Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Lowell L. Bennion, "Some Guides to the Interpretation of the Bible"


In his An Introduction the Gospel, Lowell L. Bennion offered the following guide to biblical interpretation, including urging LDS to read scholarly biblical commentaries:

SOME GUIDES TO THE INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE

As we read the scripture, we should do so with a few guides in mind, which will help us to understand and appreciate it, and to interpret it honestly and fairly . . .

1. We should try to check the accuracy of translation. This is not easy to do since most of us are not familiar with the original languages of Hebrew and Greek. We can study a great number of translations and scholarly commentaries, and thereby arrive at the opinion of men of learning. Our only other check is our own practical wisdom and the inspiration we may seek and receive from the Lord.

2. We should read each book within the Bible as a separate work, seeing to learn what we can about the language, author, people, and circumstances of the day. This we can do by referring to a good Bible commentary and by studying the best historical works on the subject. Often the latter are less prejudiced and more fair than books published by churches. The little book of Amos, for example, becomes much richer in meaning if we know that Amos lived in the Eighth Century B.C. in Judea and went north to the Kingdom of Israel at a time when Israel was enjoying a post-war prosperity and the people were both self-righteous, shallow, and hypocritical in their “religious life.” It is helpful to know that when Amos speaks of the “kine of Bashan” (Amos, Chapter 4) he is not speaking of well-fed cattle gazing on the best pasture land of Israel, but of well-fed women in Israel, prodding their husbands to oppress the poor while they live in luxury with no mercy for the poor and afflicted in Israel.

3. We should interpret single passages in their context. Single verses are written as part of passages; single passages are part of larger themes. It is unfair to the meaning of scripture to interpret a single verse without being sure that the interpretation is in harmony with that which goes before or after. In practically every religion some writers are guilty of this practice of singling out verses favorable to a position taken on some point of doctrine. This we should guard against doing in fairness to the book and to truth. One can prove almost anything from the Bible if one selects his own verses out of context.

As an illustration, consider the verse in I John 4:8, which reads, “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” The last part of this verse has been quoted sincerely as proof that God is love, nothing more. Taken by itself it says just that. However, if one reads the entire little book of I John, one notes that God is more than love. The author stresses this one attribute of Deity because a major purpose of his writing the book was to inspire men to love one another.

4. We should interpret single ideas in scripture in the context of religion as a whole. In a lecture, an architect said that there are three things an architect keeps in mind as he plans a house: soundness, utility, and delight or beauty. These are wonderful guides to home planning. Everything one does, whether in planning the garage or the kitchen, must be sound, functional, and delightful to be completely satisfying.

This same method of referring single ideas back to a few big fundamental guides applies equally well in the study, interpretation, and living of religion. One should not base his faith on single passages or ideas in the Bible taken separately, one at a time. He should search for the big fundamentals in scripture which are taught or implied over consistency to his religious views. For example, read the entire Bible to see what the big, oft-repeated concepts about God are. With these in mind, one brings to an interpretation of a single passage the larger Biblical views of the nature and character of God. When we proceed in this way, we know that God is more than love, for the scripture teaches again and again that he is Creator of the universe. Revelator to the prophets, a Person of justice as well as a Person of mercy and love.

What do the scriptures teach about man when we study them thoroughly? Is the freedom and responsibility of man reiterated again and again and implied in practically all scriptural teaching? If so, it should become a guide to our interpretation of each passage of scripture. A single verse which appears to deny man’s agency cannot be taken at face value as a final source of the doctrine of man, as some theologians have taken isolated verse from Paul.

The great fundamentals of religion pertaining to God and man should guide us in interpreting all passages and lesser ideas. We cannot accept as truth interpretations of scripture which deny the Fatherhood, justice, impartiality, and love of God, or the freedom, worth, and brotherhood of man. In any field of life we do well to live by fundamental principles; this applies to religion no less than to business or the practice of medicine.

5. We should keep in mind the Spirit and emphasis of Jesus Christ. Christians, who look to Jesus Christ as the great teacher, revelator of the Father, the Son of God, and their Savior and Redeemer, do well to make his life and teaching normative for their own interpretations of scripture and religion. He fulfilled and thereby did away with many things in the Old Testament. Other teachings he strongly affirmed and strengthened. We believe that we should have his concept of God and man in mind as we read all scripture. When we find ideas which contradict his Spirit and teachings in the scriptures, then we cannot accept them for ourselves and live by them. Either our interpretation is wrong or there is an error of translation, or there is a teaching adapted to people of different needs, circumstances, or understanding, or there is some human limitation in the picture.

Great fundamentals of religion are found in the Bible, including the Gospel of Christ. The Gospel, although contained in the Bible, is greater than the Book. So we use the Gospel to interpret all passages in the Bible.

6. We should remember the poetic character and the rich imagery of Biblical writers. Jesus himself chose strong figures of speech to drive a great religious truth home. He said, for example,

Ye are the salt of the earth. (Mathew 5:13)
Ye are the light of the world. (Matthew 5:16)
Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? (Matthew 23:33)
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets. (Matthew 23:37)

The religious teaching implicit in these sayings is to be taken literally, but not always the figure of speech which makes the teaching remembered.

7. We should read the scripture with humility, prayerfully seeking inspiration from Deity as we read. If they were written by men of God under his inspiration, surely, the same kind of attitude is needed by the reader and by the student if he is to gain what went into their writing. When we read poetry, we do so in a poetic mood, with feeling as well as thought, searching for the mood of the poem. Much scripture is also poetic and cannot be appreciated except with feeling, with aspiration and with a desire to worship.

The Bible is not a treatise in philosophy, nor a scientific textbook, nor a scholarly, thoroughgoing historical chronicle, nor even a text in theology. It is a deeply religious and moral work, trying to teach Israel and all men how to worship and serve God and how to deal fairly and considerately with fellow men.

As Latter-day Saints, we love and cherish the Bible just for what it is. It is neither perfect nor complete as a revelation of God to man, but it is the largest, riches, and most revered scripture we know. Our faith had its origin in a boy’s faith in the Bible. That faith led to more revelation . . .(Lowell L. Bennion, An Introduction to the Gospel [Salt Lake City: Deseret Sunday School Union Board, 1955], 107-10)

Further Reading