Principles of Interpretation - Hermeneutics

[Marilyn C]

28 minutes ago, Denadii said:

LOL  That's something I rarely do.  I usually keep to myself.   I'm glad I shared that with You though.

Well I do feel privileged and hope we can continue to share, though we might not agree on all topics. But we can listen and all learn from each other.

regards, Marilyn.

[Marilyn C]

On ‎16‎/‎09‎/‎2017 at 9:43 PM, shiloh357 said:

Hermeneutics are an objective set of rules that govern literary analysis and they work not only with Scripture, but any other literary document.  The Bible obeys the rules of literature and so we can easily apply those rules to how we read Scripture.

 

While most of these `rules` are for literary works and scripture there are some `rules` only for studying scripture.

1. All scripture is to reveal Christ, His character and His purposes.

2. Each part of scripture relates to the whole of scripture. (God is the author of all the books)

Marilyn.

[Denadii]

5 minutes ago, Marilyn C said:

While most of these `rules` are for literary works and scripture there are some `rules` only for studying scripture.

1. All scripture is to reveal Christ, His character and His purposes.

2. Each part of scripture relates to the whole of scripture. (God is the author of all the books)

Marilyn.

Ok  I do my research that way for my writing, but I think I would rather keep my present methods for Word  I totally trust the Holy Spirit to explain anything in such a way as I can understand.  I may miss it if I try to do it intellectually.  In fact, I probably will.

[Marilyn C]

10 minutes ago, Denadii said:

Ok  I do my research that way for my writing, but I think I would rather keep my present methods for Word  I totally trust the Holy Spirit to explain anything in such a way as I can understand.  I may miss it if I try to do it intellectually.  In fact, I probably will.

Hi again Denadii,

I think we both agree that `common sense` by the Holy Spirit is how we approach God`s word. I am also put off by those who like to use so-called intellectual phrases and not really just talking to the person. Now I do believe you use your God given intellect when you talk and when you read God`s word. I think you mean all those phrases people like to use but not speaking as Jesus did, in everyday language.

I believe God`s word is written for us to understand without man`s degrees, and so called letters, however I know there has been so much error over the centuries that it has clouded people`s understanding AND confidence to actually read God`s word themselves, without trying to make it mystical.

Marilyn.

[Denadii]

1 minute ago, Marilyn C said:

Hi again Denadii,

I think we both agree that `common sense` by the Holy Spirit is how we approach God`s word. I am also put off by those who like to use so-called intellectual phrases and not really just talking to the person. Now I do believe you use your God given intellect when you talk and when you read God`s word. I think you mean all those phrases people like to use but not speaking as Jesus did, in everyday language.

I believe God`s word is written for us to understand without man`s degrees, and so called letters, however I know there has been so much error over the centuries that it has clouded people`s understanding AND confidence to actually read God`s word themselves, without trying to make it mystical.

Marilyn.

LOL  I think they use all those fancy words to make people think they know more than they do, or to make themselves sound more plausible.  My Lady, my daughter and I all are word weavers.  Our vocabulary is large.  Still, I don't know, nor am I interested in most of those big words these kids use.  LOL  Having a large vocabulary myself, I'm not impressed by their use of 'ten dollar words' 

[Denadii]

1 minute ago, Denadii said:

LOL  I think they use all those fancy words to make people think they know more than they do, or to make themselves sound more plausible.  My Lady, my daughter and I all are word weavers.  Our vocabulary is large.  Still, I don't know, nor am I interested in most of those big words these kids use.  LOL  Having a large vocabulary myself, I'm not impressed by their use of 'ten dollar words' 

LOLOL   Their use of big words makes me remember this old nursery rhyme.

Scintillate, scintillate, globule vivific

Fain would I fathom thy nature specific

Loftily poised above the capacious,

Closest resembling a gem carbonaceous.

[Omegaman 3.0]

It is a good topic Marilyn!

The principles I try to adhere to, are enumerated here,

and might explain how we come to some different conclusions.

I was never "taught" to do anything exegetically, I just adopted principles here and there, some are well tried, true and accepted by many, I embraced the ones that seemed best to me. Ultimately, it is our responsibility, to decide for ourselves, how we should go about understanding the Bible. Some do it using emotion. Some do that, and claim it is the Holy Spirit leading them, For some, that might even be true. One thing seems certain to me though, if there is a 'method' to apply, not all methods are equal, not more than one, can be correct, perhaps none are.

I have to trust God to give me the discernment and the intelligence, to get from His word what He wants me to get, and if I get that wrong, it is my fault, not His. 

In any case, we need to:

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15

[Guest shiloh357]

4 hours ago, Marilyn C said:

While most of these `rules` are for literary works and scripture there are some `rules` only for studying scripture.

1. All scripture is to reveal Christ, His character and His purposes.

2. Each part of scripture relates to the whole of scripture. (God is the author of all the books)

Marilyn.

Those are not rules of interpretation, per se.

It is only through the rules of hermeneutics that we can arrive at a proper application of what you note above.  Those two items occur at the end of the process.

[GandalfTheWise]

Here is one book I'd recommend for anyone to read.   I first read it back in early 1980s when it first came out (and still have my original copy).  It's a very good introduction to learning to interpret scripture from a historical standpoint.  What this book is great for is learning to answer the question, "What did this mean to the original hearers of the message?".  For a time, I used this method exclusively, but then eventually realized it is a major part of good study but not all of it.

"How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth" by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart.  I just noticed it's on a 4th edition.  

The reality is that every time anyone of us quotes a Bible passage and says "this is what it means" or "this is how we should apply it", we are taking upon ourselves the role of interpreter and spokesperson for God.  Furthermore, we are taking a tremendous spiritual responsibility upon ourselves if in this role we determine who is and who is not pleasing to God by whether they match up or not with our interpretation.  We need to be extremely careful that we are NOT just expressing our own opinion (or the opinion of our denomination or church) as being equivalent to the authority of scripture.

If I say Matt 5:29 (If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.) is NOT meant to be taken literally, I am taking upon myself the role of interpreter.  I am telling someone addicted to pornography NOT to take this verse literally as a means of stopping the sin.  This is a case where all Christians would agree NOT to take scripture literally.

If I say Matt 28:19 ( Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...) means baptism the way MY church practices it (and that all other methods are at best ineffectual and at worst a spiritual perversion), I have become an interpreter and enforcer of my interpretation.  (But that's okay because my church is right and the others are wrong.  )  This is a case where there are extremely passionate opinions where some Christians feel it is the proper spiritual thing to do to have nothing to do with people who have different opinions about it.

If I choose sides on what a particular verse means and use that choice as a standard of determining if someone is "in error", "not pleasing to God", "under a curse", etc., I had better be sure of two things.  First, I'd better be sure that I'm on the right side and that I indeed am taking God's view of it.  Second, I'd better be sure that this is as important to God as it is to me.

I first became acutely aware of this when I was involved in a church plant with an inexperienced pastor.  In our initial planning meetings and small group meetings,  I came to observe that he would not tolerate any questions when he said something.  If anyone questioned him about a particular verse or anything or expressed a contrary opinion, his response was "well that's what the Bible says.  Don't you believe the Bible?"   As I quickly came to see, this was not wisdom, learning, and great discernment, but rather it was arrogance, insecurity, and stubbornness.  His Bible study lessons and teaching were often full of conjectures and peripheral issues that few Christians would all agree on.  The "discussions" were not discussions.  Basically, anyone who did not toe the doctrinal line in each and every detail he held "didn't believe the Bible".  My family and I were the first ones out the door.  Within about a year, all of the original people involved (except for the pastor) had left as well.

In my opinion, we all need to examine ourselves very carefully that we are both 1. rightly interpreting scripture and that 2. we are rightly enforcing it in the way God would (or would not) want us to.

 

 

 

 

[Willa]

Our pastor gives a teaching sermon.  He gives the historical background when he introduces a book.  He also tells us about the prevailing culture and conflicts of the time.  So as he starts expounding a passage verse by verse, these things are occasionally referred to.  We also study related verses and passages, believing the Scripture interprets Scripture.   When he studies for a sermon/teaching, he outlines the book.  But when he has done all that, he powerfully tells us how this passage affects us today. So he is also an exhorter.  All this is done calmly but with the authority and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  It never fails to keep me on the edge of my seat, often taking notes and undersigning in my bible.  

He has a great deal of compassion for sinners and always counsels using Scripture.  We have a high rate of adults being saved and discipled as a result.  

While he is a stickler on good hermeneutics, he relies on the guidance and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit especially for application.  Then he refers to respected commentators and apologists to be sure he his not off track.  So he includes the best of both worlds and thereby avoids heresy and brings it home to our lives in a powerful way as well.