The Bible in a Year

Special Issue

Hermeneutical Principles
Hermeneutics – the Study of the Message
Hermeneutics (hur – men – oo – tix ) is the study of the
intended communicated message within a given media.
In theology, the term applies to the process of
determining the message of a given text.
Differences in hermeneutics can be found throughout
Christianity, and even throughout different Lutheran
bodies. These differences then naturally lead to
different views on matters of church practice. For
example:
• Lutherans (all), Evangelical Christians, most
mainline Christian protestant groups, most
charismatics – Have the hermeneutical principle of
“Sola Scriptura” in which all theology must be
derived from Scriptural sources.
• Roman Catholics – Have the hermeneutical
principle of traditional interpretation, which ties
 the meaning of Scripture to the tradition of
historic Christianity and that of the Roman church.

• Quakers, some charismatics – Have the

hermeneutical principle of continuous revelation,
wherein meaning can be added to Scripture
through specific revelations to Christians.

Different Lutheran Hermeneutics

Although united in the principle of “Sola Scriptura”,
Lutherans are not united in another aspect of
hermeneutics which deals with relationship between
God’s Word and the Bible. There are generally two
accepted camps within Lutheran hermeneutics:
• Mainline/liberal – “The Bible contains the Word of
God.” This hermeneutical approach affirms that
the Bible is the only source and norm for theology
while allowing for some passages to be read
simply as historical information with no direct
bearing on the practice of individual Christians
and corporate churches.
• Evangelical/conservative – “The Bible is the Word
of God.” This approach affirms that the Bible in its
entirety is the source and norm for theology, as
well as affirming that every passage of the
canonical Bible is to be considered when
practicing Christianity individually or corporately.
(University Lutheran as a part of the Lutheran
Church Missouri Synod subscribes to this
hermeneutical approach.)

4 Step Methodology
This 4-step hermeneutical methodology for
hermeneutical applicaiton is suggested to help
especially in the case of passages that are difficult to
understand and gain meaning and application from:
1. Determine the original application and meaning of
the passage
2. Evaluate the specificity of the application and
meaning of the passage beyond its original
primary audience
3. If the passage’s specific application and meaning
do not go beyond its original primary audience,
consider the cross-cultural principles and
applications of the text.
4. Apply the principles and meaning of the text to
the current context (today, here).

Please don’t throw this away. If you’re not going to use it, leave it for
someone else to use.