Posted on March 11, 2008 - by Calvin L. Smith

Englishman Near New York (14)

Interesting Christian talk show on the radio the other day in which people call in and raise Bible verses for discussion with this old, grizzly hyper-dispensationalist, the aim being to explore short texts that are controversial and unclear. The old fellow (US: `fella’) then sets abouts interpreting it according to his theological scheme and system. BTW, I note he had far more time for those who listened respectfully and never disagreed than those who sought to engage his views (their `phone line tended to be cut off cuneremoniously). But tleaving aside some of his wildly allegorical interpretations, this whole proof-text verse interpretative methodology raised various problems for me. As Evangelicals we are suspicious of much of the historical-critical method because its overriding philosophy and approach is to reject inspiration and revelation, and as such fragments the text. Thus, passages and Bible books are studied indepedently, because a rejection of the concept of inspiration means they have no relation to other texts or Bible books which might shed light on them. But at the other extreme, the kind of single-verse and short text interpretations by Evangelicals which i heard on the radio the other day equally fragments the text. After all, Bible texts must be understood in light of other biblical passages, themes that run throughout the Bible, and the Bible’s overriding narrative as a whole This approach, known as Biblical Theology, focuses on the unity of the text and as such is instrumental in making sense of short texts that, in isolation, make little sense. I am convinced most of the weird ideas and silly petty doctrines doing the rounds within Evangelicalism would never have arisen but for a stronger focus on Biblical Theology. We have a new Level 3 module on Biblical Theology and its role in Hermeneutics coming online in September, which looks at this whole issue. For more on Biblical Theology and its essential role in the field of Hermeneutics, see here, here and here.