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Post by Josh on Apr 23, 2008 20:11:01 GMT -8
So, there's a spectrum of hermeneutical emphasis between two poles. On the one hand (A) there are those who only see value in ascertaining the authors original intent in a passage of Scripture. On the other end of the spectrum (B) are those who read more esoteric double or deeper meanings into all sorts of passages of Scripture.
At times in the history of Christian interpretation, the pendulum has swung back and forth on these perspectives. Many of the early Church fathers held to B, while modern biblical criticism has engrained A into the minds of the serious interpreter.
The average Christian has probably stayed somewhere in the middle most of the time.
I personally usually find myself somewhere between the middle and point A, though my appreciation for B has grown through the study of Church history and personal experience.
A couple questions related to all this:
To what degree might the superintending work of the Holy Spirit on Scripture allow certain passages to transcend the original intent of the human author?
To what extent can/does God use passages of Scripture out of their original context to communicate to Christians in a fresh or subjectively private context?
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