8 principles when interpreting scripture
Why do I read the same scripture passages that another Christian does and come up with a different way of thinking about it? If I step over a line into "unorthodox" thinking, does that automatically make me wrong?
I rarely blog about theology, but several times in the past few months I've been queried as to how I can read the same passages in the Bible that others do and come up with different interpretations.
It's an interesting question in an era where conservative Christians seem to be tightening up on what they believe to be erroneous views (in an ever declining moral vacuum, so they say), while liberals are perhaps more than ever exploring the fringes of Christian thought. Is there only one 'correct' interpretation of any particular passage in the Bible? Is it mine? Is it yours? How do we tell?
I have even recently been told to "repent" because my beliefs are not the same as another Christian person. I didn't actually know that thinking about something differently to him was a sin.
So, partly for my own benefit, I thought I'd pop down a couple of principles I use when interpreting any passage in the Bible. I hope it also helps those of you who are struggling to understand how another Christian can believe such different things to you. And maybe it will help those of you who can't handle the bible because of what you believe it says, to have another go.
1. Trying to see everything in the light of Jesus
At best, the Old Testament writers had only a glimpse of who the coming King would be. They were living in times when their limited understanding of God was very different to how we would come to understand God post-Jesus. Hence, it was no real surprise when Jesus turned up, he turned everything on its head. The stuff they thought they had right turned out to be completely wrong. Whatever passage I read, I try to view it through the personhood and Lordship of Jesus - the way he treated people, the things he focussed on, the things he left unsaid, the principles he espoused. He is the best image of God that we have – God in the flesh – and if we want to know how we are to live in the light, we can do no better than copying Him in word and deed - a God who would choose to suffer and die, crying out "Father, forgive them, they don't know what they are doing". A God who would tell us to love our enemies and pray for them, and to turn the other cheek if someone wrongs us, is a very different being to one who would tell people to destroy every man, woman, child and animal in a different town. I can only try to interpret the latter in the light of the former.2. Trying to understand every passage in context
Often I think we get tied up on particular words and phrases, rather than looking at the meaning and intent of whole sections of the scriptures. When Jesus used particular examples (mustard seed, lost sheep) he was using examples that made sense at the time. If He had come today, I believe he would use examples like computer chips, planes and mobile phones. So, it isn't the exact words he uses that are important, but the intent - the point of each story. In the same way, a writer such as Paul, steeped in the knowledge, traditions and values of being a devout Jew, describes Jesus's work on the cross in terms of the sacrificial system he knew and loved. Although we can glean meaning from that, I believe that a modern-day Australian Paul would use different terminology to explain to me (someone removed from the sacrificial system) the work of Jesus on the cross. Sections of Paul's letters are written to particular people with particular issues, and although we can garner some Truths that may also apply to us, we need to understand the context in which he wrote them. Likewise, passages in Leviticus or other parts of the Old Testament that detail long lists of "dos and don'ts" were written with a particular purpose and intent. Some people seem very keen to grab certain passages and use them as weapons against other people, but ignore verses either side or just a chapter or two away that show the intent of the authors.3. Try to understand our own biases
Any study of linguistics and semiotics helps us understand that all of us approach any text with our own set of prejudices, experiences and biases. You, me and Adolf Hitler could read the same text and come up with very different points of view on what it means and its implications. One of the ways in which this plays out in Christianity is the Christian writers we read will always shape our thoughts and our approach to the bible. Theologically, we really are what we read. I have been blessed over my life with a love of reading and access to books, and have therefore read very widely. I grew up on a diet of such stanchions of the faith as Tony Campolo, John Smith, Fuzz Kito and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, as well as more traditional Christian thinkers such as CS Lewis. That means that my thinking, and the way I view the scriptures, is very influenced by such writers. Other people who have had a much more conservative breakfast of Piper and Moody are likely to approach the same passages and theological problems differently. I encourage everyone to break out and read people outside your usual diet. If you want to think about other ways to look at scripture, I can recommend Derek Flood's recent book, Disarming Scripture. Or if you want to try something really radical, jump onto something like Archbishop John Shelby Spong's Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism. It's a bit old now, but a classic of its type and really shaped my thinking when I read it a couple of decades ago. You are unlikely to agree with everything he writes (I certainly don't), but it may give you an idea about why some people view the same passages differently.
4. Study history
Any study of history will show that throughout the centuries the bible has been used to justify the most heinous things. The same things we accuse Moslems of in regards to using the Quran to promote violence, is what so-called Christians have done throughout the ages. Our mistake is that we think we're immune from this, and that we are not doing it today. But I look at the way scriptures were used to justify slavery, or the Crusades, or the oppression of women, capitalism, or the Cold War, and I don't see how modern arguments against, say, GLBTI people, are any different.5. God is a God who has a special heart for the oppressed
When I look at scripture as a whole, I see some wonderful themes. To me, the Bible is the best revelation we have of humanity wrestling with the nature of the divine. And on our side of the equation, as humans, we keep stuffing up and doing things wrong, and misunderstanding the nature of the life to which we are called, and the God who chases, the God who rescues, continues to chase and rescue us, time and time again. He would go (and has gone) to any lengths to rescue us, including coming in human form and allowing himself to be tortured and killed. Another theme that emerges is that God has a heart for the minorities and the oppressed. He seems to have a special place in his heart for the most unlikely of people. Those in power, those who are rich, or with inside knowledge, or considered on the "in" group, are those most likely to be treated harshly, and the poor and the widow, and those in jail, and those in minority groups, are those that he seems to favour. I think any reflection of any one passage and how it applies needs to bear that in mind.6. Favour mercy over judgment
As I believe Jesus did, I will continue to try to favour mercy over judgment. I will endeavour to try to reserve my harshest judgments for those with the power, those with the clout, those who think they've got it all worked out. Instead of using certain scripture passages to berate, belittle or condemn minority groups, I will endeavour to try to turn a blowtorch on perhaps some things that we in the church are traditionally silent about. What about our nation's ridiculous dependence on gambling? What about the increasing polarisation of the rich and the very poor? What about our continued woeful treatment of asylum seekers? Or the way one Sydney church lost millions of donated funds by gambling on the stock market? And yet, I will try to be very mindful of the "plank in my own eye" and not the speck in someone else's. I desperately need God's mercy and am grateful that through Christ I receive that.7. If you're going to be harsh with anyone, be harsh with those who claim to know all the answers
Any understanding I have of scripture, and the way in which I use it, I hope will be guided by Jesus's example in this.8. Understanding that knowledge of the Bible alone is not enough
I reckon Satan probably knows everything in the Bible pretty well. And there'd be plenty of non-Christian scholars around the world who are far more familiar with the scriptures than I. So knowledge of the scriptures alone isn't enough. We need to allow ourselves to be moved by its truths and changed by its power, as the Holy Spirit uses it to inform, guide, convict and mould us. After all, the Pharisees knew their scriptures very, very well, and yet pretty much every idea they had of the Lord was completely wrong. Take time out to meditate, and ask God to speak to you directly. Use music, nature and all of creation, as you wrestle with the truths of scripture.Brothers and sisters, please don't call me to "repent" because I disagree with you on a theological issue. By all means call me to repent for the sin in my life - you can start with two of my biggest problems, pride and selfishness, or a host of other problems. Unless you are the keeper of perfect knowledge, then me disagreeing with you is not a sin. If you want to have a serious discussion about a theological issue, or look at some passages together with the serious intent of trying to understand a different point of view and a different way of looking at an issue (rather than just trying to prove me wrong), then I'd be keen to hear from you.
As I continue to wrestle with scripture (as Jacob wrestled with God, in one of the most bizarre passages of Genesis, Gen: 32: 22-), and endeavour to keep Jesus as Lord over all my life, I will hold onto two of the strongest codes for living that I get out of all of scripture. May these be true for your life too:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And love your neighbour as yourself."
Luke 10.27
"Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God"
Micah 6:8
May our Creator, Saviour and Mover and Shaker be praised.
Shalom
