Observations From Hadleyville: biblical interpretation

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

INTERPRETING THE SCRIPTURES

In interpreting the Word of God, the reader must recognize a divine tension. There must be a balance between the historical and theological perspectives.

HISTORICALLY:
1.The established TEXT. You must use what is there.
2.Awareness of the CONTEXT of the writer & recipients.
3.There is a MULTIPLEX of insights which often seem to support several viewpoints.
4.The reader must recognize that everything you decide the text says is an INTERPRETATION; you CAN make it say what you want it to say: Beware.

THEOLOGICALLY:
1.DIVINE INSPIRATION: what is in the text is what God wants to say.
2.RELEVANT: both to the past and the present.
3.REDEMPTIVE: it does not bog down in details, but majors on the relational.
4.EFFECTIVE: It accomplishes what God wants it to accomplish.

QUASI-LEGAL DISCLAIMER

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WORDS OF WISDOM FOR WRITERS

The secret of becoming a writer is that you have to write. You have to write a lot. You also have to finish what you write, even though no one wants it yet. If you don't learn to finish your work, no one will ever want to see it. The biggest mistake new writers make is carrying around copies of unfinished work to inflict on their friends.

I am sure it has been done with less, but you should be prepared to write and throw away a million words of finished material. By finished, I mean completed, done, ready to submit, and written as well as you know how at the time you wrote it.
-Jerry Pournelle

WHAT'S THIS HADLEYVILLE THING?

Those of you familiar with Mark Twain’s works might recognize my blog title. As Samuel Clemons grew older, he became increasingly disillusioned with humanity. Towards the end he began referring to the Damned Human Race; employing the secular and religious epithet at one stroke.

I find I’ve not reached that level of despair myself. I still believe in redemption and I still see signs of nobility even among we fallen, damned creatures. So, I could not bring myself to call this blog “On the Damned Human Race.” I do however, resonate with another of Clemmons stories; “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg.” And viola, there you have it. “Observations From Hadleyville.”