A Short Course on Hermeneutics (4)

B.    An Interactive/Holistic Approach


"Give men time! Give men time! You did not arrive where you are today."
"The hard thing about being a heretic is that I have to think for myself."
"The most dangerous book on theology is the Bible."
"I thought I understood the Bible until the day I read it."

    In this approach the three components of interpretation should be in constant interaction with each other and the text.  The text is constantly approached with our theology and our theology is modified by our understanding of the text.  Our understanding of the text is challenged by the way the writer uses his language.  The greater our grasp of language, the clearer the text becomes and so our theology is made clearer and is purified. As we learn about history and culture, we reread the text to see how a man of that culture would read it.  This is a lifelong process of coming to understanding.
 
 
 
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