Callahan WordWork

 Here is a copy of the final paper I wrote for my Hermeneutics course. It was originally footnoted, but that doesn't translate to the blog. The prompt asked the student briefly address the source and purpose of language, basic principles for interpretation, and the role of the Holy Spirit in interpretation. Enjoy!       There is a strange intruder dwelling within the human heart which one sage called “eternity” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). While most of us can agree that there is something “out there,” it is rather more complicated to agree on what exactly it is and what precisely it has to do with us. The Christian solution to this problem has historically been the belief that the Bible is the descriptive and prescriptive message of the One True God to all humanity.  In light of this text-centered solution, the field of hermeneutics takes on special importance for the Church. A textually-directed community is a hermeneutically-designed community. Therefore, we employ a...

 It's been a while since I added to the Bible Study series, so you might want to go back and review. Then again, you might not. Your call. So far we have had a laser focus on the selected text we are studying. Don't leave it. Stay in it. Let it speak. Today I want to talk about best practices for starting to move outside the text. The two things we are going to talk about are literary context and cross-referencing.  Literary Context The literary context is the literature in which the text is embedded. Unless your text is one entire book of the Bible (I suppose this is possible) it has a literary context. Outside of what your passage actually says, the material surrounding it has the greatest bearing on the meaning. The reason it is so vital is that the ideas your text is communicating are only a part of the big ideas that the whole piece of literature is trying to communicate. Imagine you are examining a staircase in a house. Without looking at anything other than the staircas...

 My parents especially appreciate the book of Proverbs; they always have. Needless to say, their special appreciation for the wisdom found there produced a special emphasis in their parenting. Things like common sense, hard work, frugality, and choosing good friends were discussed and reinforced often. I look back on this emphasis with gratitude and love, seeing that many of those ideas became values, and those values combined to form significant and positive aspects of my lifestyle.  That being said, anything my parents pushed me toward, I was prone to avoid when I got the chance. This has (unfortunately) applied to the book of Proverbs, which I have avoided so far in my short adult life. That is, until this last week.  Mom and Dad, you were right. Proverbs is worth my time. I've been specifically impacted by the repetitive emphasis on the wisdom of silence.  All of you know me. All of you know that I love to talk, especially if I think I hold some kind of valuable ...