Month: June 2017

5 common objections to “it cannot mean what it never meant”

It’s not the case that we have an understanding of the text without knowing the cultural context, rather we already have enough historical knowledge to forget that we need it!

Hermeneutics are the principles and methods by which we interpret the Bible, the foundation of our beliefs and practice. Sometimes we don’t spend enough time considering their importance, or we deny their relevance altogether. As Richard Beck once quipped: “a fundamentalist is a person who doesn’t think they have a hermeneutic”. Continue reading “5 common objections to “it cannot mean what it never meant””

Studying the Ancient Israelites: A Guide to Sources and Methods by Victor Matthews (Part 2)

Introducing the interdisciplinary approach required to understand the world of the Ancient Israelites

Literary Approaches

Regrettably, literary approaches, which include both critical study of the Bible and the use of ancient Near Eastern literature for comparative study are viewed with suspicion. This is unfortunate as such approaches can provide considerable insight into problems that are commonly advanced as reasons to doubt the integrity of the biblical narrative. Continue reading “Studying the Ancient Israelites: A Guide to Sources and Methods by Victor Matthews (Part 2)”

Studying the Ancient Israelites: A Guide to Sources and Methods by Victor Matthews (Part 1)

Introducing the interdisciplinary approach required to understand the world of the Ancient Israelites

Apart from grammar and semantics, one of the main hermeneutic tools any serious Bible student needs to understand is the historical and cultural context of the Bible. This, needless to say is not a minor subject given that the historical context of the OT alone spans at least one thousand years and covers many civilisations. Continue reading “Studying the Ancient Israelites: A Guide to Sources and Methods by Victor Matthews (Part 1)”