Selected Essays And Book Reviews
Bible Truth 2: Legitimate Hermeneutics {343 words}
BT2: A number of New Testament scholars claim that Jesus and the New Testament writers borrowed both legitimate and illegitimate hermeneutical methods from their contemporaries.
a. How would you define an illegitimate hermeneutical method? An illegitimate hermeneutical method is trying to determine what a passage means to oneself rather than what the author was trying to communicate. Another illegitimate method is to ignore genre since the type of writing influences how a passage is interpreted. Legitimate hermeneutical methods cause one to consider the author's meaning, the context of the passage, the words that are used, the genre, the historical setting, and the theological doctrines that are involved. "General hermeneutics is the study of those rules that govern interpretation of the entire biblical text. Special hermeneutics is the study of those rules which govern the interpretation of specific literary forms, such as parables, types, and prophesy" [1].
b. Do you agree that Jesus and the New Testament writers borrowed illegitimate hermeneutical methods from their contemporaries? Why or why not? Matthew 5:21-48 may be six examples of bad hermeneutics on the part of Jesus' listeners. He amplifies their understanding about what it means to kill, to commit adultery, to get a divorce, to make an oath, to seek vengeance, and to love one's neighbor, and by so doing, He seems to be telling them that they have not interpreted Scriptures correctly.
c. What are the implications of the doctrine of inspiration for this question? What the author intended to say is inspired by the Holy Spirit and therefore trustworthy. What an individual thinks that a passage says is not inspired by the Holy Spirit and is therefore not trustworthy. People make mistakes, but the Holy Spirit does not.
d. What are the implications of your Christology for this question? If Jesus used illegitimate hermeneutical methods, then He was not and is not God.
Endnotes
1. Henry A. Virkler, Hermeneutics: Principles and Processes of Biblical Interpretation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2000), page 45.
Tom of Bethany
"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5:12)
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)
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