Biblical hermeneutics

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Biblical Hermeneutics refers to methods of interpreting the Bible. Biblical hermeneutics

is part of the broader hermeneutical question, relating to the problem of how one is to
understand the Holy Scripture. By definition, this is a theological act, i.e., part of the
discourse of a faith-community. This does not mean that it is of no relevance to those who
do not consider themselves to be part of that community, but rather that it is an issue that
arises out of the particular needs of that community.

Therefore one ought to differentiate between Christian and Jewish Biblical hermeneutics:
although there is an overlap between the two (and some form of dialogue), since they
share part of their scriptures, they do arise out of different faith traditions and thus
developed their own notion of hermeneutics.

It must also be stressed that theological differences within these faith communities
preclude any 'definitive' statement on Biblical hermeneutics.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Christian Biblical hermeneutics

 o 1.1 Theological hermeneutics as traditional Christian Biblical exegesis
• 2 Techniques of hermeneutics
o 2.1 Roman Catholic principles of Hermeneutics
o 2.2 Trajectory Hermeneutics
• 3 See also
• 4 References
o 4.1 Further reading

• 5 External links

[edit] Christian Biblical hermeneutics

Until Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher, Biblical hermeneutics was usually seen as a
form of special hermeneutics (like legal hermeneutics): the status of Holy Scripture was
thought to necessitate a particular form of understanding and interpretation.

Since the days of Schleiermacher, however, it has become increasingly common, at least
in academia, to read Scripture just like any other writing, though precisely what that
means is not without dispute. Schleiermacher argued against a distinction between
'general' and 'special' hermeneutics, and for a general theory of hermeneutics applicable
to all texts, including the Bible.

Since Schleiermacher's days, the concept of 'hermeneutics' has acquired at least two
different (related but nevertheless distinct) meanings, both of which are in use today:
firstly, in the older sense, Biblical hermeneutics may be understood as the theological
principles of exegesis; in fact, it is often virtually synonymous with 'principles of biblical
interpretation', or methodology of Biblical exegesis.

Secondly, the more recent development is to understand the term 'Biblical hermeneutics'
as the broader philosophy, Linguistics, etc. underpinnings of interpretation - in other
words, the question is posed: "how is understanding possible?" The rationale of this
approach is that while Scripture is 'more than just an ordinary text', it is in the first
instance 'text', which human beings try to understand; in this sense, the principles of
understanding any text apply to the Bible as well (regardless of whatever other
specifically-theological principles one might want to consider in addition to that).

In this second sense, then, all aspects of philosophical, linguistic, etc. hermeneutics are
considered to be applicable to the Biblical texts as well. There are obvious examples of
this in the links between 20th century philosophy and Christian theology: for example,
Rudolf Bultmann's hermeneutical approach was strongly influenced by existentialism,
and in particular by the philosophy of Martin Heidegger; and since the 1970s, the
philosophical hermeneutics of Hans-Georg Gadamer have had a wide-ranging influence
on Biblical hermeneutics as developed by a wide range of Christian theologians. The
French-American philosopher Rene Girard follows a similar trail.
[edit] Theological hermeneutics as traditional Christian Biblical exegesis

This particular form of theological hermeneutics, especially within the mainstream, self-
declared 'orthodox' Protestant tradition, considers Christian Biblical hermeneutics in the
tradition of explication of the text, or exegesis, to deal with various principles that can be
applied to the study of Scripture. If it is axiomatic that the canon of Scripture must be an
organic whole, rather than an accumulation of disparate individual texts written and
edited in the course of history, then any interpretation that contradicts any other part of
scripture is not considered to be sound. Thus Biblical hermeneutics differs from
hermeneutics as generally understood. Within such traditional Protestant theology, such
formulae include [1]:

Theological Group of Principles:

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• The Election Principle

• The Historical-grammatical principle based on historical, socio-political,

geographical, cultural and linguistic / grammatical context

• The Dispensation Principle or The Chronometrical Principle

"During different periods of time, God has chosen to deal in a particular way with
man in respect to sin and man's responsibility."

• The Covenantal Principle

 "We differentiate between the various contracts that God has made with his
people; specifically their provisions, their parties and their purposes."

• The Ethnic Division Principle

"The word of truth is rightly divided in relation to the three classes which it treats,
i.e. Jews, Gentiles and the Church."

• The Breach Principle

Interpretation of a certain verse or passage in Scripture is aided by a consideration

of certain breaches, either breaches of promise or breaches of time.

• The Christo-Centric Principle

"The mind of deity is eternally centered in Christ. All angelic thought and
ministry are centered in Christ. All Satanic hatred and subtlety are centered at
Christ. All human hopes are, and human occupations should be, centered in
Christ. The whole material universe in creation is centered in Christ. The entire
written word is centered in Christ."

• The Moral Principle

• The Discriminational Principle

"We should divide the word of truth so as to make a distinction where God makes
a difference."

• The Predictive Principle

• The Application Principle

"An application of truth may be made only after the correct interpretation has
been made"

• The Principle of Human Willingness in Illumination

• The Context Principle

"God gives light upon a subject through either near or remote passages bearing
upon the same subject."

•
o Sub divided Context/Mention Principles:
• The First Mention Principle
 "God indicates in the first mention of a subject the truth with which that subject
stands connected in the mind of God."

• The Progressive Mention Principle

"God makes the revelation of any given truth increasingly clear as the word
proceeds to its consummation."

• The Comparative Mention Principle

• The Full Mention Principle or The Complete Mention Principle

"God declares his full mind upon any subject vital to our spiritual life."

• The Agreement Principle

"The truthfulness and faithfulness of God become the guarantee that he will not
set forth any passage in his word that contradicts any other passage."

• The Direct Statement Principle

"God says what he means and means what he says."

• The Gap Principle

"God, in the Jewish Scriptures, ignores certain periods of time, leaping over them
without comment."

• The Threefold Principle

"The word of God sets forth the truths of salvation in a three-fold way: past -
justification; present - sanctification/transformation; future -
glorification/consummation."

• The Repetition Principle

"God repeats some truth or subject already given, generally with the addition of
details not before given."

• The Synthetic Principle

• The Principle of Illustrative Mention
• The Double Reference Principle

Figures of Speech Group of Principles:

 • The Numerical Principle
• The Symbolic Principle
• The Typical Principle

"Certain people, events, objects and rituals found in the Old Testament may serve
as object lessons and pictures by which God teaches us of his grace and saving
power."

• The Parabolic Principle

• The Allegorical Principle

[edit] Techniques of hermeneutics

In the interpretation of a text, hermeneutics considers what language says, supposes,
doesn't say, and implies.

The process consists of several theories for best attaining the Scriptural author's intended
meaning(s), and below is a process taught by Henry A Virkler, in Hermeneutics:
Principles and Processes of Biblical Interpretation (1981):

1. Lexical-syntactical method-

This method looks at the words used and the way the words are used. Different
order of the sentence, the punctuation, the tense of the verse are all aspects that
are looked at in the lexical syntactical method. Here, lexicons and grammar aids
can help in extracting meaning from the text.

2. Historical/cultural method-

The history and culture surrounding the authors is important to understand to aid
in interpretation. For instance, understanding the Jewish sects of the Palestine and
the government that ruled Palestine in New Testament times increases
understanding of Scripture. And, understanding the connotations of positions such
as the High Priest and that of the tax collector helps us know what others thought
of the people holding these positions.

3. Contextual method-

A verse out of context can often be taken to mean something completely different
from the intention. This method focuses on the importance of looking at the
context of a verse in its chapter, book and even biblical context.

4. Theological method-

It is often said that a single verse usually does not a theology make. This is
because Scripture often touches on issues in several books. For instance, gifts of
 the Spirit are spoken about in Romans, Ephesians and 1 Corinthians. To take a
verse from Corinthians without taking into account other passages that deal with
the same topic can cause a poorer interpretation.

5. Special literary methods-

There are several special literary aspects to look at, but the overarching theme is
that each genre of Scripture has a different set of rules that applies to it. Of the
genres found in Scripture, there are: narratives, histories, prophecies, apocalyptic
writings, poetry, psalms and letters. In these, there are differing levels of allegory,
figurative language, metaphors, similes and literal language. For instance, the
apocalyptic writings and poetry have more figurative and allegorical language
than does the narrative or historical writing. These must be addressed, and the
genre recognized to gain a full understanding of the intended meaning.

[edit] Roman Catholic principles of Hermeneutics

The Catholic Encyclopedia lists a number of principles guiding Roman Catholic

hermeneutics in the article on Exegesis.

Historico-grammatical interpretation - The meaning of the literary expression of the

Bible is best learned by a thorough knowledge of the languages in which the original text
of Scripture was written, and by acquaintance with the Scriptural way of speaking,
including the various customs, laws, habits and national prejudices which influenced the
inspired writers as they composed their respective books. John Paul II said that: "A
second conclusion is that the very nature of biblical texts means that interpreting them
will require continued use of the historical-critical method, at least in its principal
procedures. The Bible, in effect, does not present itself as a direct revelation of timeless
truths but as the written testimony to a series of interventions in which God reveals
himself in human history. In a way that differs from tenets of other religions [such as
Islam, for instance], the message of the Bible is solidly grounded in history.[2]

Catholic interpretation - Because the Catholic Church is, according to Catholics, the
official custodian and interpreter of the Bible, Catholicism's teaching concerning the
Sacred Scriptures and their genuine sense must be the supreme guide of the commentator.
The Catholic commentator is bound to adhere to the interpretation of texts which the
Church has defined either expressly or implicitly. Since the same God is the author both
of the Sacred Books and of the doctrine committed to the Church, it is impossible that
any legitimate teaching can be at variance with the latter.

Reverence - Since the Bible is God's own book, its study must be begun and prosecuted
with a spirit of reverence and prayer.
Inerrancy - Since God is the principal Author of Sacred Scripture, it can contain no
error, no self-contradiction, nothing contrary to scientific or historical truth(when the
original authors intended historical or scientific truth to be portrayed). Minor
contradictions are due to copyist errors in the codex or the translation. Catholics believe
the Scripture is God's message put in words by men, which the imperfections this very
fact necessarily implies. That's why it becomes self-contradictory to hold biblical
interpretation to be 'historico-grammatical' and treat the Bible's own words -which aren't
but human- as error-free. Catholic hermeneutics strongly supports inerrancy when it
comes to principles but not, for example, when dealing with Evangelists' orthographic
mistakes. According to Pope John Paul II, "Addressing men and women, from the
beginnings of the Old Testament onward, God made use of all the possibilities of human
language, while at the same time accepting that his word be subject to the constraints
caused by the limitations of this language. Proper respect for inspired Scripture requires
undertaking all the labors necessary to gain a thorough grasp of its meaning[2]

Patristics - The Holy Fathers are of supreme authority whenever they all interpret in one
and the same manner any text of the Bible, as pertaining to the doctrine of faith or
morals; for their unanimity clearly evinces that such interpretation has come down from
the Apostles as a matter of Catholic faith.

[edit] Trajectory Hermeneutics

Trajectory hermeneutics' or redemptive-movement hermeneutics is a liberal teaching in

Postmodern Christianity that parts of the Bible can have progressive, different meanings
as a culture unfolds, advances, and matures.

One teaching under this view is that homosexuality was once a sin but has become
acceptable due to cultural changes and advances in understanding of psychology and the
social sciences. Proponents of Trajectory Hermeneutics may point to Romans 1:18-32 [1]
and explain that Paul has always been speaking to those who violate their sexual
orientation, those that go against their natural desire. But a homosexual's natural desire is
for the same sex, which is now defended as natural.

One proponent of trajectory hermeneutics is William J. Webb. In his book Slaves, Women
and Homosexuals, Webb says that the moral commands of the bible were, being a
significant improvement over the surrounding cultures, relevant to the Christians who
lived at that time, but possibly not for modern Christians. However, Webb's use of this
hermeneutic comes to the conclusion that homosexuality is a cross-cultural prohibition,
unlike the treatment of slaves and women.[3]

[edit] See also

• Allegorical interpretation
• Apologetics
• Biblical literalism
• Biblical studies
 • Deconstruction-and-religion
• Exegesis
• Formulary controversy concerning Jansenius' Augustinus in the 17th century
• Hermeneutics
• Historical-grammatical method
• Literary criticism
• Literary theory
• Postmodern Christianity
• Qura'nic hermeneutics
• Summary of Christian eschatological differences
• Table of books of Judeo-Christian Scripture
• Talmudical Hermeneutics

References
1. ^ This list of 'principles' in conservative evangelical hermeneutics appears to
derive from: Hartill, J E 1960. Principles of Biblical Hermeneutics. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan.
2. ^ a b Presented by the Pontifical Biblical Commission (1993-4-23). The
Interpretation of the Bible in the Church. Retrieved on 2007-5-21.
3. ^ Grudem, Wayne. Review of "A Redemptive-Movement Hermeneutic" and
"Gender Equality and Homosexuality" by William J. Webb. Council on Biblical
Manhood and Womanhood. Retrieved on 2007-10-06.

• Webb, William J. (2002). Slaves, Women and Homosexuals: Exploring the

Hermeneutics of Cultural Analysis. Authentic Media. ISBN 1842271865.

• Issues in Hermeneutics by Prof. Herman C. Hanko

• biblicalhermeneutics.net Offers links to more than 300 websites/texts relating to
Biblical hermeneutics
• Bibliology and Hermeneutics Course featuring audio and video resources from an
Evangelical perspective
• Basic Rules for New Testament Exegesis
• Rev.Dr. Jose Puthenveed ,"Psybible Interpretation of The Bible Passages through
tools of Psychology " A Website Interpreting Biblical passages ( Sunday Homlies)
using Psychlogy and Biblical scholarship, Website
• BiblicalStudies.org.uk Offers detailed bibliographies and numerous scholarly
articles on various aspects of biblical hermeneutics.