The Art of Reading and Interpreting Scripture Faithfully
One of the many books that I want to have is ‘The Art of Reading Scripture’ by Richard B. Hays and Ellen F. Davis. The book is too costly and it is not published in India. But I’m glad to have an MP3 lecture by Hays on the book and here’s a summary (or dictation:-)) of the main points in the MP3 with a few personal inputs. To read and interpret the Bible faithfully is important because: i. It is not possible to read Scripture without interpreting it. Consciously or unconsciously, we are always interpreting the Bible as we read. It is important that we learn to do it and do it well because our interpretation tends to be influenced by our social and cultural baggage, educational background, denomination we belong to, etc. ii. The nature of the Scripture itself: that it is both human and divine. The error is more towards treating the Bible as a book fallen from the sky, unpolluted by human hands, thoughts or language. He made a list of inadequate approaches in reading/interpreting Scrip...