ContextsNow and Then

6. The Historical-Cultural Context 7. What Do We Bring to the Text?8. The Literary Context9. Word Studies

Unit 2

What Do We Bring to the Text? • IntroductionIntroduction

– The key to interpreting the Bible is recognizing the context.

– One context that is often overlooked is our own context as a reader.

– As readers we are not entirely neutral or objective.

– We bring a lot of “baggage” with us when we approach the Bible.

• PreunderstandingPreunderstanding

– All preconceived notions and understandings that are formed in us before we actually study the text. We get this “baggage” from:

• Personal experiences• Cultural influences—e.g., music, movies,

literature• Family • Church• Race• Nationality

– Why do we need to recognize preunderstanding?

• Our preunderstanding is not always biblical and sometimes needs to be changed.

“Pride does not listen. It knows.”

– Kevin Vanhoozer

• Our preunderstanding can easily take over and lead us to stand over God’s Word, dictating what it means, rather than placing ourselves under the Word.

• Tendency toward “interpretational reflex”

– Our tendency is to fill in the gaps in the biblical texts with information from our own background and experience.

– Our cultural background can create a world of possible and impossible meanings for a biblical text before we even study the text.

– What do we do with our preunderstanding?

• Our preunderstanding is not inherently bad, but it can lead us astray if we fail to recognize it.

• It will be impossible to deny that we have any preunderstanding.

• We need to submit our preunderstanding to God’s Word, placing it under the authority of the text.

• We should be open to changing our preunderstanding when a serious study of the text demands it (humility?). We come to the Scriptures with a preunderstanding. Through our study of God’s Word we are changed, resulting in a new (and more biblical) preunderstanding.

OurPreunderstanding

God’s Word

• What are presuppositions?– beliefs we assume are true w/out support from other

beliefs, or arguments or evidence.– Everyone has presuppositions & they color our

interpretations of the world.

• Two important things to note about presuppositions: – Presuppositions are necessary in order to think or

believe anything at all. – They affect what other beliefs you accept or reject in

your system of beliefs.

Presuppositions

• PresuppositionsPresuppositions

– Total objectivity is impossible for any reader, but

• this is not our goal. • Aim towards adequate understanding

– Christians have faith commitments (what we call presuppositions) that do not change each time we study the Bible (in contrast to preunderstanding).

– What are some evangelical presuppositions about the Bible?

– What kind of interpretive baggage do you bring to the text?