Basic Rules For Interpretation Of Written Text
#RAD
#ATEND
G-d (Christ) #IIC714
Basic
Rules For Interpretation Of Written Text
Before
we get too far, permit me to suggest from the outset, that… Point # VIII below
really should be, in many ways, POINT # ONE.
The remaining Points, I through VII, all represent our “western”, or
Greek (Hellenistic) based methodology of thinking. We respect, consider, give ourselves cause to
reflect on, something solely because our mind, our senses, sight, hearing smell
etc., support the proposed input. The
very concept of G-d requires stepping beyond the limitations, confines and
constraints of the intellect, is rooted in a more “eastern”, Hebrew way of thinking,
which is all about doing and demonstration.
And then we have the Christian / Messianic mindset - “…we go right on proclaiming Christ, the Crucified.
Jews treat this like an anti-miracle—and Greeks pass it off as absurd. But to
us who are personally called by God himself—both Jews and Greeks—Christ is
God’s ultimate miracle and wisdom all wrapped up in one.” I Corinthians
1:22 - 25, MSG Let go and let G-d.
Basic
Rules for interpretation of written text
The Eight Rules of Bible Interpretation[1]
I.
Definition
- What do the words plainly mean?
II.
Usage
- Who was the work written originally by, to and for?
III.
Context
- Are the words just isolated fragments, or parts of a whole?
IV.
Historical
background - Do we have, at least, a basic grasp or understanding of
history?
V.
Logic
- Does the interpretation make sense?
VI.
Inference
- Have we considered inferred “facts” within the confines, and context, of the
whole?
VII.
Genre
judgment - Do we know, can we recognize, what genre the text being read is
from?
VIII.
Dependence
upon the Holy Spirit - have we asked for, then simply trusted, G-d the Holy Ghost’s
input?
Further explanations
I.
Can
we say, with confidence, that we know what the words (both collectively, in any
given verse, and individually, as stand-alone words) mean? Textual interpretation(s) should be conscientiously
guided by the plain meaning of the words. “We
must not violate the known usage of a word and invent another for which there
is no precedent.”
II.
Understanding
the notions and cultural biases of the original authors, and audience, setting
aside our own pre-conceived biases.
III.
The
words read must be considered in view of, and in compliment with, the words
that A) - Come immediately before and after them in each verse; B) - Are within
the immediately preceding and subsequent paragraph(s); C) - Are within that
specific book. And finally, when
studying the Biblical text, wherein the text is not just from one Book, but
indeed from many Books (66 Canonical Books) D) - The context and meaning of the
words that make up the entirety of the
Bible must be considered, remembering that - “…interpretation
of a specific passage must not contradict the total teaching of Scripture on
[any] point. Individual verses do not exist as isolated fragments, but as parts
of a whole.”
IV.
Though
similar in a broad sense to # II above, Historical Background involves so much
more than a loose grasp of the culture of who the work written originally by,
to and for. Historical Background goes
to the very core of the historicity of the Biblical accounts. Many a nay-sayer, even skeptical Christians,
today question the reality of well established Biblical characters such as
kings Saul, David and Solomon. And we
live in a world that truly believes that - “If ten people question the
authenticity of, almost any claim about G-d (Christ) & the Holy Bible, the
very fact that ten people are skeptical is taken as virtual proof of
substance. Yet, even in the face of one
hundred well sourced citations to rebut the ten skeptics, the same said skeptic
will refuse to even consider ‘quantity of opinion’ {rightly so} as ‘proof of
anything’.”
V.
When
one interprets Scripture, the question of - “does the interpretation make
sense?” - needs to be approached outside of, and despite, age-old personally
held biases. It needs to be approached
solely on the basis of - does the interpretation of Scripture make sense - in
view of “A”, “B”, “C” and “D” from point “III” above? This question needs to be asked and separated
from the question of whether one believes in G-d, and taken solely on the basis
of – "does the interpretation make sense in view of what the Bible says as
a whole?” Yes or No… See point # VIII
above
Obviously, if one approaches any written content with
a rigidly fixed, pre-conceived, idea, everything they read, no matter how
compelling other inputs are, will always be couched with that originating
bias. This is true whether one looks at
the works of Darwin, Dawkins, Hawking or of Moses, Jeremiah, Matthew Paul and
Peter. The use of reason is obligatory. And I am not talking even about silly
dismissive biases, such as “well, that was written by _____, therefore it lacks
credibility, and many on both sides of the creation / evolution discussion do
just that. I am addressing deeper, more
foundational biases. For example,
proponents of both creation and evolution subscribe to many ideas of very
similar things: Commonality within DNA
for life, speciation, Pangaea, plate tectonics, erosion, causality and even
origins.
The single greatest difference between most any
evolutionary theory and creation theory, apart from the absence or active
presence and participation of G-d, is time.
The second greatest difference between most any evolutionary theory and
creation theory, apart from the absence or active presence and participation of
G-d, is Origin. Thus, we have, in
effect, two fundamental or foundational differences between evolutionary theory
and creation theory:
i.
Cause
– purposeless, unintelligent “Laws of Nature” or G-d (Christ)
ii.
Time
– unimaginably lengthy periods, billions of years, of time verses a relatively
short period, c.~ 6,000 years, and
iii.
Origins
– random, unplanned, fortunate good luck, or an Intelligent, loving and
Purposeful Designer, G-d (Christ), sparked life from non-life
VI.
An
inferred fact is a reasonably concluded view which has been arrived at by
reviewing the implication(s) of another fact or facts. It is a logical
consequence, derived from a conclusion about information given about another
fact or premise.
VII.
The
Biblical writers employed many methods and styles in the process of codifying
(writing down) their inspired messages.
“…even though the Bible contains a
variety of literary genres and many figures of speech, the biblical authors
most often employed literal statements to convey their ideas.” The language of the Bible does, yes, include
allegorical, figurative, parabolic, metaphorical, poetic and symbolic styles,
clearly. But the best way to approach
any text, Scripture, textbooks, encyclopædias, is to begin first with a direct,
straight forward literal take on the words used, unless clearly directed to do
otherwise, or unless the context points to a more allegorical, figurative, parabolic,
metaphorical, poetic or symbolic style for the text being read.
Again, Biblical Literalism, With Context
Scripture should always be taken literally, at
Face-Value, except in places where the text, context, writing style, etc., is
obviously analogous to an allegorical, figurative, parabolic, metaphoric,
poetic or symbolic style!
VIII.
Now,
to be clear, Dependence upon the Holy Ghost is not intended to be an excuse to
either discard, altogether or even in part, the 66 Books of Canon of G-d’s (Christ’s) Holy Word, the Bible. The very micro-second
we adopt the position that Biblical Canon is open, and not fixed, we open
ourselves, and the Scriptures themselves up, for problems. We open the Scriptures up for more
interpretations; more adding to and taking away from; more dismissing all of
them as allegorical, figurative, parabolic, metaphoric, poetic or symbolic;
than has there been humans who have lived and died in all of history. We open ourselves up criticism of
heresy. And we subject ourselves to believing
anything that anybody, anywhere, ever says about G-d and Scripture. It’s not wise.
That said, neither can we (nor should we) exclude
direct Holy Ghost inspiration. Scripture
promises us that “…the
Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the
truth there is.”
and “But you’ve seen
and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open
before you.”
- John 16:12-15 and I Corinthians 2:9-11 respectively, MSG Ultimately, “It
must also be kept in mind that the function of the Holy Spirit is not to
communicate to the minds of people any doctrine or meaning of Scripture that is
not contained already in Scripture itself.”
5 Steps to Understanding Any Biblical
Text: The Interpretive Journey from “Grasping God’s Word” [2]
I.
Grasping
the Text in Their Town
II.
Measuring
the Width of the River to Cross
III.
Crossing
the Principlizing Bridge
IV.
Consult
the Biblical Map
V.
Grasping
the Text in Our Town
“No Jesus, NO peace” and yet, “Know Jesus, KNOW peace”
How
does one get to “know” Jesus? Simple,
invite Him into your heart, as Jesus says: “Here I am! I stand at the door and
knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with
him, and he with me.” [Revelation
3:20 NIV] How can be assured that this Jesus stuff
means anything? Well because the Bible
tells us so, as the Apostle Paul wrote:
“If
you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that
God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart
that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess
your faith and are saved.” [Romans
10:9-10 NIV]
And
for those of you who say to me, I can’t be bothered reading the Bible, “it’s
confusing” or “it’s a waste of my time”, may I draw your attention to what the
Bible says about wisdom: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and
knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” [Proverbs 9:10 NIV]
If
nothing else, PLEASE read two chapters from the Bible – (don’t own one, sorry
NO excuse, if you’re reading this, you can access this: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%203:16&version=NIV) John 3 and John
14!
John
3:16 says: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
And
John 14:6 says: “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through me.”
Well
that’s it, that’s Da Bauz’s Take on, “Basic Rules For Interpretation Of Written
Text” – this 10th day of January 2018 © 2018, All Rights Reserved.
wr (Da Bauz, Christian Zionist “creationist” too!)
Just
sayin’...
Pray
for the peace of Jerusalem...
What
is #RAD? #RAD is:
R
epent of rejecting Christ
A
ccept Christ as your Lord
D
evelop your relationship with G-d
#RAD
your relationship with the Living Almighty God Himself as your personal Lord
and Saviour depends on it!
What
is #ATEND G-d (Christ)? Ask me!
What
is #IIC714?
II
2nd
C
hronicles
7:14
John
3:16, Revelation 3:20, Romans 10:9 -10, Revelation 21:27, II Corinthians 5:21
and I John 5:13 / John 20:31!
Shalom!
Cited or consulted
sources and resources
[1] – “The Eight
Rules of Bible Interpretation” - http://bit.ly/1DaeE9j
- Ecclesia . Org
[2] – “5 Steps
to Understanding Any Biblical Text” - http://bit.ly/2EtOrtu – Zondervan
Academic . com
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