CLFM: thurs 10.18.07

Biblical Interpretation

-http://groups.apu.edu/practicaltheo-

-westlean quadrilateral (make sure to go get notes offline for the class you missed silly!-

-2 peter 3:15-16: So also our beloved borother paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures.

Key Terms:
1. Exegesis: analizing what the text actually says
2. Eisegesis: imposing your own personal beliefs on the text
3. Biblical hermeneutics: method behind exegesis

Questionis to be asked of any text
1. What did it mean for the subject of the text or the main speaker? (e.g. Jesus)
2. What did it mean for the writing and his audience? (e.g. Mark & readers [why did he put this right here etc])
3. What did it mean for the later generations of Christians?
4. What might it mean for me or us today?

Biblical listerature has both:
1. Eternal relevance
2. Historical particularity

Biblical interpretation involves two steps
1. Exegesis
2. Application

Historical-Grammatical method considers:
1. The text;s linguistic medium and genre
2. Geographic, cultural, and historical setting
3. Life setting of author and original readers


Principles for interpreting the Bible

1. Respect all of scripture
   -2 Timothy 3:16: "All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching."
2. Pray for guidance
3. Be clear on the goal: to get as close as possible to the original intent of the authors
4. Always look at the passage in it's literary context
5. Understand the historical setting
6. Face difficult passages directly
   -Luther: allow clear passages to illumine unclear
7.Only then ask: What does it mean today?

-Excellent resource: How to Read the Bible for all itsWworth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart

How do you interpret scripture
-Luke 24:34 [literal]
-Psalm 18:2 [not literal]
-1 Corinthians 11:24

Biblical Genres

1. Narratives
   -OT Narratives
     -Show God at work in creation & his people
     -OT narratives have three layers
       -1. Top: universal redemptive plan of God
       -2. Middle: history of Israel as God's people
       -3. Bottom: the particular story
   -Acts
   -The Gospels
     -To udnerstand the gospels must understand the kingdom of God
     -Jesus' teafhings differed from Jewish expectation


Jesus' view of the kingdom of God
   -Jesus taught that the kingdom of Godd will be fulfilled in the future: Matt. 25:31
   -But Jesus also taught there a present aspect to the kingdom: Luke 17:20-21

Jesus and purity
Key issues in the Gospels: how do we maintain purity?
-scribes and pharisees
-revolutionaries: kick out the non-jews
-essenes: withdraw from the world
   -qumran group
-Jesus: he seeks out the impure to contaminate them with his purity....well metaphorically

2. OT Laws
   -Law is covenant between Israel and God. Show loyalty, allegiance to coveant
   -Purpose of Law: bring us to Christ (Gal. 3:24)
   -Law demonstrates God's holiness, grace

3. Prophets
   -Minor v Major
   -Prophesy is not just foretelling the future
   -Prupose: speak for God to contemporaries
   -Usually has to do with the immediate future