Which of the reasons for needing a process of interpretation is the most compelling or helpful for understanding the Bible?
I honestly struggle to choose which reason is the most compelling or helpful for understanding the Bible, as each one feels so significant and potentially impactful on my interpretation. If I had to choose just one, I would select my own questions and perspective taking over. I find it hard to even consider that the way I view or value something, complete with my own emotional responses, can be vastly different from what people of the time viewed or valued. For instance, when I hear about God commanding King Saul to devote their enemies to destruction, complete with women and children, I find my own strong perspective that the killing of non-combatants, let alone children, is wrong if not evil. It is hard for me to shake off my hard-set presuppositions in order to consider a different mindset of an ancient people.
Have you ever seen anything like the Fourfold Approach to interpreting Scripture? Is anything in that approach new to you?
While the Fourfold Approach to interpreting scripture is not a brand new concept for me, I do not believe I have seen this particular approach. The most common approach that is familiar to me is S.O.A.P. (scripture, observation, application, prayer). I have also heard of meditation on scripture similar to looking through the different angles of a crystal or diamond: constantly re-reading scripture while breaking it apart into different sections, considering different contexts and perspectives. The Fourfold Approach seems great though, and I am excited to begin to apply it.
Which aspect of context do you see most ignored when it comes to modern interpretation of the Bible?
I am not sure if this is my own personal bias, or if my feelings actually capture a greater sense of our modern interpretation of the Bible, but I feel that the context of “where are we in the agenda of this book” is one of the most ignored. I see others do this, and most likely am guilty myself of grabbing onto a subsect of verses, or even a chunk of a chapter without keeping the perspective of the book as a whole in mind. “Cherry-picking” if you will! I have to imagine this is closely related to a topical teaching style, where we are often trying to connect scriptures with a theme. I definitely feel convicted to begin zooming out and looking at the context of those verses in relation to the greater agenda of the book.