Have you ever been presented a doctrine you disagreed w/ only to have them
quote a vss. which seems to support it.
Just as there are rules for grammar, math, and science - so are there
rules of interpretation.
HERMENEUTICS - the rules for Biblical interpretation.
1st rule - Context.
A vss. can be in context and misinterpreted.
1) CONFUSED DEFINITION (Within the Church).
Benny Hinn - Adam could fly.
He had "dominion" over the animals.
He could do whatever they do.
Could he also lay an egg like a chicken ?
Could he spin a web like a spider ?
Could he run 60 MPH like a cheetah ?
We must understand each term in scripture to interpret correctly.
2) ESOTERIC INTERPRETATION
What does esoteric mean ?
There is a hidden meaning only the "enlightened" understand.
Emanuel Swedenborg - The Church of the New Jerusalem. (Wayfarer’s Chapel).
Heaven and its wonders and hell On Matt 24 - "The ’sun’ there that is to
be darkened signifies the Lord in respect to love; the ’moon’ the Lord in
respect to faith; ’stars’ knowledge of good and truth, or of love and
faith; ’The sign of the Son of man in heaven’ the manifestation of Divine
truth..."
3) WORLD VIEW CONFUSION
World view - A set of assumptions we hold about the basic make up of our
world, culture, customs, traditions, and settings.
World view confusion - reader interprets the Bible in their own cultural
framework instead of the one in which it was written.
ACTS 14:8-18 Their world view was polytheism.
4) VIRTUE BY ASSOCIATION
Virtue by association - something is good because it is related to
something that has established credibility.
The Mormon book "Doctrine and Covenants" gains credibility by imitating
the language of the Bible. "...In the beginning the word was, for he was
the word, even the messenger of salvation - The light and redeemer of the
world; the spirit of truth, who came into the world, because the world was
made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men"
(D&C 93:8,9)
5) INADEQUATE EVIDENCE Non sequitur fallacy.
Too hasty a conclusion is drawn from too little evidence.
Jehovah’s Witnesses use Acts 15 to support their argument that we should
not have blood transfusions.
"Some persons may reason that getting a blood transfusion is not actually
’eating’. But is it not true that when a patient is unable to eat through
his mouth, doctors often feed him by the same method in which a blood
transfusion is administered ? Examine the Scriptures carefully and notice
that they tell us to ’keep free from blood’ and to ’Abstain from blood’.
(Acts 15:20,29). What does this mean ? If a doctor were to tell you to
abstain from alcohol, would that mean simply that you should not take it
through your mouth but that you could transfuse it directly into your
veins ? Of course not ! So, too, ’Abstaining from blood’ means not
taking it into our bodies at all".
Why is this wrong ?
1) Faulty analogy. Evidence that eating blood = transfusion ?
2) Blood doesn’t function as food. (not digested).
3) How could the Bible prohibit something that wasn’t invented until
centuries later ?
6) OVERSPECIFICATION
Overspecification draws a more specific conclusion from a text than is
legitimate.
In Science and Health Mary B. Eddy interprets Gen 1:1 as follows :
"The infinite has no beginning. This word ’beginning’ is employed to
signify the only - that is, the eternal verity and unity of God and man,
including the universe. The creative principle - life, truth, and love -
is God. The universe reflects God. There is but one creator and one
creation. This creation consists of the unfolding of spiritual ideas and
their identities, which are embraced in the infinite mind and forever
reflected. These ideas range from the infinitesimal to infinity, and the
highest ideas are the sons and daughters of God"
7) TWISTED TRANSLATION :
A biblical text is retranslated, not in accordance with sound Greek and Hebrew scholarship, but rather to conform to the preconceived doctrines of the interpreter.
The Watchtower and Tract Bible Society translates Phil 1:21-23 as though it teaches the doctrine of soul sleep.
(New World Trans.) “For in my case to live is Christ, and to die, gain. Now if it be to live on in the flesh, this is the fruitage of my work – and yet which thing to choose I do not know. I am under pressure from these two things: but what I do desire is the releasing and being with Christ…”
Phil 1:23 (NKJ) “For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
8) SELECTIVE CITING :
To substantiate a given argument, only a limited number of texts are quoted, when if all of the texts that dealt with the subject were quoted a different conclusion would be drawn.
In the Jehovah’s Witnesses book Let God be True, the writer attempts to refute the doctrine of the Trinity by claiming that Christians cite 1 John 5:7 in order to support their view.
9) COLLAPSING CONTEXTS :
Two or more verses which have little or nothing to do with each other are put together as if one were a commentary on the other.
Mormonism links Jer 1:5 with Heb 12:9 in order to fabricate the doctrine of premortal human existence.
10) THE FIGURATIVE FALLACY :
Either 1) mistaking literal language for figurative language or 2) mistaking figurative language for literal language.
Mary Baker Eddy’s glossary of figurative terms. "In Christian Science we learn that the substitution of the spiritual for the material definition of a scriptural word often elucidates the meaning of the inspired writer. On this account this chapter is added. It contains the metaphysical interpretation of Bible terms, giving their spiritual sense, which is also their original meaning."
Dove - A symbol of divine science.
Evening - Mistiness of mortal thought: weariness of mortal mind: obscured views: peace and rest.
Holy Ghost - Divine science: the development of eternal life, truth, and love.
11) SPECULATIVE READING OF PREDICTIVE PROPHECY :
A predictive prophecy is too readily explained by the occurrence of specific events, despite the fact that equally committed biblical scholars consider the interpretation highly dubious.
Mormonism teaches that the stick of Judah and the stick of Joseph in
Ezek 37:16-17 are the Bible and the Book of Mormon.
12) IGNORING ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS
A specific interpretation is given to a biblical text which could well be interpreted in quite a different fashion, but these alternatives are not considered.
Erich Von Daniken claims that Gen 1:26 teaches that God was 1 of many
astronauts.
"’And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness...’ Why
does God speak in the plural? Why does he say ’us’ not ’me’ why ’our’ and
not ’my’? One would think that the one and only God ought to address
mankind in the singular, not in the plural."
13) WORD PLAY :
A word or phrase from a Biblical translation is examined and interpreted as if the revelation had been given in that language.
Mary Baker Eddy interprets the word "Adam" as follows :
"The word Adam is from the Hebrew adamah, signifying the red color of the ground, dust, nothingness, Divide the name Adam into two syllables, and it reads a dam, or obstruction. This suggests the though of something fluid, of mortal mind in solution. It further suggest the thought of that "darkness…upon the face of the deep" when matter or dust was deemed the agent of Deity in creating man, - when matter as that which is accursed, stood opposed to Spirit. Here a dam is not a mere play upon words; it stands for obstruction, error, even the supposed separation of man from God, and the obstacle which the serpent, sin, would impose between man an his creator."
14) INACCURATE QUOTATION :
A Biblical text is referred to but is not quoted in the way the text appears in any standard translation.
Eula Allen, a follower of Edgar Cayce, inaccurately quotes John 14:25,26 in discussing reincarnation with Jess Stearn.
Jess Stearn : “Why, if people have lived other lives, don’t they remember anything from them ?”
Eula Allen : “But they do. It’s just sometimes that they don’t remember that they are remembering. Jesus said “I’ll bring all things to thine remembrance” but He didn’t say how.”
Jn 14:25,26 (NKJ) “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, He will teach you all things that I said to you.”
15) THE BIBLICAL HOOK :
A text of Scripture is quoted primarily as a device to grasp the attention of the reader and is then followed by teaching which is so non-biblical that it would appear far more dubious to most people had it not been preceded by the reference to the Bible.
Mormonism uses James 1:5 as a hook in order to teach that Joseph Smith was the founder of the only true Church. "One day as he was reading in the Bible, he came across this Scripture: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God… Joseph Smith went to a grove of trees near the home of his father and mother… as soon as he began to pray, a dark power overcame him. He was thrown to the ground and was nearly destroyed. At that moment… a vision of the heavens was opened to him.. the being that spoke with Joseph told him not to join any of the Churches, for they were false. The Lord also said that in due time, through Joseph as His instrument, He would restore to earth the true religion".
16) SUPPLEMENTING BIBLICAL AUTHORITY :
New revelation from post biblical prophets either replaces or is added to the Bible as authority.
The Mormons believe that the Bible contains errors that can only be clarified by using doctrinal books that supplement the authority of the Bible.
Joseph Fielding Smith says “We are aware that there are errors in the Bible due to faulty translations and ignorance on the part of translators: but the hand of the Lord has been over this volume of Scripture nevertheless, and it is remarkable that it has come down to us in the excellent condition in which we find it. Guided by the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Spirit of the Lord, it is not difficult for one to discern the errors in the Bible”.
17) REJECTING BIBLICAL AUTHORITY :
Either the Bible as a whole or texts from the Bible are examined and rejected because they do not agree with other authorities such as reason or other revelation.
Archie Matson rejects the authority of the Old Testament based on the Sermon on the Mount.
“While He (Christ) knew and loved the Old Testament, He did not hesitate to quoted it six times in one chapter of His most famous sermon: and then to contradict it each time with His “But I say unto you””.
18) THE OBVIOUS FALLACY
Words like “Obviously, undoubtedly, and certainly” are used to make the reader believe that the interpretation presented is the obvious one and no further research is necessary.
Erich Von Daniken claims that the Ark of the Covenant was electrically charged and acted as a medium of communication between Moses and a spacecraft.
“Undoubtedly, the Ark of the Covenant was electrically charged: If we reconstruct it today according to the instructions handed down by Moses, an electrical conductor of several hundred volts is produced.”
