Do I Interpret the Bible Literally? Seven Tests to See If I Truly Do -- By: George Zeller

Journal: Conservative Theological Journal
Volume: CTJ 08:23 (Mar 2004)
Article: Do I Interpret the Bible Literally? Seven Tests to See If I Truly Do
Author: George Zeller


Do I Interpret the Bible Literally?
Seven Tests to See If I Truly Do

George Zeller

Assistant to the Pastor
Middletown Bible Church

Introduction

Dispensationalists seek to interpret the Bible literally, that is, to consistently understand the Scriptures in their plain, normal, natural, obvious sense, much like we would read and understand the newspaper, a book, a poem, an essay or other types of literrature. Bernard Ramm says, “We use the word ‘literal’ in its dictionary sense: ‘... the natural or usual construction and implication of a writing or expression; following the ordinary and apparent sense of words; not allegorical or metaphorical’ (Webster’s New International Dictionary).”1

Mal Couch and Charles Ryrie express this concept well:

A normal reading of Scripture is synonymous with a consistent literal, grammatico-historical hermeneutic. When a literal hermeneutic is applied to the interpretation of Scripture, every word written in Scripture is given the normal meaning it would have in its normal usage. Proponents of a consistent, literal reading of Scripture prefer the phrase a normal reading of Scripture to establish the difference between literalism and letterism.2

If God be the originator of language and if the chief

purpose of originating it was to convey His message to humanity, then it must follow that He, being all-wise and all-loving, originated sufficient language to convey all that was in His heart to tell mankind. Furthermore, it must also follow that He would use language and expect people to understand it in its literal, normal, and plain sense. The Scriptures, then, cannot be regarded as an illustration of some special use of language so that in the interpretation of these Scriptures some deeper meaning of the words must be sought.3

The Clarifying Statement on Dispensationalism, published by the New England Bible Conference, says it this way:

The Bible must be interpreted literally which is the way language is normally and naturally understood. We recognize that the Bible writers frequently used figurative language which is a normal and picturesque way of portraying literal truth. The Bible must be understood in the light of the normal use of language, the usage of words, the historical and cultural background, the context of the passage and the overall teaching of the Bible (2 Tim. 2:15). Most...

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