Hermeneutics

Hermeneutics is the art and science of interpretation. At the most basic level the language of Scripture is either figurative or literal. An example of

literal meaning is when the Scripture speaks of Jesus' birth: Matthew says,

"NOW after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ..." (Matt. 2.1).

This is a simple historical statement and we conclude that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. An example of figurative language is Jesus' statement,

"Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep." (Jn. 10.7).

We understand that Jesus is not saying that he is a literal, wooden door. What he is saying is that he is the entrance way for salvation. But in so

saying this he communicates literal truth. Just as a wooden door is the entrance to a house or to a sheep pen, Jesus is the "door", i.e. entrance

through whom salvation is found. In these passages, the Scriptures themselves help us out, commenting that this is a "figure of speech" (Jn. 10.6).

Most communication is literal. When we do use figurative language it is, in most cases, readily understood as such. Were it not so, we would have

a difficult time communicating with one another. Figurative language in Scripture can be recognized by its context. It can also be recognized by the

kind of literature. Poetry lends itself to figurative language. But in all this it is important to remember that figurative language communicates literal truth.

When Isaiah says,

"All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field" (Is. 40.6)

We understand him to be saying that we are mortal. The literal truth is not that flesh is grass--that makes no sense--but that human beings have a

temporal life upon the earth. That is the literal truth he is conveying.

Difficulties and confusions arise in Scripture when there is failure to understand the kind of language the Scripture is using. The challenge for the biblical

interpreter is to discover the proper form of interpretation for the passage being interpreted. The guiding rule of all interpretation is that the passage

should be taken literally unless there are strong reasons against it. Without this discipline, interpretation of the Scriptures becomes putty in the

interpreter's hands and can lead to ridiculous and erroneous interpretations.

A form of the figurative interpretation is known as allegorical interpretation. Allegorical interpretation came to influence Christian interpreters of Scripture

by way of the Greeks. It began for the Greeks as the solution to a dilemma. The Greeks had an established religious heritage from Hesiod and Homer.

Thinkers from later historical and philosophical traditions could not accept this religious heritage as it existed. But politically it was impossible for these

writings to be rejected and forsaken due to their popularity. The Greeks, therefore, sought a way to preserve Hesiod and Homer in an intellectually

acceptable form. The tension was relieved by allegorizing the religious heritage. The stories of the gods were not to be taken literally but figuratively or

allegorically. This new hermeneutic proclaimed that beyond and beneath the literal lay the real meaning of the story.

Allegorical interpretation later spread to Alexandria. Alexandria was a great cosmopolitan center of learning in the ancient world. A large Jewish

population came to reside there, and later a great Christian population. The allegorical hermeneutic was absorbed by Jewish scholars who used it to

reconcile their own Scriptures with Greek philosophical tradition. This hermeneutic was later accepted by the Christian church and dominated Christian

interpretation until the Reformation. The man most responsible for adopting the allegorical hermeneutic in the Christian church was Origen (c. 185-254).

He sought to harmonize New Testament theology with the teachings of Plato. His methodology and ideas were accepted and became highly influential

due to the systematic theological development of Augustine and prevailed throughout the Middle Ages. The allegorical method led to a belief that Israel,

through the rejection of their Messiah, had been permanently and irrevocably replaced by the Church. Thus, the Church became the inheritors of the

covenants God had promised to Israel and that the Church was, in fact, the new and true Israel. This theology has contributed to centuries of

persecution of the Jews.

Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo (354-425), took Origen's methodology and systematically devised a unified theology which dominated Christian

interpretation for a millennium. Such methodology and theology led to several false interpretations of the Scriptures including the view of eschatology

called Amillennialism. According to Amillennialism, there is no millennium or kingdom of God in which Christ will personally reign as Israel's king for a

thousand years. For the amillennialist, we are experiencing the kingdom of God now and have been ever since God formed the Church.

There were groups who did not follow the allegorical method of interpretation such as the Syrian School of Antioch and the Victorines. However, the

allegorical hermeneutic held a powerful influence over interpretation. When the Reformers emerged, they established a more disciplined method of

interpretation and literal interpretation became the dominant methodology. But old habits and traditions die hard. They did not fully realize the goal of

their method. Nor has it been completely realized today by the majority of biblical interpreters.

Many Scriptures, particularly those related to prophecy and to Israel, have been allegorized or spiritualized. For example, most theologians today

interpret the Church as the new Israel and apply promises given by God to national Israel to the Church. Another common misinterpretation is that the

kingdom prophecies are being fulfilled spiritually in the lives of believers. These Scriptures are being interpreted spiritually or figuratively. Are these

interpretations valid? There are hundreds of biblical texts that prophesy a literal, physical kingdom on earth. In fact, one can hardly read any in the Old

Testament without bumping into the kingdom of God. It was one great hope that permeated the minds of the people of Israel. Is it valid to interpret

these scriptures figuratively rather than literally? Is there biblical evidence that the Church has supplanted national Israel in God's plan to justify a

figurative interpretation? These are issues critical to a sound understanding of Scripture and will be examined.

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