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Terminology H

Hermeneutics
Humanism

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Hermeneutics

The science of interpreting the Bible (or any piece of literature) is called hermeneutics. The word comes from a Greek word, hermeneuo, which means to interpret or to explain. Interpreting the Bible is not a simple process of reading what has been written. The art of biblical interpretation developed slowly. While there have always been some people who interpreted the Bible in ways similar to what we do today, the science of biblical interpretation began to develop in the days of the Renaissance and Reformation and was given new importance by the work of Luther and Calvin.

Questions to Ask

The meaning of a piece of writing is seldom clearly self-evident to anyone who happens to read it. Especially is this true if the writing is a very old document, written for someone who lived in a very different cultural-historical setting. If we want to interpret a piece of literature, we must ask at least five questions:

Who was the writer and to whom was he writing?
What was the cultural-historical setting of the writer?
What was the meaning of the words in the writer’s day?
What was the intended meaning of the author and why was he saying it?
What should this mean to me in my situation today?

These basic questions lead into other questions that must be explored in a serious attempt to understand the message of the Bible. The reader today must somehow try to enter the world of the biblical writer and seek to understand what the writer was saying. Then he must bring that ancient message into today’s world where the reader lives.
There are some basic principles that should be observed by the interpreter of the Scriptures.

The Bible is a divinely inspired book^*and should be reverently approached.
The Bible has a genuinely human element, also, since God used ordinary people to write the Scriptures.
The primary aim of the interpreter is to discover the original meaning of the author who wrote the passage under consideration.
Preference should be given to the interpretation which is clearest and simplest, the most obvious.
Only one meaning should be given to any passage of Scripture, unless a later passage of Scripture assigns it a second meaning.
Careful attention must be given to the literary form of a passage in determining its meaning.
Careful attention must be given to the historical situation of a portion of Scripture.

Abridged Source: The Holman Bible Dictionary - J. Terry Young

Humanism

A philosophical system of thought that focuses on human value, thought, and actions. Humans are considered basically good and rationale creatures who can improve themselves and others through natural human abilities of reason and action. Secular Humanism is a late development emphasizing objectivity, human reason, and human standards that govern art, economics, ethics, and belief. As such, no deity is acknowledged.

Source: http://www.carm.org/dictionary/dic_g-h.htm#Humanism

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