ABSTRACT
There have been several attempts at construing Pentecostal hermeneutic during the past twenty years, characterised by an openness to the Spirit that informs the model of Bible reading. Pentecostal theologians’ attempts to construct a distinctive Pentecostal hermeneutic are challenged by the diverse ways they use to describe its essence. What is important is that its pneumatology informs its Bible interpretation, based on the ‘big story’ of a scopus and the existence of truth, connected to the person of Jesus. However, this is not unique to Pentecostal hermeneutic. Ecumenical discussions with the Roman Catholic Church and several Protestant groups show that the Pentecostal hermeneutic drinks from many different streams. To talk of a distinctive Pentecostal hermeneutic is therefore not possible and not even necessary, given the contribution that it has made and still makes to the emergence of a pneumatic/spiritual dimension of biblical interpretation as the Pentecostal contribution to other traditions. The conclusion is that although there are specific identifiable emphases in Pentecostal hermeneutic it does not qualify to be called distinctive, and that an ecumenical approach demands that the movement should function within the context of the wider Christian church and its history of reading and interpreting the Bible.
