Interpretations of the scriptures

[mathinspiration]

How do you interpret the scriptures? I used to think that the Methodists were the ones who have the correct one but why some many different views of scriptures?

 

[hedrick]

There are differing views because (1) people come at it with different basic approaches, (2) people are influenced by their leaders and teachers, many of whom have idiosyncratic ideas.

On the basic approaches there are roughly three:
* Scripture is a record by people who experienced God and God's activity in history, but people are responsible, so it also reflects the backgrounds and beliefs of the authors (mainline Protestant)
* God is the author of Scripture. While it reflects the styles of the authors, God is directly responsible for its content. (conservative Protestant)
* Scripture comes out of the experience of the Church, so it can only be understood in the context of the Church. (Catholic)

Mainline Protestant interpretation tends to be controlled by historical scholarship, which looks carefully at what Scripture would have meant at the time it was written.

Catholic interpretation is controlled by the developing traditional of the Church.

Conservative Protestant interpretation, ideally, has its own methods, some of them historical, and some literary. In many cases it agrees with the other two, and there are fine conservative scholars.

But there's also a history of teachers coming up with new ideas that they believe are what Scripture teaches. There doesn't seem to be any clear way to stop this. So we have the Restoration movement, Pentecostalism, the Holiness movement, Dispensationalism, etc., and today all kinds of wacky web sites, all claiming that Scripture teaches just what they say.

 

[dreadnought]

How do you interpret the scriptures? I used to think that the Methodists were the ones who have the correct one but why some many different views of scriptures?

I think some or the problem is that some Christians are unwilling to discipline themselves in the way that the Scriptures instruct, so they let themselves believe that commandments are open to interpretation. On the other hand, the Lord does speak figuratively sometimes.

 

[hedrick]

To the OP: The United Methodist Church is a mainline church, but one with substantial body of conservative members, and also some contact with the broader Christian tradition. As such, Methodist writers typically mix all three of the major methods, with different writers giving different weights to them. As such, publications of the UMC, and commentaries that UMC pastors typically refer to, should be reasonable. The same is true of most of the "mainline" Protestant denominations.

Catholic Biblical scholarship these days is pretty close to mainline Protestant scholarship, so things published by mainstream Catholics tend to be reasonable as well. (There are, however, ultra-conservative Catholics that you'd want to say away from.)

 

[dreadnought]

To the OP: The United Methodist Church is a mainline church, but one with substantial body of conservative members, and also some contact with the broader Christian tradition. As such, Methodist writers typically mix all three of the major methods, with different writers giving different weights to them. As such, publications of the UMC, and commentaries that UMC pastors typically refer to, should be reasonable. The same is true of most of the "mainline" Protestant denominations.

Catholic Biblical scholarship these days is pretty close to mainline Protestant scholarship, so things published by mainstream Catholics tend to be reasonable as well. (There are, however, ultra-conservative Catholics that you'd want to say away from.)

And, I suspect, ultra-liberal United Methodists you should stay away from.

 

[1watchman]

How do you interpret the scriptures? I used to think that the Methodists were the ones who have the correct one but why some many different views of scriptures?

The short answer is that people like to have their own ideas. The intent of God is to follow Bible-only, and He expects we not be after every new version that men develop. One should be sure it is not one of the many new day variations of Scripture to please man. I know some Christians do not like the few old English words in the KJV, but the Book and message has been studied over 300-400 years and is found generally sound. Many thousands of readers have been blessed by it, and I am personally satisfied with it; and there are good study editions of the KJV (like the Scofield Reference Edition) which corrects and explains it of any failures ---which are minor, by men in their writings. Man at best will produce errors, for we are not perfect, but many years of study can show any significant mis-statements. I can provide some sound studies on that if one would like to write me personally.

There are many views by the "flesh" of men to have things their own way, so they invent and devise sects to meet their choices, etc. We need to hold what God is saying without the rationale of men, and a Bible-only fellowship is the best place to study, I see.[/QUOTE]

 

[Ron Gurley]

REF's:

How to Interpret the Bible | CARM.org

We need, as best as can be had, the guidance of (God) the Holy Spirit in interpreting God’s Word...

1.Who wrote/spoke the passage and to whom was it addressed?
2.What does the passage say?
3.Are there any words or phrases in the passage that need to be examined?
4.What is the immediate context?
5.What is the broader context in the chapter and book?
6.What are the related verses to the passage’s subject and how do they affect the understanding of this passage?
7.What is the historical and cultural background?
8.What do I conclude about the passage?
9.Do my conclusions agree or disagree with related areas of Scripture and others who have studied the passage?
10.What have I learned and what must I apply to my life?

SEE ALSO:

6. The Contextual Method Of Biblical Interpretation

Methods of interpreting the Bible

Biblical hermeneutics - Wikipedia

https://www.theopedia.com/interpretation-of-the-bible

How We Interpret the Bible: Principles for Understanding

Lesson 6: Principles of Biblical Interpretation