*Hermeneutics: *theory of interpretation.
Like many of you, I study the Bible. And, for fifty-six years as a Jesus-follower, I have been studied by the Bible.
Here is the threefold approach to Scripture that I have.
1. My guiding question is: What is the biblical text saying? Apart from me. Apart from what I might want the text to say, or might not want the text to say.
2. Given an understanding of what the text is saying apart from me, I then ask: What is the biblical text saying to me, about me? Personal application of the text is rooted in the objective meaning of the text. And often, while reading and studying biblical texts, they just speak to me and encounter me, without me asking the question as to what they are saying to me.
3. Then, my question is: What is the biblical text saying to us, about us? I am uninterested in Christians who skip over #1. I am avoidant of Christians who ignore #2 but want to tell others what they think God is saying them (i.e., others).
For #1, I recommend How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, by Gordon Fee.
For #2, I recommend my book, Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God.
Re. #3, remember that the Bible is almost entirely written to communities of God's people, and not for individuals (which does not mean people are not spoken to as individual God-followers). For example, in the letters of Paul, think corporate.
