Rules of Interpretation

You left one off. Any particular reason?

...and I was fixin to give you a 'winner' until you corrupted the OP in the last paragraph with your ever present, obsessive anti-Calvinist/anti-Sovereign Grace Vanology. 'You people' wear it on your sleeves, always.

 

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Brother Glen

 

"Edited". By who, you? I haven't compared the OP to what the Calvinist theologian Charles Hodge originally wrote, I initially took it at face value.

So, Van, what modifications to what Hodge actually wrote have you made in the OP?

 

Van provided the exact quotes edited simply by bolding the text.



Charles Hodge provided three rules of interpretation. They are prefaced by the statement below.

§ 6. Rules of Interpretation​

If every man has the right, and is bound to read the Scriptures, and to judge for himself what they teach, he must have certain rules to guide him in the exercise of this privilege and duty. These rules are not arbitrary. They are not imposed by human authority. They have no binding force which does not flow from their own intrinsic truth and propriety. They are few and simple.
Hodge, ST. p. 187.​

The third rule follows:

3. The Scriptures are to be interpreted under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which guidance is to be humbly and earnestly sought. The ground of this rule is twofold: First, the Spirit is promised as a guide and teacher. He was to come to lead the people of God into the knowledge of the truth. And secondly, the Scriptures teach, that “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Cor. 2:14.) The unrenewed mind is naturally blind to spiritual truth. His heart is in opposition to the things of God. Congeniality of mind is necessary to the proper apprehension of divine things. As only those who have a moral nature can discern moral truth, so those only who are spiritually minded can truly receive the things of the Spirit.

The fact that all the true people of God in every age and in every part of the Church, in the exercise of their private judgment, in accordance with the simple rules above stated, agree as to the meaning of Scripture in all things necessary either in faith or practice, is a decisive proof of the perspicuity of the Bible, and of the safety of allowing the people the enjoyment of the divine right of private judgment.
Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 1 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 187–188.​

Hodge provides these few simple rules. Don't be satisfied by thinking these rules make interpreting the Bible easy.
Despite what Hodge writes, they are not simple rules, they are general guidelines.
There are uncountable volumes on how to interpret Scripture, each seeks to define how these "rules" can be properly utilized.

Rob

 

This is 'twaddle' to Vanology?

3. The Scriptures are to be interpreted under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which guidance is to be humbly and earnestly sought.

 

Ohhhh, I see why you dropped Hodge's third rule, it goes against Vanology in a huge way.

" 3. The Scriptures are to be interpreted under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which guidance is to be humbly and earnestly sought. The ground of this rule is twofold: First, the Spirit is promised as a guide and teacher. He was to come to lead the people of God into the knowledge of the truth. And secondly, the Scriptures teach, that “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Cor. 2:14.) The unrenewed mind is naturally blind to spiritual truth. His heart is in opposition to the things of God. Congeniality of mind is necessary to the proper apprehension of divine things. As only those who have a moral nature can discern moral truth, so those only who are spiritually minded can truly receive the things of the Spirit.

The fact that all the true people of God in every age and in every part of the Church, in the exercise of their private judgment, in accordance with the simple rules above stated, agree as to the meaning of Scripture in all things necessary either in faith or practice, is a decisive proof of the perspicuity of the Bible, and of the safety of allowing the people the enjoyment of the divine right of private judgment.
Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 1 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 187–188."

I was only hitting 'the high points'.

 

Many years ago, I was excited to obtain Pink's (I'm a big fan) 'Interpretation Of Scripture' which was 145 pages and panned out to be quite complex (I think he wrote it before he left Dispensationalism, Dispies tend to make the simple complex). Later I acquired Hodge's (Amil) three volume set of Systematic Theology and loved his K.I.S.S. approach to scripture, particularly 'Perspicuity of the Scriptures. The Right of Private Judgment'.

"The Bible is a plain book. It is intelligible by the people. And they have the right, and are bound to read and interpret it for themselves; so that their faith may rest on the testimony of the Scriptures, and not on that of the Church. Such is the doctrine of Protestants on this subject.........." Charles Hodge

 

^ Vanology "twaddle" ^

 

Prediction:

No one here will offer anything that resembles a rational argument in refutation of a single point of your opening post.

 

When the plain sense makes sense, look for no other sense.

 

When people read this:

They think it means this:

When my first impression makes sense, seek no other sense.​

Common sense is not so common.

If you want an example I could point you towards a few threads in this forum.

Rob