Thomas writes in the context of what he perceived to be a new movement toward change in understanding the exegetical and hermeneutical task. He notes a confusion and proposes to indicate a number of reasons for this confusion. He indicates new and conflicting definitions of what hermeneutics is and point out the roots of the new subjectivism and relativism.

This article looks at the theory of deconstructionism and its emphasis on subjectivism (the meaning rests with the reader) and the theory of authorial intention and its emphasis on objectivism (the meaning rests with the intentions of the author). The author disusses the impact these two theories have on hermeneutics, and proposes an alternative.