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The Bible needs no interpretation because it
interprets itself.Herbert W. Armstrong
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• He also taught that God had revealed to him alone
  the key to interpreting scripture.
• He alone was the legitimate interpreter of
  Scripture

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Spiritual/PneumatologicalInterpretation

• Inspired Authors and Inspired Readers
• But .

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Principles One and Two

• Good interpretation requires
• 1. Many readers who bring various expertise and
  experience
• 2. Ongoing research into the language, customs
  and culture of the Bible

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• 1. Many readers who bring various expertise and
  experience
• 2. Ongoing research into the language, customs
  and culture
• of the Bible
• 3. Understanding the context for which a passage
  or text was written
• 4. Recognizing to whom the passage or book is
  addressed
• 5. Recognition of patterns (meaning is encoded
  but the code is not a secret)
• 6. Keeping the big picture in view (both the book
  and the entire canon)
• 7. Following the cues of the literary form or
  genre
• 8. Looking for the structure of the passage
• 9. Finding the appropriate comfort, aesthetic
  pleasure or emotional response to a passage

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What is the Bible?
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Every reader depends upon a large community of
scholars stretching back to the autograph

• for transcription
• for translation
• for lower criticism determination of what
  constitutes the best available Greek or Hebrew
  manuscript

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The Bible is not the Koran or the Vedas
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The Bible is the product of a complicated process
of transmission
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The Bible is composed by many poets and narrators
and authors over a span of several millennia
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The Bible we have is not a facsimile of the
autograph.
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The Bible is not a book but a canon (a list)
determined by a series of committees after much
debate
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• The Hebrew Canon - 24 books - Yavneh ca 100 c.e.
  (signature for a series of discussions from ca
  400 b.c.e to 200 c.e.)
• The New Testament Canon
• African Synod of Hippo 393 c.e.
• Councils of Carthage in 397 and 419 c.e
• Council of Trent of 1546 c.e.

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Wittenberg Bible 1534 c.e.
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• Good interpretation requires
• 1. Many readers who bring various expertise and
  experience
• 2. Ongoing research into the language, customs
  and culture of the Bible

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Historical Consciousness
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H-G. Gadamer Horizons
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The Samaritans

• DNA evidence - share a common ancestor with Jews
• Torah - scripture
• Worship - Mount Gerizim, high places which the
  OT prophets denounced
• Nehemiahs wall excludes them
• Hasmoneans destroy their temple
• Excluded from Jerusalem temple
• Treated as unclean

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What are these three Gospel stories about?

• Luke 1025-37 The Good Samaritan
• Luke 1711-19 The Ten Lepers
• John 41-42 The Samaritan Woman at the Well

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The Good Samaritan

• Vincent Van Gogh, 1890

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The Ten Lepers

• JAMES CHRISTENSEN?"TEN LEPERS"

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Samaritan Woman at the Well

• Roman Catacomb ca. Second Century C.E.

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Implications

• Interpretation is always on a trajectory rather
  than a terminus
• Interpretation is a risky venture
• When the purpose is personal inspiration, a
  misinterpretation is not necessarily a problem.
• Meir Sternberg - The Bible is Fool Proof
• When the purpose is doctrine and church order,
  good interpretation needs to involve many readers
  and many forms of expertise and experience.

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What makes a Book scripture?What makes the Bible
authoritative? Can we trust the product of
tradition and discernment?
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(No Transcript)
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What kind of Book is the Bible?
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(No Transcript)
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What makes the Bible Authoritative?
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Representation of Reality being good counts more
than being powerfulTheology God cares about the
least of theseCommunity Ethic I am my brother
and sisters keeper. Purposeful Life I have a
choice to get with Gods plan and make His light
shine.
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What does it mean to call the Bible the Word of
God?
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Testament - Covenant an agreement that creates a
relationship between two parties, a reciprocal
promise between two parties
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Promise