Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition

LESSON 2 | BIBLE INTERPRETATION: THE THREE-STEP MODEL / 123

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.

CASE STUDIES

Only What the Pastor Says Counts 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? How Then Do We Prove Anything from Scripture? (Based on a true story). While in a graduate school situation, a budding pastor encountered an idea that challenged and somewhat confused him. During a class on the methods of the scientific study of religion, he was told by the professor that simply using the Bible to prove the points of the Bible is “tautological,” or arguing in a circle, proving nothing. The professor went on: “If you want to prove that something in the Bible is true, you cannot use the Bible to prove it. In the scientific method you prove things on the basis of independent verification , not on the basis of those who have something to gain from the outcome of the study.” The professor went on to suggest that because the prophets and the apostles were believers in Christ, they had too much at stake to say anything about Jesus except what they wanted other people to believe . As a result, he held, we cannot take their word as true regarding Jesus of Nazareth and his claims. Confused and bewildered, the pastor in the class felt handicapped. How can he prove the teaching of the Scriptures without

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B i b l i ca l S tud i e s

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