Problem: Current Issues In Interpretation
Most serious Bible students know that the study of the word is often enhanced by consulting books that have been written by trained biblical scholars. Insights gained by those who have mastered the original languages and have a sense of the biblical culture are invaluable. However, when selecting sources for assisting in interpretation, the Bible student should have the tools to critically discern between scholarship that that is written from a faith perspective and works that assume the concept of an inspired book is premodern and naïve.2 Some who are currently reading may have come across books that use terms like "Johannine School," "Signs Source," "Redactor," "Q," and "deutero-Pauline." Some may have even consulted the introduction to certain books in Study Bibles and encountered theories suggesting that Paul did not really write certain books attributed to him, or that the gospels are more the story about the social life of the early church than they are about the life of Jesus. Most of these statements are made without explanation and often betray a scholarly arrogance. All too often, the intimidated Bible Student feels that the learned author must be correct and uncritically embraces the theories. However, in our quest to "rightly divide the word of truth," we must also learn how to "rightly discern" the presuppositions of the commentators. The following sections will hopefully provide a foundation for the interpreter to discern. Need Assignment Help?