Interpretation is Such a Pain
Man reading scripture is tough. I recently watched a documentary For the Bible Tells Me So which addressed the difficulty around interpretation of scriptures dealing with homosexuality. Today I read an article discussing the incredibly difficult task of determining what the Bible means when it talks about hell. And then I was challenged on something I thought was an interpretive slam dunk when I learned “abba” may be mistranslated when it is used as “daddy”.
With all these clarifications and corrections I am hoping we can push the conversation about how scripture is used as a whole. I’ve documented my own interpetive process before, and still think it is a good Wesleyan process. However, scripture will always be covered by the lens of our culture and distorted by our inability to connect to the original meaning of language. More often then not this leaves us with one unsatisfactory answer after another. Proving even further, the Bible is NOT an answer book! If anything it is a question book. Luckily for us, asking great questions can cause great growth and spiritual development.
What questions has scripture been asking you lately?
4 comments
Just finished a book in which a Jewish family referred to the human father as “Abba” – is that common for Jews to do in this day and age?
Good question Pam. According to the article I linked to above part of the confusion about “Abba” is that modern Hebrew speakers use it in a way that could be translated “daddy”. However, the argument against translating scripture this way is based on the formal and hierarchical family systems of the ancient world. All very interesting stuff.
I have always struggled with the question about why bad things happen to good people. I just finished reading “Why?” by Adam Hamilton. It’s a very interesting and yet concise book discussing God’s prescriptive will for our lives. I highly recommend it!
I’ve heard good things about that book. When it came out I got to download it free for on my kindle app. I’ll have to dig into it soon.
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