Trusting another's interpretation of the Bible

[Datak]

Inasmuch as in this age we have access to the bible in our language and the ability to read it for ourselves, we often don't need another to tell us what it means.

What about when we do need the help of someone with more authority than ourselves?
Who do/should you consider trustworthy, and what makes you trust them as an interpreter?

To clarify, I am not looking for a personal story about how you came to trust an individual's answers. I want to know who all is qualified (can be in varying degrees) to give the answers you seek.

Thank you kindly,

Datak

 

[LionL]

No-one is qualified. Read it yourself and see what it means to you.

For centuries people were told by their 'betters' what it meant and that is how religion came to be. People who read the Bible differently were called 'heretics' and burned alive.

Free thought is a wonderful thing.

 

[Soul2Soul]

Inasmuch as in this age we have access to the bible in our language and the ability to read it for ourselves, we often don't need another to tell us what it means.

What about when we do need the help of someone with more authority than ourselves?
Who do/should you consider trustworthy, and what makes you trust them as an interpreter?

To clarify, I am not looking for a personal story about how you came to trust an individual's answers. I want to know who all is qualified (can be in varying degrees) to give the answers you seek.

Thank you kindly,

Datak

Well my view is that there are many biblical scholars etc that can be referenced - however each one of them has their own interpretation(s) of what scripture is teaching about any particular doctrine, message etc.

Claiming authority by or on behalf of any one of them is contentious IMO, especially when it comes to the doctrine of salvation ...... establishing who is "right" will only be revealed on The Day; however each one of us (Christian) is to correctly divide the Holy Scriptures which are able to make us wise for salvation through our faith in Christ Jesus.

I believe it is worthwhile comparing the various views held by these people and examining the scriptures yourself to determine what you would then consider to be in line with what you understand the bible is revealing to you.

God will make it clear to you.

 

[MKJ]

Inasmuch as in this age we have access to the bible in our language and the ability to read it for ourselves, we often don't need another to tell us what it means.

What about when we do need the help of someone with more authority than ourselves?
Who do/should you consider trustworthy, and what makes you trust them as an interpreter?

To clarify, I am not looking for a personal story about how you came to trust an individual's answers. I want to know who all is qualified (can be in varying degrees) to give the answers you seek.

Thank you kindly,

Datak

Well, historically it was never the case until quite recently that people thought an individual could just look at the Bible himself and figure out what it means. That isn't to say that was not possible at all - plenty of things are self-explanatory or uncomplicated, and you aren't going to get a lot of questions coming up about what it means.

But once you are looking at more difficult passages, or deeper questions, the way it was always understood was that it was the consensus of the community that could give us answers. Sometimes very specific ones, sometimes a range of acceptable ones, sometimes just pointing out which answers were not acceptable.

You can see this at work in the councils of the early Church. When a question came up and the answer was not immediately obvious, the bishops, who were those given authority to teach, gathered, and come to some kind of resolution.

The same kind of process goes on today, although since so much time has gone by, there may now be fewer really new questions. Chances are, questions about the Bible have already been addresses, at least in a way that will give some direction.

So, you can look at the accepted writings of theologians and other people within the Church - these have been deemed acceptable answers, if not the only possible answers, by the Church community. You can look at the decisions of bishops and councils in the past. You can look at other ways the Church has expressed its thinking - through art, hymns and prayers, liturgical services.

You can also go to the leaders in your own community - in a well run community, these people should be teaching the consensus of the faith and be accountable to do so, both to those above them, and those below them. They may well have some kind of qualification or theological training so that they have the breadth of knowledge to know what the teaching on the question has been.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Inasmuch as in this age we have access to the bible in our language and the ability to read it for ourselves, we often don't need another to tell us what it means.

What about when we do need the help of someone with more authority than ourselves?
Who do/should you consider trustworthy, and what makes you trust them as an interpreter?

To clarify, I am not looking for a personal story about how you came to trust an individual's answers. I want to know who all is qualified (can be in varying degrees) to give the answers you seek.

Thank you kindly,

Datak

The way in which I approach the interpretation of the Bible is to frame it as I would any other topic while working as a student within a college setting. This means that I avail myself of the various scholarly voices to which I have access. And after weighing the evidences and arguments, I will draw the best academic conclusion that I can.

Peace

 

[oi_antz]

Inasmuch as in this age we have access to the bible in our language and the ability to read it for ourselves, we often don't need another to tell us what it means.

What about when we do need the help of someone with more authority than ourselves?
Who do/should you consider trustworthy, and what makes you trust them as an interpreter?

To clarify, I am not looking for a personal story about how you came to trust an individual's answers. I want to know who all is qualified (can be in varying degrees) to give the answers you seek.

Thank you kindly,

Datak

Ultimately, the importance is quantified by the result. IE, what action did it produce? I have recently been shown a scripture that was not meant for me, the context of it and interpretation of it was nothing to do with me, yet when I read it, there was a message for me. A lesson that I needed to learn. An instruction I needed to heed, and action I needed to take.

Religions will jump all over the vulnerable as you describe here, to help guide them to the narrow path. Really though, all through the bible is examples of prophets and faithful who knew God in their daily lives, recognised what He was telling them, and lived according to the faith they had that He was instructing them. When people don't have that faith, they will do the opposite. If it was me who was declining to have faith this time, I might have chosen to believe "oh, that scripture is about Israel, nothing to do with me", then I would have prevented it from changing the course of my life.

I will show you two quotes to ponder about this, which have been on my mind recently:

Matthew 4:4
Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Psalm 119:9
How shall a na’ar cleanse his way? By being shomer thereto according to Thy Davar (Word).

.. to consider someone trustworthy, for me, I don't consider any particular person always trustworthy. Rather, I hear what they say, consider if it corresponds to what I know to be true, if so then I will recognise that what they say is true. If not, then I will look for evidence that what they say is true.

I am far less surprised now to find people who have a high proportion of truth, yet still have beliefs that are unjustified or even considerably wrong. This is after observing it in all sorts of people, even in people who I did not expect to find it in. I think it is just natural to be wrong about some things and to be determined to stay that way.

 

[ViaCrucis]

Inasmuch as in this age we have access to the bible in our language and the ability to read it for ourselves, we often don't need another to tell us what it means.

What about when we do need the help of someone with more authority than ourselves?
Who do/should you consider trustworthy, and what makes you trust them as an interpreter?

To clarify, I am not looking for a personal story about how you came to trust an individual's answers. I want to know who all is qualified (can be in varying degrees) to give the answers you seek.

Thank you kindly,

Datak

There are basically two kinds of interpretive authority that I consider helpful:

1) Historical - as a Christian I want to know how the Christian Church has historically interpreted Scripture, I may want to be careful if my reading of a text diverges radically from what has been historically understood since the earliest days of my faith. That doesn't mean never disagree with the past, only that one should continue to have an ear to the past and engage it, not reject it.

2) Scholarly - There are a lot of really solid people who have degrees and have made it their life's work to understand the complex tapestry of history, culture, and language behind the Bible. It would be rather crazy of me not to pay attention to people who have spent that sort of attention to understanding the underlying religious, political, cultural context of any given text of the Bible.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Devorim]

I trust no one to be 100% correct in their biblical interpretation -- not even the leaders where I attend, and they would be disappointed if I did. They teach and expect each hearer to check what they say against the Bible, especially in its original languages. During the teachings, there is a roving mic, and all things that need to be countered are countered until a conclusion is drawn or we study it later until is is resolved.

 

[dcalling]

Other people's interpretation can only be used as a guide, you can not trust them. It is best to read the bible yourself and find out. Different people got touched by the bible by different parts.

some part of the bible is hard to explain, but many are easy to understand, i.e. don't steal, honor your parents, don't covet, love your neighbors. In time God will make things clear.

 

[aiki]

You realize, I hope, that the posters who are telling you not to trust any teacher of God's truth are expecting you to trust them to be giving you good advice. But why should you trust what they are saying to you? Shouldn't you be according their advice the same skepticism that they are advising you to apply to Bible teachers generally? It's a bit hypocritical to say, "Don't trust them!" but expect to be trusted without justification yourself. Just a thought.

P.S. Learn the basics of good Bible hermeneutics and thoroughly familiarize yourself with the Word of God.

Selah.

 

[lesliedellow]

Inasmuch as in this age we have access to the bible in our language and the ability to read it for ourselves, we often don't need another to tell us what it means.

What about when we do need the help of someone with more authority than ourselves?
Who do/should you consider trustworthy, and what makes you trust them as an interpreter?

To clarify, I am not looking for a personal story about how you came to trust an individual's answers. I want to know who all is qualified (can be in varying degrees) to give the answers you seek.

Thank you kindly,

Datak

You can read the opinions of different scholars, but ultimately you have to make up your mind which interpretation makes the most sense to you - unless you are a Catholic, and there is one almighty voice to pronounce on everything (and I don't mean God).

 

[Datak]

It's been a while. I did get a chance to read all your responses, but was rather preoccupied so did not log in to respond. It would be a small workload to reply to each of you directly, so I'll just include you all in this.

Thank you for your generous input. I am excited at the prospect of reading up those in the field of bible scholarship (both the Hebrew Bible and New Testaments). While any type of Christian who knows their stuff is acceptable, I think I might be looking for those who apparently trace back to the early Church (Catholic, Eastern/Greek Orthodox, Anglican churches respectively) that are contemporary scholars. I've heard of N.T. Wright, but not any other that I know is one of those types of Christians. I'm not sure most of Wright's literature is what I'm looking for (maybe it is) but I am aware he has a set of commentary on the New Testament so there's that.

I have read a book by Bart Ehrman (Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium), being that he is popular, and a good introduction, and may read more from him. But his background isn't in any of the aforementioned churches. But while we're speaking of Ehrman, does anyone know of any good books written in response to Ehrman's?

 

[Inkfingers]

No-one is qualified. Read it yourself and see what it means to you.

You will only read it in the way that the language you know allows; and language itself is taught.

The idea that we can all come to the Bible independently of other influences is simply incorrect.

 

[Datak]

Well, historically it was never the case until quite recently that people thought an individual could just look at the Bible himself and figure out what it means. That isn't to say that was not possible at all - plenty of things are self-explanatory or uncomplicated, and you aren't going to get a lot of questions coming up about what it means.

But once you are looking at more difficult passages, or deeper questions, the way it was always understood was that it was the consensus of the community that could give us answers. Sometimes very specific ones, sometimes a range of acceptable ones, sometimes just pointing out which answers were not acceptable.

You can see this at work in the councils of the early Church. When a question came up and the answer was not immediately obvious, the bishops, who were those given authority to teach, gathered, and come to some kind of resolution.

The same kind of process goes on today, although since so much time has gone by, there may now be fewer really new questions. Chances are, questions about the Bible have already been addresses, at least in a way that will give some direction.

So, you can look at the accepted writings of theologians and other people within the Church - these have been deemed acceptable answers, if not the only possible answers, by the Church community. You can look at the decisions of bishops and councils in the past. You can look at other ways the Church has expressed its thinking - through art, hymns and prayers, liturgical services.

You can also go to the leaders in your own community - in a well run community, these people should be teaching the consensus of the faith and be accountable to do so, both to those above them, and those below them. They may well have some kind of qualification or theological training so that they have the breadth of knowledge to know what the teaching on the question has been.

I will certainly look through some of these sources you mention, being that I am interested in the communities that trace back to the early Church such as yours. Thanks a bunch for the direction you have given. It's greatly helpful!

 

[aiki]

For a good response to Ehrman's ideas you might want to read "The Heresy of Orthodoxy" by Andreas Kostenberger and Michael J. Kruger. Their book is scholarly but accessible and they do a thorough job of exposing the serious flaws in Ehrman's viewpoint on the Bible.

Selah.