Interpreting the Bible

In these early episodes I’ve been laying the groundwork for biblical interpretation in a way that, I trust, produces hope, strengthens faith, and shapes our lives with the love of Christ Jesus. Just this opening description of what I’m trying to do with this podcast exposes my bias. I’m a Christian who tries to be Christ-centered, but I struggle with fears, resentment, and ego like anyone else. I don’t pretend to have mastered a life of following Christ. I’m on a journey toward His perfect love. I have rough edges that need attention. I have baggage that gets in the way and wears me down. I’m human, learning to be that which God made me to be, His handiwork meant for good deeds that bring glory to God. I believe Jesus is the way to the life abundant. I believe Jesus is the savior of the world. I believe that knowing Jesus personally transforms my life in a way that makes me more hopeful, more kind, and more effective at bearing fruit for God that lasts. So when I read the Bible, I read with an expectation to encounter the presence of Jesus, who lives and reigns forever, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. I believe in the trinitarian understanding of God, that Jesus is God, and that The Holy Spirit is God, and that the God revealed to us in the Old Testament is the same God who sent Jesus, God’s only begotten, to wear our flesh, walk among us, and to show us the way to life. I believe Jesus died a sacrificial death, analogous to the sacrifice of lambs upon the temple altar, to cover our sins so that Holy God might dwell with us. The scandal of the gospels is that God chose to humble Godself in Jesus. He left the glory of heaven and became mortal. Jesus grew from infancy to adulthood, poor and loved. He was nurtured in the community of faith. He was gifted with scriptural knowledge, such that at age 12 he amazed the religious scholars at the temple. He left behind his home in Nazareth and began a traveling ministry. He called disciples to join Him, learn from Him, and to serve in ministry alongside Him. Jesus taught hope in the kingdom of God and of heaven. Jesus showed signs that the reign of God was at hand. By the lifegiving powers of the creator, Jesus miraculously healed the sick and infirm. He liberated souls held in spiritual bondage by evil spirits (demons). He miraculously fed a multitude, just like His Father fed the wandering Israelites in the desert with bread from heaven. The world changed because Christ lived and died. His followers died for spreading the message that Jesus rose from the dead and forever reigns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. They died proclaiming the risen Lord Jesus. Something tremendous happened when they met Jesus. I believe these things about Jesus because, like many who have lived this Christian life before, and those who now walk beside me, have met Jesus in personal and powerful ways, saving ways. You may not believe in Jesus. You may be searching for something. Most likely you’ve heard about the Bible and Christianity in a negative light. American Christianity perhaps deserves criticism. We’ve certainly failed at the mission of spreading the good news about Jesus. American Christianity has become inwardly focused and defensive in its posture toward the larger society in many ways. Comfortable Christianity is a completely different animal than the sort of passionate discipleship that helped change the world. A few examples of how Christianity changed the world for better include the value for all human life. Before Jesus human life was cheap. Only the very rich and powerful seemed to matter. The lives of the poor improved simply through the message of hope and the spiritual power of Christ improving the inner lives of those who believed. The role and status of women and children improved after Jesus. The Church taught that they too were valued members of God’s family, not men alone. While there are passages in the Bible that have been inappropriately used to marginalize women, and even abuse children (spare the rod, spoil the child), the early church exhibited an egalitarian community in which there was unity among a diverse membership. As Paul wrote, “There is no longer the old divisions, Jew and Greek, male or female, slave or free, rich or poor. All are one in Jesus Christ.” (Gal 3:28; Col 3:11) I would hope that you might come to trust my voice as a person who has a positive and lifegiving mission in mind when teaching through these podcasts. And should I say something that doesn’t seem right to you, I do hope you’ll message me that I might address it. MTPpodcast@gmail.com I say all this about my belief in Christ because He is the window through which I read scripture. My window is decorated with other things that shape my perceptions, my culture as one raised in rural Kentucky and Indiana, my passion for rock music and lyrics, my love for movies, especially Star Wars, and a bunch of cultural additions just living in America in the 20th and 21srt century. As a BoomXer, I share the values of the 60s hippies and the 70s punks as well as the excesses of the 1980s “Me Generation”. These values will surely surface and perhaps not in a way that connects with you. But I hope I share enough humanity with you that we can find common ground. And while you may not agree with everything I say, or evaluate life and the scriptures as I do, I trust that God will use this podcast for your benefit. The only benefit I seek is a means to share my thoughts on scripture and life in hope that is helps someone. For ultimately that’s why we are given talents, skills, abilities, and resources, to share them in the service of others. Let’s shift gears now and discuss biblical interpretation. I’ve owned up to my Jesus window shaping my reading, and my other influences. I will need to check these as I read. Reading the Old Testament, I need to recognize that Jews were writing their national journey with God through the eras. The story begins with the calling of Abraham from areas near Turkey and Northern Iraq to following the voice of the Lord to Canaan on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean. It ends with the nation of Israel recovering from the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and its temple, its subsequent exile, and restoration as a vassal state under the Persians. Later the Greeks will oppress Israel, which is inferred in the writings of Daniel. The once proud nation is humiliated and their religious leadership is passionately trying to steer the nation away from making the same mistakes as their forbears, namely idolatry and covenant unfaithfulness. The law of Moses was given in the wilderness at Mount Sinai by which the Israelites, God’s chosen nation, are to live. By the time Jesus appears, there is a leading sect of Jews called Pharisees which developed a system of laws to assure complete compliance to the covenant under Moses in any and every circumstance. The humiliation under Babylon, and the lessons learned in exile, looms large all throughout the Old Testament. Understanding this will help us to understand Jesus’ opponents, who wish to protect Israel’s poor from what they considered to be the lax view Jesus had toward the law. When it comes to interpreting scripture, scholarship relies upon two main sources, literary and historical insight. The literary-critical approach analyzes the type of literature. Are we reading a religio-historical narrative? Are we reading a letter, which is the literary type for most of the New Testament books? Are we reading poetry? Are we reading a collection of wise sayings? Are we reading mythology or factual history? Literary criticism analyzes the form by which the information is presented. What are the major themes in the body of work? How does it connect to the rest of the canon, the 66 books of the Protestant Bible? What is unique about the work? How is it similar to other writings inside and outside the Bible? In what language was it originally written? Are there insights to be gained by studying word usage in writings inside and outside the Bible? For instance, the Greek word agape, which is translated as love or charity in the English translations, was a word used primarily to refer to the worship or adoration of the Greek pantheon of gods. Agape is love for the gods. The authors of the New Testament, however, used the word to describe the love God showed the world in the sacrifice of Jesus. The literary-critical approach can give excellent insight into the meaning of the scripture. The task of the interpreter is to try and hear the original intent of the authors, not to read our preconceived ideas into the scripture. The historical-critical approach dates the writings, gives insight into the author and the historical context to which the author wrote the document. Who was the author’s audience? What was life like for them? Some clues are found with the scriptures themselves, but often historical analysis looks beyond the Bible for historically accurate information to fill in knowledge gaps. Much of what is written in the Bible assumes the audience already knows the world and the issues their world was facing. We are anywhere from 2000 to 4000 years removed from the events written about, not to mention the prehistory of Genesis 1-11. I draw upon sources like Bible dictionaries, encyclopedias, commentaries, and special sources like biblical atlases, and the like. For personal devotional purposes, there are two questions I always ask when reading the Bible. 1) What do I want to ask God about this scripture passage? 2) What is God asking of me through this scripture passage? The first question will lead my study. I may have words that I need to look at more closely with a good Bible dictionary. I tend to use the online tool the Blue Letter Bible. (https://www.blueletterbible.org/) The site has hyperlinks for words in the passage to bible dictionary articles to help me get insight into the original language. I didn’t study Greek or Hebrew, so I rely upon tools like the dictionary. I will find themes as I explore the passage. How do those themes help interpret the passage? I consider how other parts of the Bible might give understanding. This is the canonical approach. The Bible interprets itself (in most cases), if you are familiar with the entire collection of writings. After a deeper study of words in their original language, key to the passage, and literary themes like the main idea, I gain an understanding of what the scripture is saying to its original audience, but what is it saying to me? How am I hearing it in my personal circumstances? And What is God saying to me? This is what scholars call the hermeneutical move. It’s application of the interpretation to one’s life. Interpretation is hearing the word. Application is doing the word. Quite often application simply means gaining hope and letting go of despair. But other times it means a course correction in my life, if I am to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ. It often means the renewing of my mind, to think as God thinks, and not as the world has shaped me to think. Reading scripture will do that. The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2) Sometimes I need to change my behavior, as well as my thinking. Often a change in my inner life, my inner dialogue, is required before any change in behavior. Truly, my heart needs conversion from the ways of the world to the way of Christ, again and again. It’s like peeling an onion. The sanctifying work of the Spirit of God peels back layer upon layer of the worldly and the sinful to produce the true self. After completing my study and reflection it’s time for action. Making a plan to act in response to God’s leading through reading the scripture is important. The old adage applies here. Fail to plan is a plan to fail. Include an accountability partner. Tell at least one person your goal and plan for action. Ask them to pray for your success and to support you. By this work you will grow spiritually and morally and bear much fruit for God. I do hope this episode on interpretation methods has been helpful for you. If you have questions or comments, please email me at mythingthepoint@gmail.com Until next time, this is your Bible study partner Scott Tyring wishing you many happy adventures in your world and in the world of the Bible.