Hermeneutics
	Hermeneutics is a careful method of Bible study that insures that the message God intended to communicate is accurately understood by man.  The Bible is not a simple book,  but a divine communication with humanity, using human authors to do the communicating.  The reason a scientific method of study like hermeneutics is necessary is because an infinite God who is a spirit knows everything about everything.  In trying to communicate to man, His creature who has only a limited amount of intuitive knowledge, He must use his eyes and ears, for that is the way man learns most things. The problem is further complicated because man speaks various languages; therefore, God must express His infinite concepts in one basic language of mankind.  Again, the words, idioms and customs have changed during the over thirty-five hundred years since He first began revealing His mind and will to man in a written record.  Therefore, there must be some accurate system devised to guarantee that what God said and so long ago is what present translations say and mean to modern man.  That accurate system is known as hermeneutics.  It is a logical, scholarly and trustworthy attempt to accurately assure that modern man understands the message God originally set out to communicate to him.  The following hermeneutic rules guide the careful students of all generations to "rightly divide the Word of Truth."
			Hermeneutic Rules
	1. Take the Bible Literally:  Much harm has been done by trying to spiritualize the Bible instead of taking it literally.  When a person writes you a letter you do not spiritualize its meaning, but you take it literally to heart.  The same is true of the Bible.  There are, however, some few passages in the scriptures that should be taken spiritually.  The question is, "How is the student to know which passages should be taken literally and which ones spiritually?"  The best answer I know is the Golden Rule of Interpretation designed by the late Bible scholar, Dr. David L. Cooper:  "When the plain sense of scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense, but take every word at its primary literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context clearly indicate otherwise." You'll rarely go wrong in Bible study if you first try to interpret a passage literally.  For example, when the Bible says "fire and brimstone fell out of heaven," it literally means fire and brimstone came down on the earth.  When, however, the Bible says the moon turned to blood or the Nile River turned to blood, as it did in the days of Moses,  it does not mean literally it turned to blood, but a blood-like color.  However, even in the case of the Nile River, it resulted in the death of fish.  A good rule to follow is try to interpret it literally.  If this is obviously not the case, then as a last resort try the spiritual interpretation. 2.  Keep it in Context:  It is always good to use scripture verses to prove a teaching or principle, but it is impotant not to lift a verse out of its context;  otherwise, as we have previously seen, instead of it being a prooftext, it becomes a pretext.. 3.  Watch for Idioms:  Every language has its idioms.  In fact, idioms are one of the most complex parts of language study.  For example, have you ever thought about the difficulty encountered by foreigners in learning English when they come  upon such common idioms as "saved by the skin of your teeth."  One of the things that complicates the use of idioms is that they change from one generation to another.  For example; if you ask a group of teenagers "how are you making out?" could cause quite a stir when you find that the term "making out" had changed its meaning since I was their age.  Usually a good Bible commentary will point out the idiomatic use of language and explain the meaning in the day in which it was written. 4.  Be Alert to the Figurative Use of Language:  When language is not used literally, the author will often resort to figures of speech.  We're used to that in english, and you are probably familiar with the five most common - metaphors, similes, analogy, hyperbole and personification.  We shall examine each of these briefly. (1)  Metaphors. A metaphor compares two things by identifying one with the other.  Usually one of the metaphors is easily recognized and is used to clarify the other that is not so easily understood.  It is the way we communicate from the known to the unknown.  For example, in Matthew 5:13 it states, "You are the salt of the earth;"  meaning just as salt is a flavoring influence in food, so Christians should be a flavoring influence morally in their society. It is the use of metaphors that has given rise to spiritualizing scripture because most metaphors are symbols.  The most important in all the scripture is one found in Luke 22:19-20, where Jesus took bread and said, "This is My body which is given for you;"  The bread was bread; it was not His body.  Obviously, it was a symbol of His body.  The same is said of the cup, when He said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood,"  We do not drink the blood of Christ when we partake of the grape juice; instead, we drink grape juice which symbolizes His blood.  To the careful reader trying to literalize the scripture, the use of metaphors is not really a problem because they are usually quite obvious. (2)  Similes.   A simile compares two things and usually the words "like" or "so" or "as" are used to introduce them.  For example, our Lord said in Matthew 10:16, "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves."  The obvious simile is in comparing Christians to sheep and false teachers to wolves.  This is a basic simile that is used in many places in the scripture.  Again, it is not difficult to recognize them. (3)  Analogy. An analogy is a comparison of two things wherein one explains the other.  Usually, an analogy is used as a type of reasoning.  For example, in 1 Corinthians 1:18, Paul said, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God." (4) Hyperbole. A hyperbole is a deliberate attempt to exaggerate for the purpose of attracting attention.  For example, in Matthew 7:3, our Lord said, "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?" Obviously, no man could have a plank in his eye, but the hyperbole calls attention through exaggeration to the tragic result of criticism. (5)  Anthropomorphism. This big word essentially means ascribing human characteristics to God.  The Bible teaches that God is a spirit and consequently does not have a body.  But it is impossible for man to understand a spirit.  Therefore, it was essential for God to use human body characteristics to describe Himself; thus we find the Lord's "ear" or the Lord's "voice" or the Lord's "hand."  God hears us and He  speaks to man and He sustains man, but He does not have eyes or hands or ears as we do.  But in His own divine way He accomplishes the same.  Therefore He uses the finite characteristics of man which man can easily understand to describe His infinite characteristics which otherwise man could not understand.  It is wrong, however, to infer as some have, that God has literal ears and hands like man.
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