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Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21, ESV).
From the beginning of Christendom, two viewpoints have dominated the topic of how to read the Bible — one focusing on the literal meaning of Scripture and another emphasizing its allegorical meaning.
The early church went back and forth between being literal or allegorical. The Reformation encouraged the literal as opposed to the Catholic Church’s emphasis on the allegorical. Today, liberals promote the Bible as primarily allegorical, while evangelicals desire to understand the plain sense of Scripture.
The allegorical viewpoint seeks to understand personal meaning, while the literal wants to know actual meaning first, and then how it applies personally.
The OG (Old Guy, which is me) believes that we should seek to understand what Scripture says and then discern applicable obedience —to be doers of the Word and not just hearers!
As we read in the Bible. . .
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:22).
Getting too allegorical (seeking meaning without undergirding truth) yields a multiple truth and application approach that easily becomes a sort of “to each his or her own” theology.
As one scholar writes. . .
Just as a building that begins to part company with its foundation is inclined to collapse, so a mystical/allegorical/figurative exposition with deviates from the literal sense must be considered unseemly.
However, within the conservative and literal understanding of reading the Bible, figurative language must be explained. For example, Jesus wasn’t really telling us to literally pluck out eyes and cut off hands in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:27-30), but He was telling us to radically avoid situations of potential temptation.
Literal-believing scholars continue to discuss and learn how to read the Bible correctly. I summarize their conclusions in the following OG Correct Bible Reading Method.
- The meaning expressed in each Bible verse is single, definite, and fixed.
Amen!
- We need to read the Bible and interpret Scripture according to the plain sense meaning that the original writers intended.
Double amen!
- There are various types of writing in the Bible including parables, apocalyptic, hyperbole, allegory, prophecy, songs, proverbs, and other forms. Each type should be considered as illustrating truth and not as opening our thoughts to individualist truth according to our needs or feelings.
Triple amen!
- The entire context of the Bible should be considered when interpreting the meaning of Scriptural verses and passages.
Quadruple amen!
Considering the history of differing thoughts on how to read the Bible consider — I think the OG Correct Bible Reading Method is the best.
And I’m not talking allegorically!
Amen, amen, amen, and amen.