Some Thoughts on Biblical Hermeneutics (part 2)
Interpretation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. All of us approach any given biblical text with certain presuppositions. No one is “objective” in interpretation, at least not in the way this term is generally used.
Sometimes the above truths are communicated in such a way that we believe we can escape our presuppositions through self-knowledge and thus approach the text “objectively.” This kind of thinking says that while I may be a Presbyterian, and so I approach Scripture from “Presbyterian presuppositions” (whatever those may be!), I can be aware of those presuppositions and therefore overcome them to interpret the text in a more objective manner.
I would agree there is some truth to this sentiment, but I would also argue this way of construing reality is too simplisitc. There is a bewildering array of presuppositions that influence and shape our hermeneutics. It is not simply that I have “Presbyterian presuppositions” when I approach a text . . . I also have a plethora of various kinds of presuppositions. My starting point in reading Scripture is not simply Presbyterian, but ex-Baptist turned Presbyterian, which means that some of my categories and emphases in interpretation will be somewhat different from those of a life-long Presbyterian. I am an American living in the 21st century, which shapes the way I understand Scripture in such a way that there will be noticeable differences in my hermeneutic and the hermeneutic of a first century Jew living under the Roman Empire. I am male. I live in the Southern US. People from outside my own denomination have influenced my exegetical and theological thinking. There are some historical issues in the fields of theology and exegesis I know fairly well, and others of which I am ignorant. I have certain personal experiences that others have not. I have a desire to find the relevance of the text for the situations and circumstances in which I find myself (which, of course, would be different than the situations and circumstances in which the text was written). The list could go on and on, and each one of these things shapes and influences in some way my approach to Scripture. There is no possible way I can be so self-aware that I can see all of these factors and “rise above” them all to be “objective.” Even if I succeeded to a certain extent in recognizing how some of these presuppositions affect my interpretation, there are presuppositions behind those presuppositions which are harder to discern.
Yet we need not see these truths as primarily negative. “Objectivity” in the sense of “being completely unbiased” is actually not a virtue. Surely we should not be “unbiased” when it comes to how we understand our position before the Triune God! Certainly we should not be “unbiased” when it comes to deciding whether the God of truth has spoken truth. Such “objectivity” places us in the position of God, trying to understand all that can be understood when our knowledge and wisdom is limited and creaturely. So the “subjective” sense of approaching the Scriptures as those who believe what it says is not unimportant.
There are also positive senses in which all of these various factors actually help us in understanding the text better. First, Scripture is not simply a message written for long ago but also for today. So while it is important for me to try to understand the original context of the text, understanding the contextualized “meaning” of the text for my current situation is an appropriate and vital part of being faithful to the text. To do less than that is to misunderstand how the Scripture is God’s Word for us today. Second, since the truth of Scripture is more like a beautiful diamond with many facets rather than a one-dimensional triangle written on a white sheet of paper, our various “perspectives” help us to understand things that others may have missed. The reverse is also true, of course. The perspectives of others in different situations may help us sharpen our own interpretations of Scripture. This is part of what has been called the “hermeneutical spiral” to which we all should submit. As the Scripture says, “Iron sharpens iron”, and so when our various presuppositions that we bring to the text collide against one another, they actually help us to get closer to the “meaning” of the text . . . that is, the meaning the Holy Spirit has spoken for the benefit of the Church.
