Subjectivism has influenced both critical biblical studies and evangelical biblical studies. In general, we can say that subjectivists recognize that human beings and the world, and especially matters of faith, are often too complex to be discerned by scientific rationalism. To learn more about subjective approaches to the meaning of scripture, watch today’s Topic Video!
For more videos like this, visit our channel: / thirdmillvideos
To find out more about our content or view transcripts for this video, visit our website:
Website: thirdmill.org
Follow us on social media:
Facebook: / thirdmillennium
Instagram: / thirdmill
X: x.com/thirdmill
LinkedIn: / third-millennium-minis...
Like rational scientific objectivism, subjectivism has influenced both critical biblical studies and evangelical biblical studies.
There are many different types of subjectivism. But in general, we can say that subjectivists recognize that human beings and the world, and especially matters of faith, are often too complex to be discerned by scientific rationalism. So, their search for meaning typically relies strongly on personal faculties like intuition and emotions.
Critical biblical scholars influenced by subjectivism often argue that no objective meaning can be found in a biblical text. So, instead of teaching their students to discover the original meaning of Scripture, they encourage readers of the Bible to create their own meanings by using the Scriptures to suit their own purposes. Some even argue that this is exactly what the writers of the New Testament did when they interpreted the Old Testament. They believe New Testament writers didn’t care about what Old Testament texts meant in an objective sense, and that New Testament authors were mainly concerned with how the Old Testament could be used to promote their Christian beliefs. And critical subjectivist interpreters argue that we should do the same thing - that we shouldn’t worry about the objective meaning of Scripture, and that we should use the Bible to promote our own social, political and religious agendas.
In contrast to critical biblical studies, evangelical biblical studies have mostly avoided extreme subjective perspectives. At least in principle, evangelicals usually acknowledge that the Bible is God’s Word, and therefore, that its meaning is determined by God rather than by interpreters. But evangelicals haven’t been immune to the negative influence of subjectivism on hermeneutics. They often ask, “What does this text mean to you?” without any thought of the objective meaning of the passage. And preachers and Bible teachers frequently read contemporary interests into Bible passages, without any concern for the historical setting of the text.
But despite errors like these, subjectivism has still made valuable contributions to evangelical biblical hermeneutics. It has rightly pointed out that cultural and personal backgrounds, skills, abilities, weaknesses, and limitations significantly influence our understanding of Scripture. And it’s helped us see that just as the Holy Spirit used the subjective outlooks of inspired human authors to write Scripture, he uses our own subjective outlooks to help us understand and apply the meaning of Scripture in our own day.
“The Bible always compels from us a personal response. The Bible is always giving us promises to believe, warnings to follow, commands to obey. And so, there’s always an element of personal response to the Word of God that is really called for. God himself is speaking to us in his Word. But I think it’s important to recognize that’s not the place that we start in interpreting the Bible, as if the very first, most important question is, “How does this passage make me feel?” Or “What is my personal response to this passage?” We need to understand what the Bible meant in its original context before we can get the full meaning that the Bible has for us in our contemporary situation. And so, it’s important to work hard to understand the meaning of the Bible in and of itself and then not stop there because we want to go on to the personal response. But both of those are important in the process of interpreting the Bible.” - Dr. Philip Ryken
10 сен 2024
