Bible Interpretation, Student Workbook, SW05

1 0 2 /

B I B L E I N T E R P R E T A T I O N

the teaching of Paul inform our own need to be open to checking the findings of others against the Scriptures themselves (cf. Acts 17.11)?

* Since we are not all Bible teachers and scholars, what ought to be our goal as we engage in our own work of biblical interpretation? Should it concern us that some members of the body will discover more in their study than we did? How do spiritual gifts figure into this equation? * Why is it important not merely to depend on others for the insights and wisdom that the Bible provides for us? What kind of errors may occur when we become overly dependent on others for our instruction and growth in Christ? * Why is it impossible to suggest that our dependence on the Holy Spirit in our personal study is a substitute for the hard work of biblical interpretation? How can you know if you are not depending on the Holy Spirit for insight in your personal study? Likewise, how can you tell when you are being lazy in the way you are handling the Word of truth? * Why is it always important to study the Bible in the light of the great themes emphasized by our Lord, along with the apostles and prophets? How do their teachings on love for God and neighbor help us understand that both the Old and New Testaments have a common subject and purpose ? Explain. In many traditions, whatever the method of personal study employed to understand the meaning of the Bible, the heart of what the Scriptures teaches is dependent upon the church tradition and/or official leaders of the church. This is plainly seen, for example, in the Catholic approach to biblical interpretation. While individual study is encouraged and applauded as good and edifying, the discoveries of the individual can never take precedence over the teaching of the Church as we have understood it down through the centuries, and as it is represented presently in the teaching of the bishops and the Pope. Protestants do not hold to this view, but in many Protestant churches, individual interpretation is not considered credible unless it corresponds to what the pastor or spiritual leaders believe and teach. What is the place of pastoral and spiritual leadership authority in our personal interpretation of the Bible? Should all that we discover be confirmed by our leaders, or are they, like us, subject to the same responsibility to align their views with the Scriptures in order for them to be considered credible and acceptable? Only What the Pastor Says Counts

2