This is the tenth in this puzzling passages series, and therefore, I supposed this would be a good time to pause and consider why it is a good idea to get to the bottom of passages that confound us whenever we come across one.
When we look at a puzzling passage, our brain sets off alarm bells warning us that something is off about the interpretation we currently hold of this passage because we perceive contradictory info from what we are reading. We are experiencing cognitive dissonance. The reason we are experiencing cognitive dissonance is precisely because we understand the word of God to be free from contradictions and errors. Surely God’s word must pass the “internal contradiction” test. We also feel disturbed as Christians because we know that the stakes are high, simply because wrong thinking (that arises from wrong interpretation) leads to wrong living.
In order to resolve this cognitive dissonance, we need to think out of the box for alternative interpretations, and then weigh “for” and “against” arguments to see which interpretation fits better with the big picture of the Bible (whole counsel of God).
We need to bear in mind that accepting a lone passage or instruction in the Bible at face value without checking it against the whole counsel of God (big picture) can be dangerous and detrimental to our spiritual health. If we do so, we will experience cognitive dissonance. The mental toil (alarm bells) ought to move us towards a remedy.
At the same time, we also need to be careful of the other side of the coin: refusal to accept a legitimate instruction in the Bible and choose to “remedy” it unnecessarily. In doing so, we are simply justifying our bid to disobey God’s word. Therefore, it is as important to check our own motives as we engage in Bible interpretation.
In general, a good interpretation will:
- Resonate with the overall teaching in Scripture. It ought to be in line with the big picture.
- Resonate with logic. It cannot be self-contradictory. For example, to say that my red table is not red defies logic. Remember that God chose to communicate with us logically. Yes, there are many mysteries in the Bible that we will never be able to comprehend, but note that something being a mystery is different from something being illogical.
- Usually resonate with tradition. Usually, how respectable theologians have interpreted it over the decades would generally be rather trustworthy. However, the keyword is “usually.” Traditional interpretations are still subject to error. For example, many years ago, theologians were using passages in the Bible to justify slavery or defend the flat-earth theory.