Things that Matter

I have often observed that, especially in ambiguous situations, we tend to see what we expect to see. For example, in personal relationships, we tend to interpret a person's ambiguous comment in light of how we expect the person to behave towards and speak to us.

I do not recall considering a similar predilection with regard to Biblical interpretation and theology … until now. As part of my seminary class assignments, I am currently reading Bock's Three Views on the Millenium and Beyond (Zondervan 1999). In Craig Blaising's main piece on premillenialism, I ran across a term, "preunderstanding," that was new to me. Here is an excerpt of what Blaising wrote:

[In certain cases] ideas are already present in the mind of one who begins to research and study what the Bible teaches on the subject. In hermeneutics, this phenomenon is called preunderstanding—the understanding one has about a subject before researching it, or the understanding one has about what a text is probably saying before one begins to study it. …

… Many times we find that our preunderstanding about what Scripture teaches on a subject is confirmed, deepened, and strengthened through further research and study in God's Word. But what if that preunderstanding is wrong? The problem is that we are inclined to favor our preunderstanding. In so doing, we are apt to pass over contrary signals in the text and try to harmonize something of what it says with our predisposed way of viewing it. When we are done, we may falsely declare our view as supported by the text, even bolstered by the illusion that we have grown in our understanding of the matter. (pp. 164-65) (footnotes omitted).

The context in which Blaising was writing was the spiritual vision model of our eternal hope in Christ. However, the point is obviously a general one.

While reading through earlier portions of the book, I had come across instances in which it seemed that a Scripture passage was being stretched and strained to make the desired point. I wondered whether the writer would have reached the stated interpretation of the text had he not already held his particular millenial view. When I read Blaising's discussion of preunderstanding, those instances came to mind, and it "clicked."

We humans tend to get invested in positions that we have long held (or that our parents/pastors/teachers/churches have held and conveyed to us). Once we do, it can be challenging to view a text or topic dispassionately. Yet we need to cultivate the discipline of doing so. Our duty to be faithful to Scripture demands no less.