#46782
Michael R. Bartley
Participant

James used the term “hermeneutic” at the opening of this module. Do you recall what that word means?

Hermeneutics in their formal definition is a means by which we either study or proceed through a set of information or evidence or text etc….

What hermeneutic have you used or been taught to use for reading Scripture?

I was taught the Historical Critical Method as well as some post-modernist methods of interpretation. In this methods the text lays somewhat dry and hollow.

What do you think is the difference between asking about the Bible “What does the text say?” and “How do you read it?”

I actually this the second question is the essential question. How one reads has everything to do with how one communications and how one is read.

Does it help or hinder your approach to reading the Bible to place importance on the hermeneutic, or method of interpretation?

I would not actually want to place importance on a specific reading or methodology of reading but I think what is being asked here, is precisely what I have been doing. Does the reading process and the being read process interact in your personhood.

How does the role of the one reading change when the emphasis is on the question, “How do you read it?”

How is different than what! Put simply the position changes.

Have you had experiences in which you felt you had received a communication from God? Did you trust it, doubt it, or seek help in understanding it from anyone?

NO! I have to be honest I am not convinced God at this time exist. I cannot say I have ever heard, seen or experienced God in a concrete physical way. That just is not something that seems to be in my card deck at this time.