Where do you go for authority? Interpreting the bible.

[ben hind]

When you get stuck, what do you take as your main authority of what the bible means by what it says (interpretation)?

1. Yourself - you try and use your reason, experience, emotions, etc. to figure out what it means.
2. Your church/tradition - you find out what your denomination, or tradition (baptist, reformed, protestant, catholic, orthodox, etc.) has said about it.
3. Your preferred bible teachers - you find out what your most trusted and preferred bible teacher says about it.
4. None of the above - when you get stuck, you tend not to take a stance on any one position.

And why do you go there for authority?

[ben hind]

I'd go for number 4.

Simply because after doing an A level in philosophy, I realize how well reasoned you can be about something and still be wrong. I have a fairly pessimistic epistemology where I really can't take a stance on things that are a bit 'fuzzy', because of just how big the margin for error is.

- Ben

[PreachinJesus]

I don't honestly know if any of these fit. Usually when I come to a sticky point in Scripture that I need to do some work on I will normally work in the original languages, discover some quality commentators I trust, hear from others, and then form my opinion. Does that make sense? I dunno...

[Anselm]

For me it just depends. Being an engineer and wanting to take a scientific approach to things I tend to always form an educated hypothesis and then see if the hypothesis can stand up to the scrutiny of scripture, tradition, reason, emotion, experience, and science (if applicable). The more the hypothesis can withstand the scrutiny the higher my certainty becomes that my hypothesis is correct or at least close to some truth.

But in general if I'm just totally stumped on something and don't have the time or desire to study something I go with #3 with the caveat that I will sometimes appeal to a trusted source and not necessarily a single person. As an example I have a high level of trust in Bible.org, parchment & pen, etc, though this isn't to say I always go with what they say.

[Raquel]

5.Pray and ask my trusted few (not teachers nor of a particular tradition) what they think.

I go there for authority because the fruit that I see in my 'trusted few' lives is undeniable even to the non-believer. I trust fruit far more than any tradition. I pray because I trust God more than I trust my 'trusted few.' Sometimes I don't hear His voice like thunder but I'm still curious as to what my 'trusted few' have to say on the subject.

[Jack]

I have a trusted,spiritually mature, well taught in the greek, brother/mentor whom I debate with and frequently agree with, but if I'm still unsure, I don't take a stand.
Degrees, Fame, and popularity do not insure accuracy.
I struggled with one passage of scripture for 30 years, because the popular explanation made no sense. Finally, the Lord/Holy spirit gave me understanding and peace. My mentor disagreed with me, and no one I read agreed. Later, I found that Wuest's expanded N.T. Understands, as I do.

[SweetSomber]

I think I mainly go with 4 - I don't take a stance until I feel that I understand the issue better. I think about it, ask God about it, consider the different views of my family, church, preferred Bible teachers, and I ask for the opinion of other christians and non-christians. Generally I let all those answers sift around in my head for a while, and then an answer 'comes to me.'

Even when I have a stance, though, I know that it may be incorrect. Sometimes I've had a ? about a subject for a couple years, and then things happen in my life and I hear new ideas and it all fits together in my head.

[Rey Reynoso]

First I prayerfully consult scholars and commentators I trust to show me some insight to Greek and Hebrew which I don't have.
Next I consult scholars and commentators who I don't trust and see how much shift has occurred in the interpretation. Interestingly enough this winds up pretty much settling since often this group says something like "this would be true, if it was the same author" or something like that. Incidentally this sort of thing doesn't happen that much and usually with passages that have long been argued which leads to third.
I consult Church tradition insofar as what the Church has always professed to believe. If they haven't had a position or a shifting position then I start to shift the thing to a category of tertiary importance and very likely that I'll hold a position I'm not fully committed to.
Lastly I decide based on the evidence.

[Apolojedi (Daniel Eaton)]

RJ Rushdoony said something to the effect that when one finds the source of their truth, they find their God. I think a lot of people turn their favorite Bible translation or pastor into an idol and never question anything that comes from them. When they don't do that, they end up "leaning on their own understanding" and becoming a theological island. Proper theology is a process and no one explains it better than the Intro to Theology course at The Theology Program.

[J. Matthew Barnes]

If I decided to not continue when I reached a fuzzy point I would never finish my degree and be the worst Bible teacher in the history of the world! :)

Seriously though, when I get to a tough spot (and I find more of them now than I used to) I will spend as much time thinking and praying about it as possible. Often, though, I have a deadline that is requiring me to make some sort of a stand (teaching, preaching, turning in a paper). So when faced with such a situation I tend to think about all the possibilities for a particular passage and then write them down. Each interpretation likely has a bunch of "pros" going for it, so that is not the wisest way to make a decision. Instead I'll choose the interpretation who's "cons" I can live with. When this still isn't clear, I will admit it as such when I teach, preach, or write. But the "I don't know" option is very tempting because it is much easier than the "after much hard work, thinking, and praying I have come to the following conclusion" option.

(In the process listed above I also receive help from different authors and friends. I try to get help from as diverse a bunch as possible since they will see things from different angles than me.)

[ben hind]

This is great stuff guys, you all sound like you have a pretty balanced way of going about things. I knew I should've put a 'combination of the above' option!

I'm sure we all don't take any one option as an isolated method of going about understanding the bible. But would I be right in thinking there is a main or final avenue we all go down when we get stumped? I mean in terms of; I can't figure it out (option 1), so I see what my trusted teachers/friends say about it (option 2), but they sometimes contradict each other and have good reasons for disagreeing; so I default to what my church/tradition has believed (option 3). So although you go through each option eventually in the end you default to one of the 4 options?

I'd 'default' to option 4 when the other 3 don't work out in some way, though I'd definitely use the other 3 before I just opt-out and call it a day.

- Ben