Interpretive Lenses

Why We Often Talk Past each Other

Introduction: My name is Dave Earp. I am an ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene. I do not lead a church

but am instead called by God at this time to online ministry and small group ministry. Please note that my view is

the less popular Side B view ….

Now before you run for the hills…

I’m not here to change anyone’s views but to help us understand where we are

coming from …..

I am politically in favor of gay marriage.

I believe lgbt folks have as much right to religious freedom as I do.

I do not believe God condemns people for having different viewpoints when

they are honestly seeking His will.

I do believe that God is most concerned with our heartfelt response

to Him.

I regard people here as my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Note … if you are Side B .. be aware that I may take you closer to Side A in

this discussion then you might be comfortable with …

And …in fact … if we have time … I may give my own take on where I think a

Side A might potential fit in more conservative ideologies.

Some might ask … why would I do that if I am Side B … Why would I equip people on the “other” side?

-Because we come to the table as equals.

-Because we come to the table as brothers and sisters in Christ.

-Because we come to the table to help one another in our spiritual journey.

Together we are trying to find out

what God wants

on this and many other questions.

Example of sides from Joshua…

The Fall of Jericho

13 And then this, while Joshua was there near Jericho: He looked up and

saw right in front of him a man standing, holding his drawn sword. Joshua stepped up to him and said,

“Whose side are you on—ours or our enemies’?”

14 He said,

“Neither. I am the commander of God’s army. I’ve just arrived.” Joshua fell, face to the ground, and worshiped.

www.comingout4christians.net

What is an interpretive lens?…

• An interpretive lens is what we use to interpret scripture and/or church doctrine

• An interpretive lens is how we see and perceive and understand God.

• It is through our interpretive lens that we perceive and determine God’s will and call in our lives.

• It is through our interpretive lens that we test speakers we are listening to or books we are reading

• It is through our interpretive lens that we establish our personal spiritual foundation.

• We are (typically) most comfortable when we are operating within our own personal interpretive lens.

Where does out interpretive lens come from?

-Its not developed overnight

-It is a life-long process

The development of our interpretive lens can include…

-our upbringing -the faith of our parents … -our church’s tradition and teachings -our own personal study -our own academic study -our own life experiences

Key point: Every one of us has an interpretive lens whether we realize it or not … everyone one of us interprets scripture whether we are an inerrant literalist or a liberation theologian.

So why do we have trouble coming to the table? …..

How does one’s interpretive lens change?

What is a crisis event ?

What is a crisis event ?

A crisis event is when something happens to you in life that causes you to question your own lens, beliefs, and /or reevaluate your

relationship with God.

What are some faith crisis events that you have had? (one sentence descriptions please)

So …lets talk about basic interpretive lenses and methods of interpretation.

Theology without empathy is bad theology

So I recommend if you are dialoging with someone that you share the GCN DVD Through My Eyes

So we are going to start with basic differences in approach to the bible and then go to some specific interpretation methods that the different approaches use to some degree.

Synchronic Approach

Synchronic Approach

-Biblical text is unchanged with time …. -What we have today is what the Holy Spirit wanted us to have.

-The texts are accurate / close enough to convey the original intent … to convey God’s will and plan to us. -There is little to no need to spend time figuring out how the texts originated … specifically how they may have changed with time.

-Cultural influence is recognized but not assumed.

Diachronic Approach (Historical Critical)

Diachronic means: changing with time ….

The texts we have were altered over time and prone to cultural influence.

They may not be the original writings ….

Texts written later to address specific situations that occurred well after the events covered in the text.

Hermeneutics of suspicion

-Biblical text has value in applying to life today.

-Biblical text (hopelessy) tainted by culture of the day.

-Seeks to liberate the truths of the text from the culture it was written in.

Hermeneuticsof suspicion

Text taintedby bad maledominant culture

Rescue/liberatescripture fromits culture

Diachronic

HistoricalCritical

What wasreally said? How did thetext come to be?

Synchronic

What you seeis what we aresupposed to have.

Interpret what you seewithout ignoring

cultural context.

Inerrant Literalist(Synchronic)

God said it … I believe it …. That settles it

Black and white thinking

Little regard for cultural context

If you want to unpack this more then see this book Elements of Biblical Exegesis

(again … its on my webpage)

Now I want to cover some universal interpretation methods that are used across the spectrum

In our initial approach to scripture we must ask:

-What did it mean to the people then?(interpretation has to make sense in their context)

-What does it mean today? …

-Genre-Cultural /Historical Context-Things to ignore …. Things to take note of-Define all words-Be aware of figures of speech (hyperbole)-Arguments from silence-Apply overarching principles

Genre

Genre

What type of writing is it ?

Genre possibilities..

-Law-Prophecy-Psalm-Poetry-Gospel-Letter-Apocalyptic

Cultural and Historical Context

Cultural and Historical Context

Who is speaking

Who is the audience

Where is this in the biblical story

What does the audience know and not know at this time in history

What does the audience believe relative to this story?

Things to ignore….

- man made titles … they are not part of the original letter

-chapter numbers and verse numbers … they … also … have been added

Words to look for…

-thus-therefore-for-if-but-because of this

Ephesians 5 example …

21 … submitting to one another in the fear of God.

Marriage—Christ and the Church

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.

The Christian Household

21 Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22 Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.

Romans 1:32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

God’s Righteous JudgmentRomans 2:1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

Ignore ….

- man made titles … they are not part of the original letter

-chapter numbers and verse numbers … they … also … have been added

Look for connecting words and phrases such as..

-thus-therefore-if-but-because of this

Look up each and every word in the passage in question.

www.blueletterbible.org

This is a zoom in view of the webpage..

Check the box that says Strong’s at the top

Notice the numbers next to each word in the verses

If you click on the number you will get the original Hebrew or Greek word along with its definition and every place it is used in the bible.

Of particular interest to us is this word ‘natural’ in verses 26 and 27 …. Notice it is either Strongs G5446 or G5449. Clicking on G5446 gives you ….

Here is a different example… The word for tempt and the word for test is the same word.

Be aware of ways of speaking in ancient cultures

Hyperbole Examples

Matthew 18:8-10

8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is

better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye

causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with

one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

Hyperbole Examples

Luke 14:26-2726 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate

father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.27 And whoever

does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Arguments from Silence

Arguments from Silence

If the bible is silent it does not mean approval or disapproval.

It means that scripture does not cover it and we have to use principles from scripture and prayer to determine what God’s direction is.

Some issues the Bible is silent about

-End of life decisions (living will) -Blood transfusions-Invitro fertilization

Be aware of overarching principles

Examples of over-arching principals..

Graceforgiveness

mercyjustice

Overarching principle example:

The issue of slavery.

The word for servant is the word doulos (G1401)

This can mean a slave or one who gives himself up for another

Christ’s words…-Matthew 8:9 the centurion’s servant-Matthew 10:24 a servant is not over his lord-Matthew 18:23 parable of merciless servant-Matthew 21 parable of a master sending servants to collect what is owed -Matthew 24:48 story of a servant that is disobedient when his master is away … parallel to end times Paul’s instruction…-Ephesians 6:5 servants obey your masters as you would Christ.-Collosians 3:23 servants obey your masters not just with eye service-Titus 2:9 exhort servants to be obedient to their own masters

-Genre-Cultural /Historical Context-Things to ignore …. Things to take note of-Define all words-Be aware of figures of speech (hyperbole)-Arguments from silence-Apply overarching principles

We come here to the end of the formal slide presentation …

Elements of Biblical Exegesis

Making Sense of the Bible

Walking the Bridgeless Canyon

Gay and Catholic

Any questions …

If not … I have some ….