Love this quote from Fee and Stuarts book, How to Read the Bible for all its Worth (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004): We must establish a basic rule of interpreting the Bible on the premise that a text cannot mean what it never could have meant to its author or their readers. This is why exegesis must come first. This rule does not always help one find out what a text means, but it does help to set limits as to what it CANNOT mean (74). Good and proper hermeneutics isnt about putting our present culture, denominational views and presuppositions INTO a biblical text and then interpreting it that way, but drawing OUT of the text what the author intended, why he wrote it, to whom it was originally written and how they would have received and understood it. While there certainly can be longlasting and important principles to be derived from these ancient texts, and while there are some few similarities between 1st- and 21st-century cultures (one thinks of the inherent problems with sin and need for salvation as being timeless and universal), it is still paramount that we see the BIble for exactly what it is: a collection of divinely inspired writings primarily to an ancient people in their particular setting and time with timeless truths that reach to our present generation. Heres to learning how to read the Bible--the greatest Book ever published by finite human beings--for all its worth!
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 12:50:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015