COURSEPACK FOR HERMENEUTICS
Coursepack
Table of Contents
A Postmodernist’s Creed / 3
Biblical Inerrancy Statements / 5
Lectio Divina (Holy Reading) / 8
Hermeneutics and the Meditative Use of Scripture: The Case for a Baptized Imagination / 10
The Bible: Why This Book? / 24
Why So Many Translations? / 36
The Holy Spirit and Hermeneutics / 45
A POSTMODERNIST’S CREED
“Nothing is certain.”
“Nobody knows anything for sure.”
“Everything ought to be doubted.”
“What is true for you may not be true for me.”
1. “Nothing is certain.”
¨ Is this statement certain?
a. If so, it contradicts itself, since one thing is certain: that nothing is certain.
b. If this statement isn’t certain, why is it stated in such certain terms?
• It’s wording doesn’t convey a sense of uncertainty about its truth. The postmodernist apparently is certain about this. See a.
c. Either way, I must conclude that this statement is false.
2. “Nobody knows anything for sure.”
¨ Can I know this for sure?
a. If I can know this for sure, then the statement contradicts itself.
b. If I can’t know this for sure, then why is it stated so surely, in such forceful, confident language?
• It seems as if the postmodernist believes this to be a certainty. See a.
c. Either way, I must conclude that this statement also is false.
3. “Everything ought to be doubted.”
¨ Does this include the statement, “Everything ought to be doubted?”
a. `If it does include the statement “Everything must be doubted,” then I must doubt that everything ought to be doubted.
• I will either end up rejecting the statement or accepting it.
¨ If I refuse to doubt the above statement, I will be creating a “DO NOT DOUBT!” box.
¨ If I decide to doubt the above statement,
– What criterion will I use to determine if the statement can survive my doubting process, and become a certainty?
• Choosing any criterion establishes something objective that cannot be doubted.
• This refutes the above statement.
4. “What’s true for you may not be true for me.”
¨ Obviously, this statement must apply to itself, as well as to all other truth claims.
– If so, then the above statement is true for you, but not necessarily for me.
– So, if it’s not true for me, then I must be open to the idea that some things that are true for you are also true for me.
• There must be a jointly held “truth box” we both can access.
• How we decide what belongs in it requires criteria we can both agree about.
• The criteria become some things that are both true for you and true for me, and for everyone.
– This means the statement above is false.
5. Self-referential Incoherence
¨ This occurs when a statement cannot be true if it is applied to itself.
¨ All four of the Postmodernist’s Creed truth claims are this way.
– The only way they can be true is if they are false.
– This results in a self-contradicting set of beliefs.
¨ The Law of Noncontradiction is essential to rationality.
– Therefore, the Postmodern Creed is irrational.
BIBLICAL INERRANCY STATEMENTS
SUMMARY STATEMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON BIBLICAL INERRANCY:
1. God, who is Himself Truth and speaks truth only, has inspired Holy Scripture in order thereby to reveal Himself to lost mankind through Jesus Christ as Creator and Lord, Redeemer and Judge. Holy Scripture is God's witness to Himself.
2. Holy Scripture, being God's own Word, written by men prepared and superintended by His Spirit, is of infallible divine authority in all matters upon which it touches: It is to be believed, as God's instruction, in all that it affirms; obeyed, as God's command, in all that it requires; embraced, as God's pledge, in all that it promises.
3. The Holy Spirit, Scripture's divine Author, both authenticates it to us by His inward witness and opens our minds to understand its meaning.
4. Being wholly and verbally God-given, Scripture is without error or fault in all its teaching, no less in what it states about God's acts in creation, about the events of world history, and about its own literary origins under God, that in its witness to God's saving grace in individual lives.
5. The authority of Scripture is inescapably impaired if this total divine inerrancy is in any way limited or disregarded, or made relative to a view of truth contrary to the Bible's own; and such lapses bring serious loss to both the individual and the Church.
-From "The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy," JETS 21/4 (December 1978) 289-296
THE REASONS TO BELIEVE ORGANIZATION STATEMENT[1]
We believe the Bible (the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments) is the Word of God, written. As a "God-breathed" revelation, it is thus verbally inspired and completely without error (historically, scientifically, morally, and spiritually) in its original writings. While God the Holy Spirit supernaturally superintended the writing of the Bible, that writing nevertheless reflects the words and literary styles of its individual human authors. Scripture reveals the being, nature, and character of God, the nature of God's creation, and especially His will for the salvation of human beings through Jesus Christ. The Bible is therefore our supreme and final authority in all matters that it addresses.
INERRANCY STATEMENT OF THE EVANGELICAL PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY:
"The Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety, is the Word of God written, and is therefore inerrant in the originals."
-From membership affirmation form, 3/15/97
TALBOT SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY[2]
"The Bible, consisting of all the books of the Old and New Testaments, is the Word of God, a supernaturally given revelation from God Himself, concerning Himself, His being, nature, character, will and purposes; and concerning man, his nature, need and duty and destiny. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are without error or misstatement in their moral and spiritual teaching and record of historical facts. They are without error or defect of any kind."
CONSERVATIVE BAPTIST ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES[3]
We affirm that the Bible, consisting of 66 canonical books, is the Word of God written without error in the original manuscripts.
We affirm, furthermore, that—
1. Moses wrote the Pentateuch (Genesis to Deuteronomy)
2. Adam and Eve are the first man and woman God created
3. The prophet Jonah is an historical person
4. Daniel the Prophet actually lived and wrote his prophecy during the times of Nebuchadnezzar and Darius
5. The Book of Isaiah in its entirety was written by the Prophet Isaiah who lived in the 8th century before Christ
6. The Gospels are authentic and accurate accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
Additional clarifications on the position presented to the delegates:
1. Although we affirm the hermeneutical necessity and value of biblical criticism, we find it objectionable that the most common conclusions espoused by some scholars run contrary to these which we list and consider indispensable to our position on biblical inerrancy.
2. This action implies that CBAP is prepared to make its cooperative efforts with individuals and institutions to be contingent upon this stance on the doctrine of the Bible. While we endorse teaching the depth and breadth of biblical criticism as academic freedom, we disapprove conclusions contrary to the particulars cited above as doctrinal infidelity.
GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE ASSEMBLIES OF GOD[4]
The Inerrancy Of Scripture
We believe the Bible is the Word of God written; it is the revelation of the truths of God conveyed by inspiration through His servants to us. As such, it is infallible and without error.
Implications Of Statement
1. We refer to original autographs. While the science of textual criticism assures us of a trustworthy text, inerrancy can be claimed only for the original writings (Jeremiah 36:2 [KJV/NIV]).
2. We conceive the Bible to be in actuality the very Word of God. The divine Author prompted the original thought in the mind of the writers (Amos 3:8 [KJV/NIV]); He then guided their choice of words to express such thoughts (Exodus 4:12,15 [KJV/NIV]); and, lastly, He illumines the mind of the reader of such words in a way that the reader potentially may comprehend the same truth as was originally in the mind of the writer (1 Corinthians 2:12; Ephesians 1:17,18 [KJV/NIV]). Thus, both thought and language are revelatory and inspired.
3. We understand inspiration to mean that special act of the Holy Spirit by which He guided the writers of the Scriptures. Such superintendency made full allowance for the divergent backgrounds, abilities, and personalities of the writers, and applies to all they wrote as it is found in the canon of Scripture.
4. We define inerrancy as meaning "exempt from error" and infallibility as a near synonym meaning "incapable of error, certain". If there is any difference in the shade of meaning between the two terms, inerrancy emphasizes the truthfulness of Scripture, while infallibility emphasizes the trustworthiness of Scripture. Such inerrancy and infallibility apply to all of Scripture and include both revelational inerrancy and factual inerrancy. It is truth (2 Samuel 7:28; Psalm 119:43,160; John 17:17,19; Colossians 1:5 [KJV/NIV]).
Lectio Divina (Holy Reading)[5]
Regular reading of the Bible extends the breadth of our familiarity with Scripture. In 'holy reading' we absorb the Word in depth.
· Spend a few minutes settling down and pray that your heart may be opened and receptive to the gift God knows you need today. Only the Breath, the Spirit of God, can bring the word to life. Let your own breathing become more deep-seated, gentler, from lower down, as you invite the Spirit to pray in you afresh.
· Begin reading at the place you have previously chosen, and read on very slowly indeed with an open mind. Don't study the text, just read it slowly, aloud if you find that helpful. This is the lectio, or reading.
· When a particular sentence or phrase or single word "lights up" or "rings a bell," seems striking or inviting, put the Bible down. Resist the temptation to go on, and do not start thinking up reasons why the phrase has claimed your attention. Here the reading stops and the meditation begins, the absorption through repetition.[6] So, for example, you might be reading the tenth chapter of John's gospel where Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd. As you come to verse 14, these words seem to have a special allure, "I know my own, and my own know me." This is the verse you now meditate with.
· Gently repeat this phrase or word again and again within the heart. Don't project them outward. Let the repetition be gentle and not mechanical. There is no need to conjure up any mental picture to accompany the words or to try to make yourself feel any particular emotion as you speak them. Resist the temptation to force particular lessons or meanings from the words. You know what the word means well enough; the repetition is to allow you to savour and relish them at an intuitive level. After some time you may find a longer sentence or phrase has shortened itself to a single word. Gradually allow yourself to be absorbed in the word. So, "Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you," might become distilled into the single word "peace" (John 20:21).
In time you will become aware of an impression that the words have made on you. They have evoked a particular feeling or attitude. When you have become aware of this there is no need to prolong the repetition. Now is the time for the praying of your response.
· Express to God in the simplest way the impression the words have made on you. You may want to thank God for the gift they convey, ask the questions they have stirred in you, put into words the longings and needs they have brought up. Keep it simple, praying spontaneously. Or you may want to respond by remaining in loving silence in the presence of God, appreciating the grace or attitude the word of scripture has instilled. Your prayer may move into contemplation, a simple being in Christ with God in which all you are aware of is that you are being attracted towards God like the needle of a compass finding the north.
· After some time you will not be able to sustain your spontaneous praying or state of loving awareness. Distractions set in. You may bring the prayer time to a close with thanksgiving or by reciting the Lord's Prayer. If you have time and opportunity, you may feel drawn to begin the process again by returning to the Scripture. Begin at the point where you left off and continue with the reading expecting to be touched again by another word.
A word about repeating the phrase. There should be nothing artificial and mechanically regular about it. The words of an ancient monk teaching about the "Jesus prayer," in which the name of Jesus is repeated many times, are helpful. The repetition "may be likened to the beating of wings by which a bird rises into the air. It must never be boring and forced, or hurried, or in the nature of flapping. It must be gentle, easy and - let us give to this word its deepest meaning - graceful. When the bird has reached the desired height it glides in its flight, and only beats its wings from time to time in order to stay in the air ... The repetition will only be resumed when other thoughts threaten to crowd out the thought of Jesus. Then the invocation will start again in order to gain fresh impetus."