I you had a historical document in which there was controversy as to the meaning of certain passages a reasonable person would come to certain honest ways of discerning the meaning. Notice that I said a “reasonable” person. Unfortunately there are those that will refuse to be reasonable in any way.
When I come across a passage of scripture that needs study, I do the following ---
1. Study the section in its original language. I am not a Greek or Hebrew master, but I can use a few research books like Bible dictionaries, concordances and the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.
2. Derive understanding from within its context.
(this would include its immediate context and other places in the document where the subject is discussed.)
3. Understand the culture and geography in which it was written. Hebrew culture in which the Bible was written is much different then ours and that difference should be taken into consideration.
4. Consider who wrote it and to whom it was being written.
5. When finding seeming contradictions in the document do the following
A. Rely on the preponderance of the evidence . If you have two scriptures that seem to say one thing and 10 that say something different rely on the ten until the two can be properly understood.
B. Give more weight to clearer passages. Don’t base understandings on ambiguous scriptures alone when clear scriptures say something else.
Thee are the very basic ways in which to interpret both Biblical and other documents. Unfortunately there are those that insist on adding ones that have no reason to be included and taint the results.
For example –
Never start the search with a preconceived idea of the results and pay attention to only those “facts” that seem to validate the preconceived results.
Never assume that the historical traditions are always correct and need not be questioned.
When dealing with God’s word it is always important to know that His word has a purpose. That purpose is to make us more like Christ. When a researcher draws conclusions from his study it must always serve this purpose. If an interpretation works against God’s plan then it has to be wrong no matter how much “so – called” evidence is produced.
In addition if an interpretation calls into question the character of God or contradicts His nature/attributes, as CLEARLY stated in scripture, it must also be rejected.
There are of course many more detailed rules of interpretation, but these few are so widely ignored that it would change Christianity if even they were followed.
Do you all follow these rules when you study?
