eschaton
July 10th 2006, 11:46 AM
Interpretation of scripture has a lot to do with what we understand about eschatology. What can be accepted as truth isn't different from what was taught to the early church in the apostolic tradition.
Modern students will often dismiss language they don't understand as hyperbole (exaggeration). I have even heard one person here at TWEB refer to this sort of language as "ANE trash talk." Can you imagine Jesus referring to the OT as ANE trash talk? It became fashionable to relegate difficult passages to hyperbole about the 17th century. I would like to suggest the WWJS (What Would Jesus Say) test for supposed hyperbole.
1. How often did Jesus identify hyperbole in the OT.
2. How often did the apostles interpret passages in the OT as hyperbole.
3. How often did the early church dismiss scriptures as hyperbole.
I think if we take these three questions into account when interpreting scripture we can get a much more accurate picture of what the scriptures are saying, and therefore understand eschatology better.
Modern students will often dismiss language they don't understand as hyperbole (exaggeration). I have even heard one person here at TWEB refer to this sort of language as "ANE trash talk." Can you imagine Jesus referring to the OT as ANE trash talk? It became fashionable to relegate difficult passages to hyperbole about the 17th century. I would like to suggest the WWJS (What Would Jesus Say) test for supposed hyperbole.
1. How often did Jesus identify hyperbole in the OT.
2. How often did the apostles interpret passages in the OT as hyperbole.
3. How often did the early church dismiss scriptures as hyperbole.
I think if we take these three questions into account when interpreting scripture we can get a much more accurate picture of what the scriptures are saying, and therefore understand eschatology better.