How to remain sensible in debate

[enoob57]

I've noticed that emotions play a big part in escalation of negative response... For me it is not winning debate but only the delivery of the Truth of God's Word. It is God Who then has won no matter the opinion of man! If the hermeneutic process is followed so by the written structure of God's Word as by what is written should also be what is said... God keeps His Word we only proclaim it... We all have weaknesses by flesh in perfect response but I believe if the proper motivation is "thus sayeth The Lord' the direction will not turn to desperation to prove point! 

Edited October 31, 2018 by enoob57

[Sower]

24 minutes ago, enoob57 said:

If the hermeneutic process is followed

What would be a sound definition of a biblical hermeneutic process? May enlighten our group, myself included. Could help from being misunderstood, or misunderstanding someone, if both use this process?
Good thread. Needed.

[enoob57]

[JustJoe1980]

1 hour ago, Gary Lee said:

What would be a sound definition of a biblical hermeneutic process? May enlighten our group, myself included. Could help from being misunderstood, or misunderstanding someone, if both use this process?
Good thread. Needed.

I kind of feel I'm not the best qualified to interject about this so later on tonight I will turn the scripture and read the Bible as I seek answers too hard questions like this because it's a challenge for looking  for good Biblical quote on the subject at hand

[Sower]

35 minutes ago, enoob57 said:

Whew!!!
OK. Well, I think I'm going to need "a little help from my friends."
Would there be a more 'lay person' friendly version?

[Willa]

Enoob, I agree to a large extent.  However I have heard too many times that a passage was written to the Jews so it does not apply to us.  It has been used as an excuse.  The problem is that the same principle usually applies to us as well.  That being said,  context should never be ignored.  And you have to understand some basic grammar to understand a paragraph correctly.  I have seen verses twisted because they couldn't understand that words modified the subject and not another word.  

Got Questions says it very well:

Question: "What is biblical hermeneutics?"

Answer: Biblical hermeneutics is the study of the principles and methods of interpreting the text of the Bible. Second Timothy 2:15 commands believers to be involved in hermeneutics: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who . . . correctly handles the word of truth.” The purpose of biblical hermeneutics is to help us to know how to properly interpret, understand, and apply the Bible.

The most important law of biblical hermeneutics is that the Bible should be interpreted literally. We are to understand the Bible in its normal or plain meaning, unless the passage is obviously intended to be symbolic or if figures of speech are employed. The Bible says what it means and means what it says. For example, when Jesus speaks of having fed “the five thousand” in Mark 8:19, the law of hermeneutics says we should understand five thousand literally—there was a crowd of hungry people that numbered five thousand who were fed with real bread and fish by a miracle-working Savior. Any attempt to “spiritualize” the number or to deny a literal miracle is to do injustice to the text and ignore the purpose of language, which is to communicate. Some interpreters make the mistake of trying to read between the lines of Scripture to come up with esoteric meanings that are not truly in the text, as if every passage has a hidden spiritual truth that we should seek to decrypt. Biblical hermeneutics keeps us faithful to the intended meaning of Scripture and away from allegorizing Bible verses that should be understood literally.

A second crucial law of biblical hermeneutics is that passages must be interpreted historically, grammatically, and contextually. Interpreting a passage historically means we must seek to understand the culture, background, and situation that prompted the text. For example, in order to fully understand Jonah’s flight in Jonah 1:1–3, we should research the history of the Assyrians as related to Israel. Interpreting a passage grammatically requires one to follow the rules of grammar and recognize the nuances of Hebrew and Greek. For example, when Paul writes of “our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” in Titus 2:13, the rules of grammar state that God and Savior are parallel terms and they are both in apposition to Jesus Christ—in other words, Paul clearly calls Jesus “our great God.” Interpreting a passage contextually involves considering the context of a verse or passage when trying to determine the meaning. The context includes the verses immediately preceding and following, the chapter, the book, and, most broadly, the entire Bible. For example, many puzzling statements in Ecclesiastes become clearer when kept in context—the book of Ecclesiastes is written from the earthly perspective “under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:3). In fact, the phrase under the sun is repeated about thirty times in the book, establishing the context for all that is “vanity” in this world.

A third law of biblical hermeneutics is that Scripture is always the best interpreter of Scripture. For this reason, we always compare Scripture with Scripture when trying to determine the meaning of a passage. For example, Isaiah’s condemnation of Judah’s desire to seek Egypt’s help and their reliance on a strong cavalry (Isaiah 31:1) was motivated, in part, by God’s explicit command that His people not go to Egypt to seek horses (Deuteronomy 17:16).

Some people avoid studying biblical hermeneutics because they mistakenly believe it will limit their ability to learn new truths from God’s Word or stifle the Holy Spirit’s illumination of Scripture. But their fears are unfounded. Biblical hermeneutics is all about finding the correct interpretation of the inspired text. The purpose of biblical hermeneutics is to protect us from misapplying Scripture or allowing bias to color our understanding of truth. God’s Word is truth (John 17:17). We want to see the truth, know the truth, and live the truth as best we can, and that’s why biblical hermeneutics is vital.

Recommended Resource: Basic Bible Interpretation by Roy Zuck

[enoob57]

@Willa I agree fully with your assessment... manipulation of text can come from literally any angle! We know the ultimate teacher is God Himself in The Person of The Holy Spirit but because God has told us to test The s_Spirits … we know the objective source whereby God instructs is the Word of God. That objectivity is One God, One source, One conclusion/truth and the heart that burns to know The Lord and His Will no matter the difficulty will do the work necessary to gain it … it is the obedience that God sees our love toward Him.

[frienduff thaylorde]

3 hours ago, Gary Lee said:

What would be a sound definition of a biblical hermeneutic process? May enlighten our group, myself included. Could help from being misunderstood, or misunderstanding someone, if both use this process?
Good thread. Needed.

Well you loved gary ,  but here is a simple truth any child of GOD can love , adore , wear ,     its a promise ,  from one who Lies NOT but is absolute truth .

WORRY not what you shall say ,     FOR I WILL GIVE YOU A MOUTH .       YEP , just rely , trust , adore and wear every promise of the LORD , and just speak as the SPIRIT leads .

NOW HOW BOUT A DEEP AND HEARTY PRAISE TO GOD .    Go on , GARY ,  you know you want to leap up and PRAISE the LORD . 

[enoob57]

1 hour ago, Gary Lee said:

Whew!!!
OK. Well, I think I'm going to need "a little help from my friends."
Would there be a more 'lay person' friendly version?

Do not let the whole picture dissuade you from the begin... that which is in the circle is the basic necessity which is literary analysis that without is contextualizing and proper application to all times and peoples -thus sayeth The Lord realizing that everything that is acquired is to be transported into a new reality totally unlike everything we have known... The proper exegesis will literally keep us from loving the world we have began in and the things that are within it  

 

Edited October 31, 2018 by enoob57

[Guest Butero]

Hermeneutics is a pagan system of interpreting literature, named after the idol god Hermes.  Don't use pagan methods to interpret the Bible.  It leads to serious error!