Monday, March 5, 2018

Objectivity and Bible interpretation

Missionaries living in a remote village in the Amazon were beginning to learn the language and culture of the indigenous people that they hoped to reach with the gospel. As they began to develop friendships, there was one particular couple who caught their attention. From their Western perspective, this couple seemed to be “very much in love.” Unlike other married couples in the village, these two “love-birds” did everything together. The missionaries were quite confused when the village elders announced that they were going to have a “marriage counseling session” with this couple who seemed to be hopelessly in love. There was a reason that this couple seemed to be so “close” with one another. In reality, the two were extremely jealous and suspicious of each other. They didn’t dare let their spouse out of sight for fear of adultery. In this Amazonian culture, spouses typically do not “hang out” together as they go about their everyday routine. The missionaries came to the wrong conclusion because they viewed the indigenous people through their Western perspective. A proper grasp of the language and culture of the people helped them to avoid future mistakes as they progressed in their understanding.

Reading the Bible through the lens of our own cultural perspective can only result in drawing wrong conclusions. As students of God’s Word, we need some principles and guidelines that will help us obtain objectivity in our interpretation of Scripture.

When it comes to Bible interpretation context is king! Someone once said, “a text without a context is a pretext for a proof text.” Understanding the context of a passage in scripture is vital for obtaining an objective interpretation.

The method of literal, grammatical-historical interpretation is also important to obtain an objective understanding of the Biblical text. The goal of literal, grammatical-historical interpretation is to discern the author’s intended meaning. We can discover the author’s intended meaning by 1) piecing together the world that he lived in (historical interpretation); 2) studying the entire discourse (literary section) to obtain the context; and 3) considering the grammatical issues within the text.

We need to consciously separate the author’s meaning (interpretation) from the significance for today (application). We need to first ask, “What did the author mean?” Only after that question has been answered should we ask, “What does this mean to me?” Unfortunately, many people skip the first question and jump immediately to the second question.

These are some of the issues I address in the textbook on Issues in Bible Interpretation. This writing project has been a tremendous learning experience for me. I only have a few more chapters left to finish. I would appreciate your prayers as this project nears its completion.

In Christ,

Bob

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Christianity Stands or Falls with the Bible

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. (2 Tim. 3:16)

Christianity is based on a book. It centres in a Person. It expresses itself in a message. It authenticates itself in an experience.

That basic book is the Bible. That central Person is Jesus. That expressive message is the Gospel. That authenticating experience is the new birth.

Think here about that basic book. Christianity stands or falls with the Bible. It is no use saying, as the liberalists or modernists do, that so long as we have Jesus we do not need an infallibly inspired Bible.

Nay, all that we know authentically about the Lord Jesus we owe, and shall keep on owing, to the Bible. To say that so long as we have Jesus we do not need the Bible is about equal to saying that so long as we have the sunshine we don't need the sun.

I have said it many a time, and am surer of it than ever, that the life and death issue of Christianity is the inspiration and authority of the Bible.

If the Bible is uniquely and inerrantly inspired, then we have certainty; we may know real truth about God, about man, about origins, about morals, about the race's future, and about human destiny on the other side of the grave. But if the Bible is not the uniquely and inerrantly inspired Word of God, then (let us be blunt) we do not have certified truth about God, about man, about origins, about morals, about the race's future, or about human destiny in the hereafter: we are only groping.

If the Bible is provenly inspired by the divine Spirit, then Christian theology is truly a science, for by it we may truly "know". But if the Bible is anything less than provably inspired, then Christian theology instead of being "the queen of the sciences", is merely religious philosophy and human speculation.

—J. Sidlow Baxter