WYC 2011: Alive Again!

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GYC West

Hermeneutics: Is There A Science to Interpreting Scripture?

Andy Im

The Presuppositions of Interpretation: What You Must Know Before You Read Scripture

Heavenly Father, we thank you so much once again.

We pray that you'd be with us and continue to be our instructor, our teacher, and lead us to truth.

All right, so we're gonna start off with something as simple as which translation, Bible translation, should you use?

And I'm not gonna make that decision for you, that's your decision and your prerogative.

I'm just going to provide some principles and some knowledge base so that you can make a better decision, a more informed decision on which translation to choose.

As a matter of fact, I think, hold on 1 second.

And there are some considerations that we need to factor in, in choosing a translation.

You're not going to read from the 1700th edition of the King James Version as you do Bible readings for your seven-year-old child, right?

Are you going to, is your purpose to delve deeply into a Bible study and so the question you want to ask is is which translation is best for whom or what what is the best translation for what, what purpose, or your audience, etc.

The second 1 factor is manuscript reliability and we're going to talk a little bit more about that once we get into the KJV discussion.

But does the translation utilize the most reliable findings of all the available Greek manuscripts?

And let me just go ahead and state right off the bat that many of the modern translations like your NASB or your ESV, the English Standard Version, the New American Standard Bible, when their text, the Greek text that they're drawing upon, is not necessarily just 1 manuscript.

We don't really have 1 manuscript that has everything, but they're drawing upon multiple Greek texts and these textual scholars, what they're doing is they're comparing and contrasting and they're attempting to have the most accurate, what they believe is the most accurate word or phrase etc that is most likely the original words of the original author.

Because as you know, we don't have the original documents of the original Bible writers.

So based on these, this eclectic, we call the eclectic Greek text, where they combine, write out a Greek Bible, but they combine their best readings or best assumptions on what is the best readings.

And They factor all those things and make a composite Greek Bible.

And based off this Greek Bible, you'll have modern English Bibles that use these texts and make an English Bible out of it.

And so when you look at a Bible, you want to look at manuscript, or 1 of the factors is manuscript reliability.

Does the translation utilize the most reliable findings of the available Greek manuscript?

We're going to talk about this in a little bit is it a paraphrase Bible and I'll let you know what those what that means you know in a little bit but you want to factor in the translation type.

Is it literal, word-for-word, or a paraphrase Bible?

Fourth 1 is translation readability, and that's something you also want to factor in.

Do you need a dictionary from the 1600s through the 1800s to understand the words?

These are some questions that you want to factor in as you choose a Bible.

So translation readability, and I say this, and by the way, The Bible that I'm most familiar with is the King James version of the Bible.

That's what I grew up reading Now today, it's not the only Bible that I use But it is is certainly still 1 of the Bibles that I use.

So when I address some, let's say, weaknesses of the KJV, I'm not attacking the KJV.

What I'm attempting to do is provide a balance because there are many who are involved in this movement to say that if you don't read the KJV or if you use another Bible, you can't be saved or you're going to be lost because it's not the true Bible.

And I would differ personally from that opinion.

And I do have, I think, some solid arguments in defense of that stance.

But Rick Way says this in terms of translation readability.

A significant problem with the KJV, of course, is the language.

People who did not grow up using the KJV have a hard time understanding it.

Some of its words are no longer in use and the antiquated forms of many words impede the understanding of the text.

So a lot of times you'll read a word, interpret it based on how that word is understood today when the meeting is completely different from the current interpretation or current definition I should say of that word.

So let's look a little bit about this this KJV only debate and once again what I do want to say is this and I'm qualifying here because I need to be very careful and be sensitive to where people are at.

And this is not an attack on those who have the KJV-only position.

That is not the point or purpose of this message or this seminar, but simply to try and broaden the discussion in an intelligent manner so that we can weigh all the pieces of evidence as we consider this thing.

So some considerations that we want to keep in mind.

The conservative position, because you and I, I consider myself a conservative, but just because the position is a conservative position doesn't necessarily mean that it's the correct position.

Even conservative positions need to be validated and tested by a thus saith the Lord.

And I think you and I would all agree with that.

The second consideration as we enter this discussion is that conspiracy theories, you can see the UFO right here, They abound in a plethora of areas.

But conspiracy theories should not be assumed as valid or true.

Keep in mind, Adventists are not the only ones who believe in conspiracy theories.

The reason why conspiracy theories are so interesting and the reason why it creates such a frenzy is because you never know what the truth really is.

So when you get around the dinner discussion, it's fun to just talk about what could be, what should be, what could have happened, and who that spy was behind the other bush that shot JFK.

And maybe there was someone on the building.

And maybe there were these workers implanted TNT in the World Trade Centers, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

None of it can actually be substantiated by hard evidence.

Although I don't really talk much about conspiracy theories, but that's something to keep in mind, that we are not the only ones who believe in them.

So Erasmus and the KJV, if we're going to enter this discussion we need to start with Erasmus and move forward from there.

Now he published the first printed Greek New Testament in the year 1516.

And by the way, let me just go ahead and move forward.

He relied on 6 manuscripts, a total of 6 manuscripts dating from the 11th to the 15th centuries.

And these manuscripts were incomplete as I'll show you later.

And by the way, we have, he annotated, he wrote notes on why he did some of the things that he did.

So we can actually go back and double check some of the reasons why he chose to put certain words in or what was his justification in using the Vulgate in 1 instance versus the Greek manuscripts that he had available, we can go back and double-check some of these things.

And we do know that the manuscripts that he had were incomplete.

He occasionally changed the Greek text based on the Latin Vulgate.

And I mentioned this, he annotated extensively, he received criticism for omitting 1 John 5, verses 7-8, that was found in the Vulgate, but not in his Greek manuscript.

And that's the verse that states, for there are 3 that bear witness in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these 3 are 1.

And there are 3 that bear witness on earth, the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and these 3 agree as 1.

So he was attacked for being an Arian, 1 who denies the the Godship of Jesus.

Later he did insert those verses in but he did mention that he didn't believe that they should be.

In 1522, I mentioned that, kind of jumping ahead of myself.

In 10 plus instances, the specific Greek wording found in Erasmus's book of Revelation is found nowhere else in any manuscript of any kind in the world that we know of.

Okay, so in 10 plus instances there's some Greek wording there that's only found in his Greek text.

The Textus Receptus, and this is his Greek text of the New Testament.

He says, the Textus Receptus reads, God shall take away his part out of the book of life.

No existing Greek manuscript of any family uses the wording, Book of Life.

As a matter of fact, all the other manuscripts use the words, Tree of Life.

The KJV, which uses the word Book of Life, which is not found in any single other Greek manuscript, or the Tree of Life, which is common to most of the other Greek manuscripts available to us.

Erasmus had access, as we later find, had access to only 1 Greek manuscript of Revelation.

And this Greek manuscript of Revelation did not include the last 6 verses.

So he translated the Vulgate text of Revelation back into Greek and therefore we get the Book of Life versus the tree of life.

So the comment is made by textual scholars like this.

Whoever considers the Textus Receptus, and that's his Greek Bible that he put together, to be the inspired original text of the New Testament has to believe that the original Greek text of the New Testament was unknown until the year 1560, because that's when he inserted those words, and must accept the Catholic priest and humanist Erasmus as an inspired writer of the New Testament.

So having said all that, let's look at some of the pros of the KJV-only stance.

And 1 of them is that the reformers used the textus receptus.

The ABC’s of Interpretation: Every Game Has Its Rules

Heavenly Father, we once again want to invite your presence to be with us, to continue to be our instructor, to continue to be our teacher, our leader, and our guide.

And we pray that you would reveal to us some of these practical instructions on interpreting scripture, the ABCs, if you will.

We thank you, Lord, and we ask this in your name.

So, we're going to look at this wonderful topic, the ABCs of interpretation and really how to study the Bible effectively and accurately, I should even say, and some correct assumptions that we need to have about scripture before we even get off the bed.

And that's the first 1 taken from Romans 15, verse 4.

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

So first thing we need to understand is that need to understand is that scripture was written for our learning for our instruction.

Also the second point found in first Corinthians chapter 10 verse 11 says this now all these now all these things and by the way he's describing, Paul is describing here the experience of the ancient Israelites during the time of Moses, et cetera.

He says this, now all these things happened to them as examples and they were written for our admonition upon whom the ends of ages have come.

And so their experience, the ancient Israelites, served as a type or an example of how we should or shouldn't live.

And so those are 2 things that we need to keep in mind as we read scripture.

Now, 2 components that we're gonna look at as we are seekers and desiring to interpret scripture correctly.

2 components we need to look at is the spiritual and the hermeneutical.

Both are components that assist us or aid us in interpreting scripture correctly.

We need to be spiritual, but we also need to understand some practical, the practical science of interpretation as well, dealing with hermeneutics.

And let me go ahead and jump to the spiritual in 1st Corinthians chapter 2 verse 14 the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned.

So if we want to understand scripture, which is a spiritual book, we need to become spiritual.

And then there's a hermeneutical component found in 1st Timothy 2 15 we already read this but let me just reiterate again real quick be diligent to present yourselves yourself approved to God a worker who does not need to be ashamed rightly rightly dividing the word of truth So we need to rightly divide the words of truth.

And that's the component of hermeneutics.

So let's look at the spiritual component and delve into that just a little bit more here.

Education page 189 says this, a true knowledge of the Bible can be gained only through the aid of the spirit by whom the word was given.

And So we need to understand that we need to depend on the Holy Spirit.

Also, another aspect of the spiritual component is that we need to be in harmony with God in order to derive a correct interpretation of Scripture.

The fifth volume of the Testimonies, page 705, says this, whenever men are not seeking in word and deed to be in harmony with God, then however learned they may be, they are liable to err in their understanding of Scripture.

So in our heart, in our lives, we need to be seeking conformity to the will of God and that will also aid us in Scripture interpretation.

Also the importance, to dovetail that, the importance of heart, of the heart, where our heart is with God.

Ellen White says the perception and appreciation of truth he said depends less upon the mind than upon the heart.

So you can have all the right hermeneutics, you can have all the right steps, and know the science of interpreting scripture like many scholars do.

But if your heart is not in the right place, you will still arrive at the wrong conclusions.

She goes on to say, truth must be received into the soul.

If truth could be submitted to the reason alone, pride would be no hindrance in the way of its reception.

But it is to be received through the work of grace in the heart, and its reception depends upon the renunciation of every sin that the Spirit of God reveals.

Man's advantages for obtaining a knowledge of the truth, however great these may be, will prove of no benefit to him unless the heart is open to receive the truth.

And there is a conscientious surrender of every habit and practice that is opposed to its principles." So again, the importance of the heart, Ellen White is instilling into, reiterating the importance of the heart in interpreting scripture and truth.

But There is some importance as well to having the right hermeneutics.

And I don't think that we should undermine that component.

And before we start with that, I want to define some of the terms.

It involves the branch of knowledge that deals with the interpretation or the meaning of scripture.

The branch of knowledge that deals with the interpretation or meaning of scripture.

So I'm going to be throwing some of these terms around.

The next term that we need to familiarize ourselves with is the word exegesis.

And for our intents and purposes, let's define it like this.

It's when we bring out of the text what is already there.

Finding the original historical meaning of a given text.

In other words, the intended, What did the scripture mean to the intended audience?

And of course, that's the goal of scripture interpretation.

Not to apply it, but to first obtain an exegetical interpretation of scripture.

Eisegesis occurs when we read into the text our own opinions, our ideas, or our faulty assumptions, or even our true assumptions.

So you may have, and we talked about this in our last meeting, you may have truth, but you may, and have this understanding of truth that you read into a text where it doesn't state it as such.

And so we need to make sure that we stray away from eisegesis.

So let's move forward here, now that we've defined those terms, and look at the principles, some of the principles of hermeneutics.

The first 1 we're going to be looking at is the fact that we need to ensure that we dig deep into scripture.

That's 1 principle, or 1 practical thing we need to ensure that we do.

The second principle of hermeneutics is to avoid eisegesis, reading into the text what's not there.

The third principle is we need to ensure that we are making use of exegesis and understanding how to go about doing that.

The fourth principle of hermeneutics is the understanding or the fact that we need to bridge the gap, bridge the gap, and I'm going to explain that shortly.

And 1 of the problems that we as Bible students do is we read the text and we jump straight to application and often come up with some erroneous or faulty interpretations of scripture.

Ellen White says this, She says, let the student take 1 verse, and I think this is a very, very practical thing that we need to do when we read scripture.

She says, let the student take 1 verse and concentrate the mind on ascertaining the thought that God has put into that verse for him, and then dwell upon the thought until it becomes his own.

1 passage thus studied, until its significance is clear, is of more value than the perusal of many chapters with no definite purpose in view and no positive instruction gained.

And so I think it'd be helpful if we dig deep into scripture and dwell upon it.

Ellen White says this, she says, if you search the scriptures to vindicate your own opinions, you will never, never reach the truth.

Then she goes on to say in Christ's object lessons, page 112, search in order to learn what the Lord says and not to vindicate your own opinion.

So, eisegesis occurs when we read into Scripture our own biases, our own opinions, and we need by God's grace to seek to avoid this.

Search in order to learn what the Lord says, Ellen White says.

So avoiding eisegitus, a practical way of trying to avoid this or attempting to avoid this is to double-check your proof text to understand the context of any given passage before you make any assumptions or conclusions about it.

And don't impose truth, even though it is true, such as something that you discovered in the writings of Ellen White upon scripture, have the text itself reveal truth.

So in other words, let me give you an example of this, like health message, which is, by the way, a truth.

But what I don't wanna do is say, you know what, because it's true, it must be in the Bible, and of course I believe it's in the Bible, but let me look for it in every single verse of scripture.

And when we start doing that, you come out with some very fantastic mental judo gymnastics, if you will.

And then when you start preaching this, people start begin to think that you've lost your rocker.

The first goal of interpretation is to determine the meaning that the text had for its original author and also the original audience, or the original recipients of that text.

And when you establish that first as your number 1 objective, then you can draw out applications that are consistent with the biblical passage.

And this is a vital, vital, important principle that I think we need to understand as Seventh-day Adventists.

Ellen White says this in Mount of Blessings, page 1.

And Ellen White also was 1 who practiced these principles of exegesis she says in Mount of Blessings page 1 understanding what the words of Jesus meant to those who heard them, the original audience.

In doing that, she says, we may discern in them a new vividness and beauty and may also gather for ourselves their deeper lessons.

The textbook definition of what exegesis is, is understanding what the scriptures would have meant or did mean to those who originally heard them.

1 of the components or 1 of the aspects that help us to do exegesis well is the understanding that we need to bridge the gap.

We need to bridge the gap and understand that the context, the historical context in which the Bible was written in drives the interpretation and more specifically, the correct interpretation of scripture.

And so, because we need to understand that there are many challenges to biblical interpretation, that there are many gaps that exist between the ancient world that took place thousands of years ago and our modern world today.

And I'm going to list some of those gaps.

Series

Hermeneutics: Is There A Science to Interpreting Scripture?

The Presuppositions of Interpretation: What You Must Know Before You Read Scripture

Transcript

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