GOOD AND BAD HERMENEUTICS
Hermeneutics is the art and science of interpreting the Bible (or other book) by using one or more methods to understand the meaning of the text it contains. The term hermeneutics is derived from the Greek word ἑρμηνεύω (hermeneuō) which means "to interpret" or "to translate." In the classical sense, a person who interprets or translates written or spoken words is called a "hermeneus." There is good hermeneutics that reveals the true meaning, and there is also bad hermeneutics that gives only false meanings. The good hermeneutics is called exegesis*, while the bad hermeneutics is called eisegesis**. Proper hermeneutics is extremely important because if one's method of interpreting the Bible is wrong, then their conclusions and beliefs will also be wrong. Contrary to the ideas of the deconstructionists, the vast majority of verses in the Bible have only one meaning, not multiple meanings, plus the vast majority of verses in the Bible are literal not symbolic. Furthermore, we must seek to find the meaning that was originally conveyed by the original writer to the original audience; for example, we must understand what God initially inspired Paul to say to the Roman congregations as Paul wrote the epistle of Romans. If we reject the meaning that was conveyed to the original audience in order to establish other meanings, then we will fail to understand, believe and apply what God wants us to learn through the Bible text. Avoiding mistakes in hermeneutics enables us to have a better understanding of God and "experience" Him - rightly! Whenever we attempt to interpret the Bible and understand its message, we must submit to the Holy Spirit of God and allow Him to teach us the true meaning (John 14:26; 16:13; 1 Corinthians 2:9-15; 1 John 2:27).
Two common hermeneutical approaches include:
ALLEGORICAL APPROACH –– The practice of taking a clear statement of scripture and turning into an allegory or fictional story that serves as a "morality tale." For example, virtually all liberal pastors take the stories of the Six Days of Creation, Adam and Eve, the Flood of Noah's Day, the Exodus from Egypt, Jonah and the Big Fish and Jesus' miracles as allegories, parables or morality tales instead of real events that occurred in history. Giving figurative meanings to the majority of Bible passages leads to sharp deviations from the truth. There can be a multitude of figurative meanings for a specific verse, but only one literal meaning, and most figurative interpretations are eisegetical instead of exegetical.
LITERAL-GRAMMATICAL-HISTORICAL APPROACH –– The practice of interpreting a passage of scripture literally and in accordance with historical timelines and the grammar contained in the passage. As mentioned earlier, the vast majority of verses in the Bible are literal not symbolic. Virtually all of the people, places and events mentioned in the Bible are real places, real historical figures and real historical events. Grammar can help a Bible reader to determine the true meaning of any scripture. The literal-grammatical-historical approach is, and should be, the primary method of interpretation used by true honest readers of the Bible.
TYPES OF BAD HERMENEUTICS
A.) – Isolationism: Also called proof-texting, isolationism is the practice of isolating a verse of scripture from its proper context in order to change its meaning and form or support an unbiblical doctrine. For example, the Roman Catholic Church uses Matthew 16:18, 19 as a proof text to show that Peter was the first Pope. Also, the Watchtower Society uses Matthew 24:45-47 as a proof text to prove that God appointed the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses as His sole "channel of communication" for the modern world. We should do our best to read and study the Bible according to contexting instead of proof-texting.
B.) – Spiritualizing: Reading a spiritual idea or concept into a text despite the text not supporting that spiritual idea or concept. An example would be the Watchtower Society's teaching that scriptures commanding Christians to help the poor and needy refer only to Christians preaching the gospel of salvation to the unsaved (spiritually poor). Also, some religious groups, such as Roman Catholicism and the Watchtower Society, would give a spiritual meaning to Proverbs 6:20 by teaching that the Church is the "spiritual mother" of all Christians even as God is their spiritual Father. Therefore such religious groups would require their members to strictly obey both God and the church leaders based on this spiritualization of Proverbs 6:20.
C.) – Culturalizing: Interpreting a scripture in light of changing culture and mores. For example, liberals make the claim that most moral principles contained in the Bible were meant only for the ancient cultures that existed at the time the Bible was written and were not meant for modern cultures. Liberal pastors, such as Rob Bell and Brian McLaren, think that the Bible should be reinterpreted, and that Christianity should be revised or changed in order to accommodate the shifting cultures and generations.
D.) – Nationalizing: Reading one's own country into a warning and/or promise given specifically to the nation of Israel. Verses such as 2 Chronicles 7:14 and Psalm 33:12 are often taken out of context and applied to one's own nation instead of Israel and the Jews. Although God promises to bless or curse any nation on earth based on its righteousness or sinfulness (Psalm 9:17; Proverbs 14:34; Jeremiah 18:7-10), the majority of warnings and promises in the Bible were meant specifically for Israel and the Jews, who are the only ethnic nation on earth to officially have a covenant relationship with God.
E.) – Redefining: Assigning new meanings to biblical terms to suit one's own theology. For example, Robert Schuller redefines sin to mean low self-esteem instead of rebellious disobedience of God's law (1 John 3:4). Likewise, the Watchtower Society defines Jesus' title "Son of God" to mean that Jesus is the first and only direct creation of Jehovah God instead of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity incarnate in the flesh. Annihilationists redefine hell as the "common grave of mankind," while liberal pastors of the seeker-freindly churches redefine hell as a disconnection from God accompanied by feelings of anxiety and depression and a lack of prosperity in the here-and-now. These views of hell are different from the biblical view of hell being the eternal punishment of the unsaved sinners under God's wrath.
F.) – Generalizing: Assuming that a historical event or promise in scripture is to be considered normative and universally applicable today. For example, many people think that, because most Christians in the book of Acts spoke in tongues when they initially received the Holy Spirit, every Christian on earth must be capable of speaking in tongues as part of salvation. Another example would be prosperity televangelists using the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath to teach that God will multiply a person's small donations to the church into an enormous supply that never runs out. There is much debate over the issue of tithing, but the tithing system was established as an Old Testament practice for Abraham and his descendants the Hebrews; it was not meant for today's Christians. Yet I believe Christians are still free to make sizable donations to their church on their own accord, whether it be less than or more than ten percent. People will argue that the Bible very often generalizes and paints with a broad brush, and such people are correct to some extent. The Bible does generalize on some things, but it does not generalize on everything. The Bible makes a generalization on verses like John 3:16, Romans 3:23 and 1 John 1:7-10. We know that these scriptures universally apply to everyone because God said that everyone has sinned against Him and needs Christ for forgiveness and salvation. According to 2 Timothy 2:15, we must make sure that we are "rightly dividing the word of truth" as we interpret the scriptures so that we may understand which truth(s) applies to who, what, why and when.
G.) – Emotionalism & Experientialism: Interpreting the Bible subjectively based on one's own emotions and experiences. People who use this method will say, "These scriptures must mean this because I feel this particular way whenever I read them," or they would say, "These scriptures must mean this because I have experienced something like this before." Human experiences are limited and our emotions flow from a heart that is deceitful and full of evil (Proverbs 28:26; Ecclesiastes 9:3; Jeremiah 17:9; Mark 7:20-23). Therefore, we must not interpret the Bible by our emotions and experiences; rather, we must interpret our emotions and experiences by the Bible that takes precedence over all.
H.) – Individualizing: Reading oneself into a text and claiming that the elements and characters in the text are about oneself. This practice is also called "narcissistic eisegesis." For example, Luke 1:28 is used by individual women to label themselves as "highly favored" and "blessed among women" despite the fact that the context clearly refers to Mary alone, who was selected by God to be the earthly mother of the Christ. John 11:4 is often individualized by sick people who think they cannot die of their sickness, but Jesus was referring specifically to Lazarus who died and was resurrected. People who individualize scriptures often compare themselves to Bible characters, such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samson, David, Solomon, Jesus, one of the OT prophets, one of the NT apostles or any one of the female characters. Should we allegorize specific events and circumstances in the lives of those Bible characters to establish our own moral or philosophical principles for success? No we should not, because God has a unique purpose for each and every person's life, different from that of the Bible characters. God did not call everyone to part the Red Sea like Moses, or slay giant people as David did, or rule over an entire nation like Solomon, or walk on water or raise dead people back to life as Jesus did. Each Christian should interpret the Bible objectively, have faith in God and live out their life according to God's unique calling for their own lives.
I.) – Numerological eisegesis: Taking various numbers in the Bible out of their context and applying irrelevant meanings to those numbers in order to teach unbiblical principles or ideas. For example, Harold Camping misapplied numerology in order to formulate his false prophecies pertaining to 1994 and 2011. It is true that certain numbers, such as seven (7), carry specific meanings in the Bible, but we must avoid applying unbiblical meanings to such numbers.
J.) – Assuming a false premise: The act of quickly jumping to conclusions about the meaning of a certain verse or passage of scripture, thus resulting in a false interpretation. Some would go even further by assuming a false premise on top of a false premise. For example, it is a false premise that Proverbs 6:20 refers to a "spiritual mother," and believing that a specific church or organization is the "spiritual mother" based specifically on Proverbs 6:20 would be assuming a false premise on top of a false premise. This practice must be avoided at all costs.
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* Exegesis is the practice of drawing the authentic, objective meaning out of the Bible text itself based on a careful, objective analysis of all aspects of the text.
** Eisegesis is the interpretation of a text, such as the Bible's text, by reading one's own ideas or biases into the text, resulting in a subjective, inaccurate and distorted understanding of the text.
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The information provided in this post was derived from the studies of Justin Peters of Justin Peters Ministries, Chris Rosebrough of Pirate Christian Radio and a former Jehovah's Witness named Brock Weigum who is now a pastor.
