Category: How We Interpret the Bible

[Part 9 in our series on Hermeneutics] In this last post on the hermeneutical process, I want to step outside of the textual/interpretive issues and look at a broader question: what is an essential doctrine (that all orthodox Christians must agree… →

[Part 8 in our series on Hermeneutics] In this series we started by looking at some micro-hermeneutical issues (what I call mechanical hermeneutics) and then moved on to macro-hermeneutics (big ideas, story, etc). Now, we are returning to mechanic… →

[Part 7 in our series on Hermeneutics] This past Monday in this series we talked about hinges and how Jesus is the central “hinge” of history and therefore interpretation of scripture. As a Christian, coming in with a posture of faith, committed t… →

[Part 6 in our series on Hermeneutics] There is a basic rule of Biblical hermeneutics that is important to remember: whatever the text may or may not mean today, its primary meaning must be for the original recipients. I believe that scripture spe… →

[Part 5 in our series on Hermeneutics] In our last post on hermeneutics we looked at the hermeneutical circle and the importance of interpreting the text within the overarching “big idea” of the biblical meta-narrative. This is a deductive approac… →

[Part 4 in our series on Hermeneutics] Previously we talked about the hermeneutical spiral — an inductive process for examining a passage, going from text to context. Today, I want to talk about the hemeneutical circle — a deductive approach tha… →

[Part 3 in our series on Hermeneutics] There are fundamentally two postures when it comes to hermeneutics. A posture of faith or a posture of skepticism. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, writing in the beginning of the 19th century, referring to poetry, s… →

[Part 2 in our series on Hermeneutics] Hermeneutics is the art (not science) of interpretation. There are a number of approaches and issues to consider in hermeneutics. These include deductive approaches, inductive approaches, micro-hermeneutics (… →

[Part 1 in our series on Hermeneutics] “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” “I don’t interpret the Bible… I just read it and believe it.” These kinds of statements are relatively common — and complete hogwash (to borrow a characterizat… →

During this new year one of the things I will be doing on this blog is exploring the Biblical issues around homosexuality. I know that this is dangerous proposition because most people don’t actually care what the text says — they care far more a… →