EVERYONE INTERPRETS

'Wrong interpretation is dangerous, and we must strive to avoid it. But lack of awareness that one is interpreting and that one interprets in community, within a tradition, is more dangerous. It is a danger to which evangelicals - with all their innovations and individualism - are particularly prone.'

Karen Swallow Prior, The Evangelical Imagination, p.255.

THE WHOLE BIBLE CONTEXT TO EVERY BIBLE VERSE

'It takes the whole Bible to read any part of the Bible.'
Eugene H Peterson, Eat this Book, p.48.

THE NEED FOR A LIMITED RANGE OF MEANINGS

'If a work of literature can mean anything to anyone then its's not very meaningful at all. But if a work of literature has a limited range of meaning that cannot be boiled down to a single idea, then it can be meaningful for many readers.'

Matthew Mullins, Enjoying the Bible: Literary Approaches to Loving the Scriptures, p.64.

HERMENEUTICS IS HALF-DRESSED?

The hermeneutical emperor is certainly not naked, but we might say he is not properly attired for a meeting with the word of the living God.'

Mark D Thompson, A Clear and Present Word, p.139.

THE NEED TO BE AWARE OF HOW WORD PLAY IS POWER PLAY

'Awareness of the way an authoritative text, or appeal to the clear meaning of an authoritative text, can be used to coerce or manipulate others adds a somber note to the practice of biblical interpretation. The Bible has been repeatedly misused in the interests of power over the past two thousand years. There have been sub-Christian understandings of biblical authority, which have led to torture, murder and forced conversions. The refrain "this is the word of the Lord" is meant to provoke thanksgiving, yet it can also be used as a weapon to bludgeon people into conformity, to shortcut the process of Christian persuasion. We cannot afford to close our eyes to our own history - even, perhaps, especially, evangelical history. Yet the answer is not to jettison the text or locate real authority elsewhere. This is the word of the Lord. It is his gift to us and by this means he rules his people. Believers seek to be shaped in thinking and behaviour by God's revelation of himself and his purposes. The problem is not with the word God has given, but with the use made of it by sinful men and women. Hard questions need to be asked about just whose interests are being served by our explanation of a particular biblical text. Are we prepared to have those interests challenged by the text? This does not mean surrendering at the first sign questions such as these are asked by those who oppose what we might be saying. After all, the claim that a particular interpretation is in reality a covert exercise of power may turn out to be itself a covert exercise of power. What it does mean is that we should be asking those questions of ourselves.'

Mark D Thompson, A Clear and Present Word, p.131.

HERBERT'S BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION

'The parson's method in handling of a text consists in two parts: first, a plain and evident declaration of the meaning of the texts; and secondly, some choice observations drawn out of the whole text as it lies entire and unbroken in the Scripture itself.' 

George Herbert, The Country Pastor, p.206. 

INTERPRETING TEXTS

'The standard for the kind of interpretation I have in mind is actually rather straightforward. When a teacher admires an author enough to teach his work, then it stands to reason that the teacher's initial objective ought to be framing a reading that the author would approve. The teacher, to begin with, represents the author. He analyses the text sympathetically, he treats the words with care and caution and with due respect. He works hard with the students to develop a vision of what the world is and how to live that rises from the author's work and that, ultimately, the author, were he present in the room, would endorse.'

Mark Edmunson, Why Teach? p.167.