Reading the Bible does not seem difficult. Interpreting them, on the other hand, can be a challenge. There is a simple rule of thumb for getting to the bottom of what the Bible is saying: read the text in context.
Books, sermons and lectures on the Bible – how do they present what the Bible says to us? There are big differences. One is trying to trace, or at least trace, a theme directly in the Bible. Others, however, have their own themes, and the Bible is quoted mainly to support their own views.
Whether the author’s statement is confirmed by the biblical text in a thematic examination can usually not be checked at all. The Bible quotation is not explained at all, but only mentioned. This is the problem with thematic considerations that tend to be guided by buzzwords rather than basic themes of Scripture. The “correct interpretation” of biblical passages is then assumed or suggestively foisted upon the reader. This happens too much in sermons, too often in books, and it can be reproduced in many conversations as well: People quote the Bible in order to confirm a certain “insight”. Again and again I was presented with such an ideology disguised as “biblical truth”. Anyone who doubts the statement is also quickly accused of not believing the Bible. Then healthy debate is made very difficult, if not impossible.
Is a Bible quote enough?
A Bible quotation “taken by itself” can also be misinterpreted. Is it enough to quote a Bible verse to “prove” something? Hardly! However, there is another way.
The standard rule for healthy Bible interpretation is very simple: read each text in context. Each Bible verse should be read in its own context and also understood and interpreted there first. This shows respect for the text, the writer, and last but not least, the original recipient.
Read text in context
One can approach the biblical text in different ways. It is, of course, helpful to read the Bible all the way through and thereby gain an impression of various contexts. However, this takes a lot of time. If one wants to start from a single text, that is, to encounter the text in the way that is often quoted – a verse here, a quotation there – then one can think of a better way of looking at the Bible as concentric circles:
Starting with a word, one can try to understand the word in the sentence, then the sentence in the paragraph, the paragraph in the chapter, the chapter in the context of the book, and the book in the context of the whole biblical story. You can’t always tell the meaning from the sentence alone. Only in context does the meaning shine. However, such an approach to the text as an entry point is not very easy. For the practiced reader, however, it is helpful.
Reading a text in context also means that you put your own interpretation on the back burner. One listens first to the text, to the story told, to the motivations of the people mentioned there, to the goals the writer had in mind with these verses. If I understand this to some extent, a Bible passage or verse can be interpreted much better.
It can happen that the first impression of a text is deceptive and the text speaks of unexpected things that only become apparent upon closer inspection. Only reading the text in context gives me the information for a more objective interpretation. Soberly, this is about an understanding of the text. How am I supposed to understand the message of the text if I don’t know the meaning in context?
Are most doctrinal and dogmatic differences based on this disregard for context? If one forgets the annoying context once, then of course every text can be interpreted at will. However, as soon as you fade in the context, you are brought back to the original story, to the original statement. In context, arbitrary interpretation is no longer possible. Therefore, it always helps to look at the text in context.
