History of Biblical Hermeneutics From the Reformation to the 1700's Part 1

In this series of articles, I will continue from where Anthony ended in his history of pre-reformation hermeneutics. I will be discussing the Reformation through the 1700s.

In the late 1400s the Roman Catholic church was as far from biblical hermeneutics as possible. At this point the Catholic church had become a worldly enterprise, the pope chose to rule over the government, and bishops were chosen because of the power they had - not for any other qualification. And the Roman church had decided that it was the most important and ultimate authority in deciding what the Scripture says. This led to a time in which biblical hermeneutics was completely discarded and some of the most tragic and damnable heresies were not only propagated, but also were enforced through threats of excommunication, torture, and death.

During this time the Roman church had all but despised the Bible, and certainly didn't apply true biblical hermeneutics. They had added many doctrines to the Bible, and the chief among these was the heresy that a person must work toward they're salvation. The truth from scripture that a person is saved by faith, through grace alone, was completely rejected at the time of the zenith of the Catholic church. The church taught that working - especially in relation to the Catholic church - would merit God's favor, and thus obtain a person entrance into heaven. The biblical concept that God would graciously forgive sinners by faith alone was was an impermissible doctrine which was shunned with utter hatred.

"Salvation is by faith alone through Christ alone through God's grace alone. When you put your trust in Jesus Christ, God declares you righteous. Not because you are, but because He imputes the righteousness of Christ to you, because He imputes your sin to Him. Christ bears your sin, you receive His righteousness. This is the glory of the great doctrine of justification. Roman Catholicism doesn't believe that. The Council of Trent, 1545 to 1563, came out with statements. Listen to some of them. "To those who work well unto the end, and trust in God, eternal life is to be offered." That doesn't sound like anything I just read. To those who work well unto the end, and trust in God, eternal life is to be offered. Listen to this. "It is given as a reward, promised by God Himself to be faithfully given to their good works and merits. By those very works which have been done in God, fully satisfied the divine law according to the state of this life and to have truly merited eternal life." Eternal life in the Catholic system is something you earn by your works, you merit it and you receive it because of your merit. That is absolute and total contradiction. That is another gospel." [1]


This rejection of the grace of God, inescapably led to a false biblical hermeneutic, and the elevation of the Catholic hierarchy, writings, and traditions over scripture in almost every area. "Roman Catholics since the Council of Trent, flatly deny that Scripture is the supreme authority in all matters of faith, conduct and doctrine. The words of Vatican II, quote: 'The Roman Catholic Church does not draw her certainty about all revealed truth from the holy Scriptures alone, but both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal feelings of devotion and reverence.'" [2]

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Godliness and Contentment

In my last two posts, I talked about being a good example, and the beauty of nothing.

"But godliness with contentment is great gain." - 1 Timothy 6:6

I read that verse in 1 Timothy a few days ago, and realized that it summed up those main two points. There are two more things I'd like to mention, though, to wrap it all up.

First, the power of the tongue. My pastor has recently preaching through the book of James, and James heavily emphasizes the power of the tongue, for evil and for good.

"Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great htings. Behold, how great a matter a liuttle fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, and it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell." - James 3:5-6

Also, I've been reading these last few days through the books of 1st and 2nd Timothy, where Paul warns Timothy repeatedly against ungodly words.

"Of these things, put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of hearers." - 1 Timothy 2:14

"But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness." - 1 Timothy 2:16

"But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes." - 1 Timothy 2:23

Secondly, our joy. The message by Pastor Wurmbrand was an excellent guidepost towards experiencing "the beauty of nothing." This is mission critical - if we are not letting the Lord be our everlasting satisfaction and overflowing joy, we are veering toward idolatry. No matter what the external circumstances may be, we are commanded to rejoice always! Thus, this a very important matter - a command, which we must obey by the grace of God... for the praise of the glory of God. Yet, this is also about happiness, and joy. This balance was summed up by C.S. Lewis when he wrote, "There is a kind of happiness and wonder that makes you serious."

May we be serious as we seek to be holy - by the strength and mercy and grace that God gives to us daily - and pursue ultimate joy in God. A holiness that glorifies God and is a testimony to His love and goodness... and a joy that cannot be broken by the storms of this world.

The Clipboard: Basics of Christian Communication

A key element of Christianity is the communication of the God's Word, I would like to briefly address some of the basic goals that Christian need to have in regards to conveying precious treasure of wisdom that only Scripture offers.

Proclaim the Word

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20)

We are charged by Christ to teach all nations, specifically to observe the commandments found in Scripture. We must use the Scripture as the foundation for what we say.

Always Ready to Give a Reason for the Hope Within

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. (1 Peter 3:15)

The Christian communicator must be prepared (always!) to be able to defend his faith. At the end of 1 Peter 3;15 we see that there is a exhortation to convey this hope with meekness and fear. I will address meekness later in this mini-series, but the principle of Godly fear when expounding upon Christianity is essential to our approach.

Fear of the Lord

It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble. (Luke 17:2 NASB)

When I am instructing others from and about the Scriptures, my one of my greatest prayers is that I do not cause my audience to "stumble." I cannot not stress enough the sobriety that every Christian should have when he approaches the podium. Do not take the mantle lightly!

As we have learned today, the Christian as he fulfills his commission to communicate the gospel, must always be ready to provide a defense of his faith always keeping in mind that he should approach his office with desire to submit to Christ and His Word. I look to forward to explaining many of these issues in more detail in the coming weeks.

Pre-Reformation History of Biblical Hermeneutics: Part III

Having finished looking at the hermeneutics of Ezra and the scribes, what remains in this pre-reformation history is a period of 1400 years. The question posed at the end of part II of this series was “Will the religious leaders, church fathers, and medieval theologians of this era maintain the same hermeneutical preciseness exemplified in Nehemiah 9?”

A few decades before the birth of Christ, two rabbis come on the scene. Hillel and Shammai both lived during the reign of King Herod, from 37 B.C. to 4 B.C. Sadly, it was their differing character traits and perspectives (rather than holding to unchangeable Biblical standards) on the Roman occupation that led to their differing hermeneutics. “Shammai was concerned that if Jews had too much contact with the Romans, the Jewish community would be weakened, and this attitude was reflected in his strict interpretation of Jewish law. Hillel did not share Shammai's fear and therefore was more liberal in his view of law.” [1]

Another more serious issue arose a few centuries before, and it affected the Church for centuries to come. Years after Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey were written, other Greek philosophers came along who admired and desired to preserve these early writings. Yet, they also were embarrassed by the content – the immorality, and the way it portrayed the gods as weak and like humans. The easiest solution to this was to allegorize. “This allegorizing approach enabled Greek philosophers who came along later… to promote their own ideas while claiming to be faithful to the writings off the past. They could promote their own teachings under the guise of allegorizing the mythology of Homer and Hesiod.” [2]

The Jews also faced a similar dilemma. In their minds, the Old Testament contained unedifying stories of immorality, and also undesirable anthropomorphisms (the representation of God as having human form or traits [3] ). Two examples would be the story of Judah and Tamar (immorality), and a verse such as Exodus 15, verse 3: “The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name” (anthropomorphism). Instead of humbly seeking to understand the original meaning and context of these passages, they chose to allegorize. In some cases, the Jewish people went beyond allegorization and actually deleted such references. This occurred in the Greek translation of the Old Testament – the Septuagint.

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Part I: A Man Named Ezra || Part II: Prayer of the Levites
Part III: Religious Leaders and Medieval Theologians

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[1] http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/hillel.html
[2] Zuck, Roy. Basic Bible Interpretation. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1991. Print.
[3] http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=anthropomorphism

What Kind of Christian are You?

What kind of Christian are you? A recent article by Christianity Today explained some research they gathered on the types of Christians that exist. According to this research they specified five types of Christians :

1. Active Christians
2. Professing Christians
3. Liturgical Christians
4. Private Christians
5. Cultural Christians

Their definition of “Christian” is large based upon a person saying that they are a “Christian” as opposed to know them by their fruit (Matthew 12:33)

The Biblical analysis of their description of Active Christians vs. Cultural Christians:

1. Believe salvation comes through Jesus Christ vs. Favor universality theology/Do not view Jesus as essential to salvation/Affirm many ways to God

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

2. Committed churchgoers vs. Little outward religious behavior or attitudes

Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

3. Bible readers vs. Little outward religious behavior or attitudes

But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (Psalm 1:2)

4. Accept leadership positions vs. Little outward religious behavior or attitudes

This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. (1 Timothy 3:1)

5. Invest in personal faith development through the church vs. Little outward religious behavior or attitudes

But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:13)

6. Feel obligated to share faith; 79% do so. vs. Little outward religious behavior or attitudes

But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: (Galatians 1:15-16)

These characteristics describe 19% of 1,000 "self-identified Christians," essentially 190 people. All Christians should either be or on the road to becoming similar to the people in this side cut of America's Christians. While not an exhaustive list of the facets of a Christian life, we can learn some of the basic parts of approaching our daily walk.

You may read the full article here, I will note that I disagree with several statements in the commentary, but the whole article will provide useful information regarding the condition of the modern church.