St.AugustineHermeneutics Lecture SeriesI. How to Use the BibleII. How to Interpret Anything

St.AugustineHermeneutics Lecture SeriesHow to Interpret Anything

Not Seeing Whats ThereSeeing Whats Not There

The Iron Bed of Procrustes:

Very hospitable,One size fits all--or else!(Theseus vs. Procrustes)First, do no harm to the evidence

Two Ways toStuff StuffInto your MindJean Piaget (1896-1980)Cognitive psychologistAssimilation(recognizing likeness)Accommodation(making room for the new)

Two Ways toStuff StuffInto your MindJean Piaget (1896-1980)Cognitive psychologist

Not Seeing Whats ThereSeeing Whats Not There

Tips intro1. Squint at itTips for Seeing Whats There:2. Flip it over3. Find negative space4. Catch the Moment5. Re-make it6. Give up your eyes7. Say what you see8. Use back- ground knowledge

Applying this to textsClear and UnclearGenre: What kind of thing is this?Parts and Whole

Let him, that is yet unacquainted with the powers of Shakespeare, and who desires to feel the highest pleasure that the drama can give, read every play from the first scene to the last, with utter negligence of all his commentators. When his fancy is once on the wing, let it not stoop at correction or explanation.

Let him read on through brightness and obscurity, through integrity and corruption; let him preserve his comprehension of the dialogue and his interest in the fable.

-- Samuel Johnson, Preface to Shakespeare, 1765

there is a kind of intellectual remoteness necessary for the comprehension of any great work in its full design and its true proportions;

a close approach shows the smaller niceties, but the beauty of the whole is discerned no longer.

-- Samuel Johnson, Preface to Shakespeare, 1765Parts are not to be examined

till the whole has been surveyed.

How do you get the big picture?Rapid Re-ReadsII. Outline

As I proceeded,I began to catch the drift of Pauls thought; or rather, I was caught by it and drawn on. The mighty argument opened out and arose like a great work of art above me till at least it enclosed me within its perfect proportions. It was a revolutionary experience. I saw for the first time that a book of Scripture is a complete discussion of a single subject; I felt the force of the book as a whole, and I understood the different parts in the light of the whole as I had never understood them when reading them by themselves. Thus to master book after book is to fill the mind with the great thoughts of God.

Outline or ChartThis is an invitation to try things out

Outline or Chart

Name:__________ Date: __________

Outline I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

1 Adam2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7 a8 a9 a10 a11 a12 a13 a14 a15 a16 a17 a18 a19 a20 a21 a22 a23 a24 a25 a26 a27 a

Pre-fall

St.AugustineHermeneutics Lecture SeriesHow to Interpret Anything