24/09/2019
While we believe that the Bible is inspired by God and contains the narrative that reveals who God is and how He moves in this world, we also know that it is written through human hands. The people who God wrote through lived in ancient times and cultures, and while we share a lot in common with them, the world they experienced was also a lot different from our world.
Thus reading the Bible has to be treated like a cross-cultural exercise into the ancient world. It also helps us to be aware that there are methods, processes, and tools that are employed by generations of manuscript experts, interpreters, scholars, philosophers, theologians, linguists, cultural anthropologists, and archeologists to help us gain a fuller, richer and deeper understanding of what text mean.
As we approach the Bible and craft our understanding of it, here are things to consider:
- Linguistic Analysis
- Authorial Intent
- Cultural Context
- Narrative Flow
As we take a look at these methods available for us to interpret the Scriptures, we see that it is more profound than we can possibly imagine. And while we don’t have the faculties to embrace the enormity of its truth fully, the quest for a more accurate understanding is worth it.
For here is where we get a better understanding of who God is, what He is like, and how we are to live in this life.
