Last week we discussed that in many cases the translation of the Bible is more of an interpretation of the Bible than a translation. The past couple of weeks I have been reading a book on a totally different subject—about the history of man’s quest to harness the power of the sun. [1] In recounting this history, Kryza discussed the feud between Roger Bacon and the papal court. The papal court subscribed to a reading of the Bible in terms of science that was guided by the metaphysics of Aristotle and divine revelation (which generally is someone’s interpretation of divine revelation). Bacon maintained that experimental science had the final say in interpreting matters of science discussed in the Bible. [2]
So how do we interpret the Bible? Yes, there is a whole field of study called hermeneutics which should guide us but hermeneutics will not solve all the problems we encounter when we read the Bible. For example, in this blog we have raised three questions about the Christian doctrine of salvation. These questions came up because there was a difference between what I was taught the Bible said about salvation and what I observed in the world and what I read in the Bible. So do I stick with the traditional interpretation of what salvation is or do I utilize what I have discovered in my personal experience to try to resolve these questions?
___________________________
[1] Frank T Kryza, The Power of Light, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003.
[2] Kryza, p. 53.
