Throughout my theological training, I’ve always loved studying hermeneutics, the “art and science of biblical interpretation.” One reason I’ve really enjoyed this topic is because as I’ve taken numerous graduate level courses, both in seminary and in a graduate university, I’ve come to understand that the subject is far more complicated than the typical “just me and my Bible” approach that many people have. Yet the complexity hasn’t discouraged my own reading of Scripture; if anything, understanding the both the challenges and the different approaches has made reading Scripture far more powerful and engaging.
When we talk about reading, interpreting, and applying Holy Scripture, we can approach it through a variety of different views, such as the theological interpretation of Scripture (TIS) model, the biblical-theological model(s), canonical criticism, or Christological and Christotelic hermeneutics. And this is just scratching the surface of available models.
Now you might be a bit overwhelmed to know there are so many ways in which people read the Bible. Don’t worry about that right now. Just acknowledge it as a reality and let’s move on to my point…
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