Jaltus
March 14th 2003, 04:24 PM
http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/images/articles/preacher.gif There are a host of rules when it comes to doing exegesis of the Bible. There are such things as remembering the author, time of composition, dealing with genre issues, and the like. However, when one does exegesis for a debate, it must be done slightly differently than most people do their regular exegetical work.
Preliminaries
The first thing to do when dealing with a text is to pray. Obviously theology is a God-focused activity, so it makes sense to get to work with His grace given to you. The next step, or even part of your prayer, is to try to push all preconceived notions aside. This means sitting down at your Bible without your Calvinist, Arminian, Open View, preterist, futurist, or any other theologically non-essential convictions so what you read is filtered only by the Holy Spirit, and not your personal notions of who God is and how He operates. One must approach the text humbly, reverently, not looking to fit God into a box but looking to be fit into God's Word.
Author and Genre Considerations
The Bible is a book which contains a lot of different styles of writing and types of writing. Certain authors use words one way (such as John using "hour" to denote the specific event of the crucifixion and resurrection) and some use them in other ways (Matthew, Mark, and Luke use "hour" to mean only a specific hour). When dealing with the Bible, one must take into account how a specific author writes. Included in this, one must also deal with the type of writing the author is doing. Revelation is much different from John or even I John, but the author has not changed. It is because they are different genres. A genre is the type of writing a book is meant to be. Science fiction is written much differently than history, for they are different genres. In the same way, Revelation (an apocalyptic epistle) is written much differently than John (a gospel/biography) or even I John (an occasional epistle).
Understanding Context
Taking authorial and genre considerations into account, one can begin to try to understand what is meant by a specific verse. However, what comes next in the line of exegetical tools is recognizing context. You cannot interpret a single verse by itself, nor can you take a section of scripture by itself either. Every portion of scripture must be understood in the context of where it is in the specific book, what function it serves by being there, and how it fits into the entire canon as a whole. Each of these three steps needs to be realized in order for context to be fully covered. Generally the surrounding context is called "cotext," which is often considered the most important step of understanding context. The importance of the specific section in the scheme of the book as a whole is called the "importance" or "literary purpose" of the section. How the specific section and the book it is written in compare to the canon as a whole or how they relate to the canon as a whole is called "canonical context," and often is dealt with by putting the verses in question alongside other verses to see how they fit or do not fit.
All of this is standard exegetical procedure. Nothing mentioned to this point is new or innovative. However, it is the coming section which is why this article has been written.
Exegesis for Debates
The above steps of exegesis are what most people do, but then stop at. While this is not necessarily wrong, it generally leads one to affirm conclusions previously held, no matter how hard one tries to take one's theology from the text instead of to it. The reason for this is because most do not consider how the specific text being dealt with would be handled by an opponent of their view or, more positively said, a propenent of a different viewpoint altogether.
Remember, the goal of exegesis is to see what the text actually says, not to see what the text says to me or how it fits in my theology, but what the text actually says.
When debating, we all like to come off as if we are correct, as if what we have laid down is not only the best version of understanding the Bible, but the ONLY version. This most often leads to going right past what another person has written and not seriously considering it. When debating, however, you must always take into account someone else's viewpoint about the scripture in question. If you are trying to defend what you believe without thinking about what the other person says as being a rational (if not plausible) understanding of the text, you might as well not debate.
Too often debates turn into "my theology is right and yours is wrong." Generally this means that people are unwilling to even try to figure out how the other person could be reading the same passage so differently. Also, when preparing to post, it would make a lot of sense to figure out how an opponent would respond so that you could answer their objections before they are even voiced. If you cannot put yourself in that person's shoes in order to debate them, it shows you will probably never have anything meaningful to say anyway since their thoughts are so foreign. Think like your opponent does so communication is smoother. It may not help you win the debate, but it will help you show your integrity in debating.
The final thing to do when debating, though it has been previously brushed up against, is overcoming objections. Oftentimes when writing a sentence or two, you can already hear how your opponent will respond. Instead of neglecting that issue, write specifically to it. If you have a glaring weakness in your argument, then write about it. Shore up your post before you submit it. Clearly lay out possible objections to what you are saying and then refute them. It does no good to say "that is obviously not true," you need to have a full-fledged explanation for why it is not true. The more objections you answer within your post, the less room you give to an opponent to work against you.
Conclusion
Follow every step in the exegetical process when you are working through the Bible. Try to put aside your theological assumptions, remember to read the passage in context, remember to deal with genre and authorial matters. Never forget that every passage is part of a book for a reason and every book is part of the canon for a reason. The major difference in doing exegesis for debates, however, is dealing with your opponents theology and mindset. Be honest about what the person believes, and try to think as they do in order to see how they might respond to your point. Never assume your interpretation of scripture, rather make sure you have valid reasons for it. Above all, never let your reading of the Bible grow so theological that you neglect the spiritual. The Bible was written for salvation reasons first, to encourage and refresh the soul second, and last for theology.
Now go out there and debate!
Preliminaries
The first thing to do when dealing with a text is to pray. Obviously theology is a God-focused activity, so it makes sense to get to work with His grace given to you. The next step, or even part of your prayer, is to try to push all preconceived notions aside. This means sitting down at your Bible without your Calvinist, Arminian, Open View, preterist, futurist, or any other theologically non-essential convictions so what you read is filtered only by the Holy Spirit, and not your personal notions of who God is and how He operates. One must approach the text humbly, reverently, not looking to fit God into a box but looking to be fit into God's Word.
Author and Genre Considerations
The Bible is a book which contains a lot of different styles of writing and types of writing. Certain authors use words one way (such as John using "hour" to denote the specific event of the crucifixion and resurrection) and some use them in other ways (Matthew, Mark, and Luke use "hour" to mean only a specific hour). When dealing with the Bible, one must take into account how a specific author writes. Included in this, one must also deal with the type of writing the author is doing. Revelation is much different from John or even I John, but the author has not changed. It is because they are different genres. A genre is the type of writing a book is meant to be. Science fiction is written much differently than history, for they are different genres. In the same way, Revelation (an apocalyptic epistle) is written much differently than John (a gospel/biography) or even I John (an occasional epistle).
Understanding Context
Taking authorial and genre considerations into account, one can begin to try to understand what is meant by a specific verse. However, what comes next in the line of exegetical tools is recognizing context. You cannot interpret a single verse by itself, nor can you take a section of scripture by itself either. Every portion of scripture must be understood in the context of where it is in the specific book, what function it serves by being there, and how it fits into the entire canon as a whole. Each of these three steps needs to be realized in order for context to be fully covered. Generally the surrounding context is called "cotext," which is often considered the most important step of understanding context. The importance of the specific section in the scheme of the book as a whole is called the "importance" or "literary purpose" of the section. How the specific section and the book it is written in compare to the canon as a whole or how they relate to the canon as a whole is called "canonical context," and often is dealt with by putting the verses in question alongside other verses to see how they fit or do not fit.
All of this is standard exegetical procedure. Nothing mentioned to this point is new or innovative. However, it is the coming section which is why this article has been written.
Exegesis for Debates
The above steps of exegesis are what most people do, but then stop at. While this is not necessarily wrong, it generally leads one to affirm conclusions previously held, no matter how hard one tries to take one's theology from the text instead of to it. The reason for this is because most do not consider how the specific text being dealt with would be handled by an opponent of their view or, more positively said, a propenent of a different viewpoint altogether.
Remember, the goal of exegesis is to see what the text actually says, not to see what the text says to me or how it fits in my theology, but what the text actually says.
When debating, we all like to come off as if we are correct, as if what we have laid down is not only the best version of understanding the Bible, but the ONLY version. This most often leads to going right past what another person has written and not seriously considering it. When debating, however, you must always take into account someone else's viewpoint about the scripture in question. If you are trying to defend what you believe without thinking about what the other person says as being a rational (if not plausible) understanding of the text, you might as well not debate.
Too often debates turn into "my theology is right and yours is wrong." Generally this means that people are unwilling to even try to figure out how the other person could be reading the same passage so differently. Also, when preparing to post, it would make a lot of sense to figure out how an opponent would respond so that you could answer their objections before they are even voiced. If you cannot put yourself in that person's shoes in order to debate them, it shows you will probably never have anything meaningful to say anyway since their thoughts are so foreign. Think like your opponent does so communication is smoother. It may not help you win the debate, but it will help you show your integrity in debating.
The final thing to do when debating, though it has been previously brushed up against, is overcoming objections. Oftentimes when writing a sentence or two, you can already hear how your opponent will respond. Instead of neglecting that issue, write specifically to it. If you have a glaring weakness in your argument, then write about it. Shore up your post before you submit it. Clearly lay out possible objections to what you are saying and then refute them. It does no good to say "that is obviously not true," you need to have a full-fledged explanation for why it is not true. The more objections you answer within your post, the less room you give to an opponent to work against you.
Conclusion
Follow every step in the exegetical process when you are working through the Bible. Try to put aside your theological assumptions, remember to read the passage in context, remember to deal with genre and authorial matters. Never forget that every passage is part of a book for a reason and every book is part of the canon for a reason. The major difference in doing exegesis for debates, however, is dealing with your opponents theology and mindset. Be honest about what the person believes, and try to think as they do in order to see how they might respond to your point. Never assume your interpretation of scripture, rather make sure you have valid reasons for it. Above all, never let your reading of the Bible grow so theological that you neglect the spiritual. The Bible was written for salvation reasons first, to encourage and refresh the soul second, and last for theology.
Now go out there and debate!