5 Principles Of Good Hermeneutics (3)

     Now that we have established that Hermeneutics is a science that must follow rules in order to be considered valid, here are five principles of GOOD hermeneutics.

1) The Literal Principle
     The Bible is about real people, real history, and uses real (normal) language. It is not a metaphoric, symbolic list of mumbo jumbo. When the writer (namely God) wanted to communicate something, he said it. I like to say that if God is smart enough to know what He wants to say, He's smart enough to be able to make sure the message gets across.
     Going back to my previous post, keep in mind normal language does have NORMAL metaphorical language (e.g. she's as smart as a whip, it's a stone's throw away). But as the great Hal Lindsey once said,

If the plain sense makes perfect sense, seek no other sense, lest you end up with nonsense.

     If you torture the data long enough -- even the Bible -- it will confess to anything. The Literal Principle is to be take very seriously.

2) The Historical Principle
     Historical context is everything! Culture, geography, racial views, figures of speech, politics, problems, pressures, customs... All of these factors shape the lens through which we interpret scripture. For example, in America we have the phrase, "Benedict Arnold!" (coming from American History, it means a liar, backstabber or traitor). If a person who never learned American history heard the phrase not only would it mean nothing, it would be confusing. On another level, right after the Twin Towers in New York City fell to Muslim terrorists, how do you think the entire Muslim community was viewed by native New Yorkers?
     All of these issues are present in the Bible. What the author intended to communicate is the most important of all of these factors: understanding the culture is everything.

3) The Grammatical Principle
     The Bible was NOT written in English. Although some would like to argue otherwise, the BEST interpretation of the Bible must come from studying the original languages. This does not necessarily mean that one has to go to seminary and take four years of Greek and Hebrew (though that certainly helps!) but there are plenty of sources for the layperson to use and still have just as much understanding and access to the original languages (see my sidebar link to Blue Letter Bible.)
     The Language and Syntax of a text -- word studies and the syntactical construction -- are the brass tacks of understanding any language. When proper time is spent on understanding the actual words and phrases another level of meaning is revealed.

4) The Synthesis Principle
     Very simply: Scripture interprets Scripture. The Bible talks about itself all the time! The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge is a colossal cross-reference system to help you find the places where the Bible interprets itself.

5) The Practical Principle
     I'm not talking about application of scripture here. The question is, "What are the implications of this interpretation?" Does it make sense with the more clear, more easily understood passages? Most importantly, it is the Holy Spirit that illuminates Scripture so that it may be understood. If the scholar has not submitted himself to Christ Scripture CANNOT be understood.
     Read the whole chapter of 1Corinthians 2, but I'd like to focus on verse 14:

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

     Natural Man cannot understand the Bible because he does not have the Holy Spirit guiding his study.

     With these tools under your belt, hopefully, you're better prepared now to study the Bible in the fullness God desires for you. Something I like to do (I've tried to adopt it for everything) is to pray that in anything and everything that I may bring glory to God, and that He will guide me to know Him better. Since the Bible is God's mode of speaking to us, why not ask Him to help us understand it?

     One last thing: The smartest people in the world don't have everything memorized; they just know where to find it. Undertaking the study of anything (much less God) can seem overwhelming. Don't be afraid to ask for help or search for those who've been doing it longer than you have. They are usually the best sources of encouragement.