Robert McCabe Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. An article in a practical journal correlated “vision” in Proverbs 29:18 with setting longrange goals (“Clearing Your Vision,” Leadership 12 [Spring 1991]: 120–24). The interpretation of “vision” as long-range goals is one of the more popular [...]
This is How We Know
December 24, 2012
Webster defines hermeneutics as “the science of interpretation; esp[ecially] the study of the principles of Biblical exegesis.” Nevertheless, a well-educated person may have no understanding of hermeneutics. In a conversation with a college professor from a well-known conservative (non-Christian) college, he challenged a clear interpretation of Scripture with the charge, “That’s your opinion.” When I [...]
The Eclectic Web–Nov 29, 2012
November 29, 2012
An eclectic selection of links that may interest you: Biblical Interpretation Slow Down! A Different Perspective on Christ in the Old Testament Daniel Block answers questions about a popular approach to Old Testament interpretation. He urges interpreting the OT “Christotelically” rather than “Christocentrically”. While his remarks provide a welcome brake to some of the extremes [...]
Hermeneutics (Part 4): Context and the Doctrine of Separation: A Case Study
August 22, 2012
by Layton Talbert This article first appeared in FrontLine • July/August 2000. Click here to subscribe to the magazine. The most effective way to illustrate the importance of context in Bible interpretation—and simultaneously to address an equally important doctrinal issue—is to present a real-life case study. Gordan Fee and Douglas Stuart have written a mostly [...]
Hermeneutics (Part 3): Key Questions In Bible Interpretation
August 15, 2012
by Layton Talbert This article first appeared in FrontLine • May/June 2000. Click here to subscribe to the magazine. Click here for Part One, here for Part Two Interpreting the Bible: A Tale of Two Questions Accurate Bible interpretation starts with asking two questions— and asking them in the right order. What did it mean [...]
Hermeneutics (Part 2): The Bible as Literature
July 31, 2012
by Layton Talbert This article first appeared in FrontLine • March/April 2000. Click here to subscribe to the magazine. Click here for Part 1. God communicated Himself to man in order to reveal Himself, not veil Himself. Consequently, He gave His revelation in a variety of literary forms common to normal human communication. Since God [...]
Hermeneutics: An Introduction To Bible Interpretation
July 25, 2012
by Layton Talbert This article first appeared in FrontLine • January/February 2000. Click here to subscribe to the magazine. Understandest thou what thou readest?” That is the perpetual question with which hermeneutics (the science of interpretation) is concerned. The fact is, you engage in hermeneutics every day whenever you read or hear any form of [...]
One Essential Feature of Dispensationalism: A Consistently Literal Hermeneutic
May 31, 2012
by Bruce Meyer This article first appeared in FrontLine • July/August 2010. Click here to subscribe to the magazine. No doubt every one of us has encountered the following objection when arguing theology: “That’s just your interpretation.” The statement, although often a convenient escape, does highlight the importance of a hermeneutic that is centered in [...]
Dispensationalism, Baptists, and Fundamentalism
May 30, 2012
by Larry R. Oats This article first appeared in FrontLine • July/August 2010. Click here to subscribe to the magazine. While many think of dispensationalism as a way to divide history into seven (give or take one or two) eras, it is really more about hermeneutics than history. Its focus is on how to properly [...]
Let a Commentary Be Your Guide (3)
May 15, 2013