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On Bible Interpretation
I've been pondering this question lately. Does character have anything to do with bible interpretation? Or can one interpret the bible adequately and correctly utilizing the scientific method or sound principles of biblical interpretation and be a complete hypocrite? posted by John David Walt | at 3/18/2006 07:59:00 PM
Today...
2 Comments:
I think it's a yes and no question. You can understand the historical and literary context, you can do the necessary research from other scholars' work, and you can write it up in a very sound academic manner. There have been plenty of people with the ability to do that over the years. What you can't do is make it meaningful. It will not resonate. So, yes you can, but what is the point.
Character has everything to do with it. Without it, all you have is academic pondering, rhetorical speaking, and dry teaching. While the Bible is literature to be studied, it is moreover the LIVING word of God and thus cannot be merely "handled" like any other text...(side pet peeve, I can't stand it when preachers say, "According to the text" when speaking of the Bible...just say the Bible!). The word permeates the one studying it, unless there is a void of character, thus numbing the effect. People who study it know what it says and what it requires, if they have any character or integrity they allow the Word to shape and transform them; if not, then they justify it away with interpretative sleights of hand so it won't "touch" them.
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