e. obligatory) way - unless it can be demonstrated on other grounds that the author intended it to function in this way. Their statement that "John's larger concern is that, despite present appearances, God is in control of history and the church" is the capstone of this section. If I had read something like this when I first came to Faith it would have saved me from many wacky interpretations.

The continued effort at promoting the NIV in lieu of providing the reader with meaningful commentary on hermeneutical methodology was overreaching and biased contributing little to the topic. An acquaintance told me that one of his dear professors had recently passed away, so I sent him my condolences. Reading the Bible a lot, and being able to quote a lot of verses, does not eliminate the need for paying close attention to the text--and the context (literary, social/historical, etc. Therefore, without intending to do so, the reader is interpreting as he or she reads, and unfortunately all too often interprets incorrectly.

While Fee and Stuart's treatment of Old Testament narrative is not as thorough as that provided in works such as "Introduction to Biblical Interpretation" by Klein, Blomberg and Hubbard, it is nevertheless a commonsensical and worthwhile approach. The parables are some of the most beloved portions of Scripture and also perhaps among the most misunderstood and misinterpreted. In one of the first sections, right there on page 23, it says, “Interpretation that aims at, or thrives on, uniqueness can usually be attributed to pride .

I'd long understood that most abuses of biblical quotation and interpretation centered around either proof-texting, or a simple lack of thorough reading (not reading the verse before and after the verse in question, never mind taking the time to read the full paragraph or chapter it's actually found in. For some, the Bible "plainly teaches" believers' baptism by immersion; others believe they can make a biblical case for infant baptism. For one thing the Bible itself tells you that you need the Holy Spirit to help understand, so there is that.While many of the suggestions are applicable to reading different genres in general, the material breaks down when to apply them and where it’s not appropriate to apply them. B. Warfield, the great Princeton theologian, wrote: the OT is like a room full of wonderful furniture but the light is off, but with the NT, the light is turned on.