SUPPOSITIONS

Critical Consideration Three - Pre-Conceptions and Pre-Suppositions

A passionate student of Scripture will not carelessly look past sources or resources of substance that lead to a greater depth of understanding and a more accurate interpretation of Scripture. These are called critical considerations. When critical sources of

contextual and textual consideration are overlooked or omitted in

the hermeneutical process, both the hearer and the presenter have missed an excellent opportunity to learn and present Biblical truth. Two primary examples of this would be:

• When the potential for personal spiritual growth is limited, shallow, and needs a more reliable foundation to build one's faith, belief, and a trusted platform for sharing and teaching important but difficult Biblical truths and doctrine.

• When the commitment to and the need for veracity and fidelity in Biblical teaching and preaching within the global Church are compromised, communicating (preaching, teaching, and writing) God's Word loses trust between the presenter and the hearer. The hearer must always trust that the presenter of

God's Word has taken every right and righteous step and used every reputable and trusted source to ensure that his or her interpretation and communication of Scripture is accurate, sincere, and not erroneous or disingenuous.

The content of Critical Considerations is to introduce or re-introduce the foundational ideas of Biblical Hermeneutics and its best practices to the community of Christ that seeks not just knowledge of the Bible but an accurate understanding of the author's intended meaning of a divinely inspired text - God's Word.

In addition, Critical Considerations will provide a vehicle for creating conversation and hermeneutical strategies around those methods and structures I have found highly significant to developing interpretive processes for Scripture. The information and research presented will also assist the reader with identifying a baseline for one's hermeneutical knowledge and proficiency level. The processes the reader will learn assisted effectiveness and veracity in biblical interpretation and changed the limited lens and bandwidth of personal growth and scope of understanding. This growth includes identifying and exposing "go-to" points of biblical reference and my comfortable theological preferences to see if they met the standards of a good and righteous process of

hermeneutical scrutiny. These incremental movements account for far more than intellectual advancement and academic endeavor. It represents the journey and the joy of fulfillment and breakthrough into new realms of Biblical study and context. It reaches for more than what has been told, heard, or required. Vetting and scrutinizing the need or desire to be right to prove others wrong - reaching into the unspeakable righteous fulfillment of Biblical understanding and interpretation,

Accurately understanding the Bible requires that we recognize and consider any pre-determinations or pre-suppositions that might influence but distort or shift the author's intended meaning of any given biblical text. Unfortunately (too often), many pastors, teachers, life experiences, cultural influences, and domestic upbringings are paralyzed by a knowledge base of learned behaviors and beliefs that have suppressed or misdirected and not enlightened or illuminated the accurate and righteous interpretive process of God's Word. Nevertheless, there are many scriptural contexts in which a pre-supposed and personal reference interpretive process can be beneficial - it is understandable.

However, the reliability and accuracy of personal reference interpretation often tend to skew and ignore the hermeneutical

process rather than acknowledge or align with it. All interpreters bring their pre-conceptions and pre-suppositions, references, and preferences to the interpretive process. These each influence the understanding or misunderstanding of Scripture, and then critical conclusions are drawn from it.

References and Preferences that Pre-Determine or Pre-

Suppose How We Interpret the Bible

• Denominational Affiliation or History

• A Value System Other Than the Bible

• Dogmatic Theology

• Ethnicity and Gender

• Socio-Economic Background

• Education and Training

• Community and Civil Priorities

• Polarizing Political or Social Views

• Elemental or Limited Biblical Exposure

• Bible Translations Used

• Influential Biblical Preaching

• Orientation Toward Biblical Scholarship

• Family Expectations and Influences

• Life Crisis and Personal Trauma

• Spirituality and Divine Guidance or Revelation

Understanding Biblical Pre-Conceptions and Pre-Suppositions

The discovery, understanding, and resolution of certain preconceptions and pre-suppositions about Scripture interpreted within the foundational and capstone Biblical hermeneutic processes is essential. If those limiting beliefs and practices are not discovered and understood, the spiritually healthy or right and righteous interpretive process is not needed. Why not just interpret all Scripture to what we have pre-determined or is already decided for us? Or, all Scriptural interpretation left to what one or those want it to mean? Irresponsible and dangerous!

Here are some questions to use in discovering those Biblical preconceptions and pre-suppositions that need to be discovered, understood, and resolved.

• Do you see the Bible as a divine inspiration of God's Spirit revealed through the minds, hearts, and circumstances of human writers?

• Do you believe the Bible is both authoritative and true?

• Do you perceive the Bible as a spiritual text with the capacity and purpose for transforming human lives?

• Do you understand the Bible as sovereignly paradoxical in that it is both Unifying and Diversifying?

• Do you believe the message of the Bible is understandable and relative?

• Can you accept the sixty-six canonized Books of the Bible as God's scriptural record to His people?