Biblical Interpretation with a Tad Bit of Sarcasm
Written by Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski
“So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. ”
So, you read your Bible, and can quote Scripture. Whoop-de-doo! The Bible is God’s word, but darn, that doesn’t preclude the need for interpretation. Sure, it would be easy to just memorize quotations and have them fit any circumstance or prejudice you desire. It is what sanctioned legalized slavery. It was this misinterpretation that kept women quiet and submissive. Along with many other forms of prejudice, it was used to condemn the LGBTQ community.
The New Testament was written almost two thousand years ago. The Old Testament, or Hebrew Scriptures, were written a century and more earlier. It seems obvious that, learning how the cultural references might differ from our contemporary ones, might make a difference. The Bible was written in Hebrew, Greek, and a small amount of Aramaic. One might want to ask if the translations of the different languages might differ from these ancient languages and current English.
Think for a moment how hard it is to read Shakespeare. Why, Shakespeare was written in English, wasn’t it? Gee, could it be that over time the English language changed, and words had new meanings?! Now, imagine the Bible, significantly older, in different languages, with different cultural settings. Gee, perhaps the Bible requires more than a simple memorization quiz. Along with different modes of study, Biblical interpretation also requires the Holy Spirit. Divine guidance is vital to understanding how the Bible relates to us in the modern day.
Today, pray for all God’s children to understand God’s gift of the Bible. Then, ask the Holy Spirit to help people understand that God needs to be part of the interpretive inspiration. Don’t let anyone use the Bible as a weapon. Read your Bible, but do so with prayer, inviting the Holy Spirit to help bring Divine understanding. If you want to begin finding more information behind the Bible, purchase the one volume New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, and read it along with the verses you are reading. It will help give your Biblical reading some background and depth. Study and Divine guidance will help us understand that slavery is bad, women have value, and LGBTQ people are God’s children. Seems obvious when read with prayer and Biblical instruction.
