays has been carried out and his theological hermeneutics has been reconstructed with its theoretical and practical implications in the theological discourse and the spiritual life of modern Christian communities. It is proved that Hays reconstructs the holistic theological discourse of the apostle Paul, which is implanted in the Old Testament narratives, and reveals an objective coherence in the theology of Paul. Using the Epistle to Galatians 3:1-4:11 as an example, Richard Hays shows that Paul bases his thoughts not on a system of doctrines or personal religious experience, but on "sacred history," "narrative substructure," the story of Jesus Christ, which gives integrity and determines the direction in theology and the ministry of Paul. The narrative of God, Israel and the world where Christ is in the center is present under the surface of all Paul's letters and can be found through short links, indicators, or intertextual links that return the reader of his letters back to the narrative substructure. It is discovered that the New Testament for Hays is, first of all, history. The community of believers is called to find analogies between the history they read in the NT and the history of their daily life. Through the integrating act of imagination, modern Christians, despite historical and cultural differences, can participate in the truth of the New Testament's narrative. Richard Hays offers a metaphor for a comprehensive dramatic narrative that points to the coherence of the biblical narrative manifested in the integral structure of the divine drama. Paul, as Hays reads him, calls his readers to a dialogue of the imagination to understand their new identity in Christ, which becomes understandable by being part of the metanarrative of God's work with Israel, which must refocus the moral vision of communities, then and now.