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Courtney Dion October 15, 2011 BH 104 Fall 2011 Welborn Why I Believe in the Literal, Normal Hermenutic

Why I Believe in the Literal, Normal Hermeneutic

The most basic reason that I believe in the literal, normal hermeneutic is that Christ taught that one must come to salvation through Him "like a child." That is, on simple faith. If salvation is so simple, then why would the Lord in His infinite wisdom make the understanding of His Word complex? God wants us to be able to communicate with Him. Communication errors occur when one person must interpret and make assumptions concerning what the other person has told them. There are numerous other reasons why I believe the normal, literal method of interpretation is correct including: personal anecdotes, in-text scriptural verification, and logical reasoning concerning human thought and error. From my personal experience, authors rarely write with some underlying, mysterious insight for their readers to discover. At one time, I was an English major. During my studies, I often had to "explain" the meaning of stories and poems. I despised doing so. Finally, I researched it,

Courtney Dion October 15, 2011 BH 104 Fall 2011 Welborn Why I Believe in the Literal, Normal Hermenutic and after finding an interview with a famous poet, went to my professor with my findings. In this particular interview, this poet said that she was often asked what the "deeper meaning" of a particular poem was. Her response what that there was no deeper meaning. The poem "was what it was." There was no deeper meaning to a child making mud pies, she was just remembering the fun she had as a little girl. This same author also went on to make the statement that authors rarely write with a "deeper meaning" and are often annoyed when asked what that "deeper meaning" was in their works. The most important reason for the literal, normal hermeneutic is that it is scripturally verifiable. All prophecies concerning the first coming of Christ were fulfilled literally. There is no debate about this- and there are over two thousand prophecies about His coming. In the New Testament, Christ often spoke in parables, however, these parables always had an easily discerned meaning, and Christ also explained each parable He taught so that there was no question as to the interpretation. Using His teaching as a framework, if God's Word were

Courtney Dion October 15, 2011 BH 104 Fall 2011 Welborn Why I Believe in the Literal, Normal Hermenutic intended to be interpreted any other way, He would have also provided the literal interpretation of it. If any other method of interpretation is used, human error can cause great turmoil and debate. Because we are human, SINNERS, we often make mistakes. When interpreting the Bible, we are still human, we still make mistakes. If we allow our imaginations to interpret some scriptures, we would be able to say that things that God plainly state as sin are not actually sin. We can see this on a daily basis in the churches that have given the "okay" to homosexuality. The Lord destroyed two cities because of homosexuality and it is spoken against numerous times in the New Testament, but through "creative" interpretation, some preachers have made people believe that homosexuality is not a sin. This is also true in the case of abortion, fornication, and other "black and white" sins. This creative interpretation has also allowed for the creation of cults such as the "Prosperity Gospel." Cults such as these destroy the testimony of the Church. These people create impossible standards and ideals that by being a "good" Christian you will live in this personal utopia.

Courtney Dion October 15, 2011 BH 104 Fall 2011 Welborn Why I Believe in the Literal, Normal Hermenutic How then, do they explain all of the Biblical evidence of Christians facing martyrdom, starvation, and other turmoil? Paul and Silas were not in prison because they had committed some unforgivable sin, rather they were in prison because of their witness. It is also important to note, however, that in interpreting scripture literally, the historical context must be considered. Scriptures were intended for particular audiences be it all of Israel, a particular church in the New Testament, or all Christians, the historical context affects how we use the interpretation. Although a particular scripture may not be written to us, we can all still make some application of it in our own lives. For example, Paul instructs the Corinthian church on the issue of women wearing head coverings. While we do not wear head coverings today, there is still application that we can make in our lives. In conclusion, the literal, normal hermeneutic provides a system of checks to ensure that we are keeping the Word of God in context and understanding what God wanted us to learn from scripture.

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