Five Criteria for Making Biblical Claims
How to read the Bible and not to be a biblical conspiracy theorist.
There are lots of ways to read the Bible. There shouldn’t be as many ways to make authoritative claims about the Bible.
What is the difference between:
- Reader-oriented and author-oriented approaches?
- Scholarly exegesis and personal inspiration or devotion?
We need to look at some of these different ways to read the Bible and which ones are best to make substantial, formative claims for Christianity as a whole that should be authoritative and not just what you prefer or think.
Overview:
1. Problems with certain approaches to the Bible — a source of moral authority, through special revelation, amongst finite and limited beings with epistemological setbacks.
2. Reader-Oriented and Author-Oriented approaches — and how they ought to be used and not used.
3. Five criteria for making claims — read the text, read the scope of the text, read from the perspective of the author, read the voices that have come before you, and offer claims without pretending like you have the final word.
