Hermeneutics: Difference between revisions

'''Hermeneutics''' is the [[science]] or practice of understanding text (''theory of interpretation''). Although there are secular applications, the term was used originally defined as the field of Biblical interpretation. The [[philosophy]] or methodology assumes the [[Bible]] remains as written, but that its interpretation changes between historical periods, across cultures, etc. It is a qualitative research tradition that uses these diverse experiences of people as a tool for understanding the social, cultural, political, and historical context in which interpretations occurs.

It deals with issues, such as whether the [[Bible]] should be viewed as history or [[mythological]]. It may include the process of [[exegesis]] but is broader in scope as it entails a study of biblical texts in order to understand not only the historical aspects of the writings but also the significance of these documents for the present as well.  

: ''Main Article [[Exegesis]]''

Exegesis (also known as the Historical-grammatical method) is a critical interpretation of any text, especially of religious texts such as the [[Bible]] or [[Qur'an]]. More specifically it is an extensive investigation of the original meaning of a text in its historical and literary contexts. A person who is skilled in the science of exegesis is known as an exegete. The opposite of this would be [[eisegesis]].

An important principle of exegesis is determining the meaning an author wished to convey to the audience. It is quite right to use the historians principle of giving more historical weight to those who have more historical immediacy in order to determine what the original intention of the audience views was. It is notable that the [[young earth|young age view]] was held by the early church as well as early Jewish religious leaders.

: ''Main Article [[Eisegesis]]''

Eisegesis means "reading in" and refers to the practice of reading your own ideas into the text. It is an error, in that it does not allow the Bible to speak to you on its own terms, but only through the filter of your preconceived ideas and even worldview. Platonist philosophy may have influenced people to adopt the practice of allegorical interpretation and abandon an approach which uses a more historical/grammatical approach, which is known as [[exegesis]].

|Recounting of events in dry, factual, linear manner;

{{bible quote|13Now it came about in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the water was dried up from the earth. Then Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the surface of the ground was dried up. 14In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. |book=Genesis|chap=8|verses=12-14}}

Some other ancient historical and [[mythological]] accounts do indeed provide rudimentary genealogies and basic geography.  However, none do it in such striking detail, with such objective style.  The description of Eden reads like a dry geography text, not a paperback novel.

* [[Solomon]] was the wisest man of his day, but married pagan wives and allowed them to set up temples opposed to God;

The earliest known form of [[Genesis]] is written.  There is no evidence that it arose from oral traditions.  Some academics ''assume'' that there was one, but they do this without evidence to support their claim.  Genesis has been held out as being based on documents written by [[Moses]] himself.  Other apocryphal accounts like the [[Book of Jubilees]] which are totally factually consistent with Genesis (and stop before Moses's death, unlike Genesis) explicitly claim to have been written by Moses  

 

This contrasts sharply with [[Greek]] [[mythology]], which was collected from oral traditions by Greek historians and mythographers like Herodotus seeking to record their country's beliefs, as well as poets and dramatists whose manifest purpose was to entertain and inspire, rather than to provide a historical annals.