Interpreting Scripture

Biblical interpretation or technically speaking, hermeneutics, is a powerful field within the Christian faith. It is also a very serious one. To take into one's hand, the word of God, and explain it, is a very serious matter, that should not be taken lightly. This is, after all, THE word of God, upon which men are to build their lives and hearts.

There have been many books written about the subject, each one purporting to be a faithful methodology. Some are extremely academic works, written by and for the educated and others are simple, straightforward efforts by simple, straightforward men.

On one hand, it could be argued that any passage of Scripture could be interpreted in any way the interpreter sees fit, as long as it draws the listener to God. But it could also be argued that the text must be faithfully interpreted according to word meaning, literary form and context, taking into account historical context, author's intent, and the culture of the original audience.

Ultimately, I believe that any interpretation or commentary on the text of Scripture should not be arbitrary. The reader must have a sound reason for any interpretive position. “Why” and “on what grounds” is any meaning applied to a text. Scripture is not wax, to be molded as one sees fit. The original author meant something by the words he used and the original audience would have, most likely, understood what the author meant. These should be a starting point, at the very least.

And remember, the Bible warns about being a teacher. It's a great responsibility. We must not project upon the text, our own opinions or ideas. The explanation of the text ought to be built from the text itself (and its context), not upon our whims, ideas or preferences. Our goal should be to explain the text, not define the text.

Defining normal

I recently came across a blog focusing on "Normal Christianity".  While I didn't read the blog, it did trigger some thoughts in my thinking.  What comes to mind when you think of normal Christianity, or  as I would prefer "normal Orthodoxy"?  You first have to define what is meant by "Orthodoxy" and then define what you mean by "normal".  And then one would need to articulate the means and "rules" of how those definitions were determined.  In essence, what authority does one use to define the rules for defining those terms.  In short, what constitutes reality.
Oof, that is a handful (or a headful to be more precise).
To answer these questions, at least for the Christian, one needs to explain and articulate how we read the Bible the way that we do and who we look to for interpretive direction.  Obviously, if you asked an Evangelical, a Protestant,  a Roman Catholic or an Eastern Orthodox Christian what consists "normal" Christianity, you would receive pretty radically different answers.  Why?  Because how they interpret and what they recognize as authority in things spiritual, are different.
So then, what about you?  I, being Eastern Orthodox, look to the historic church and what it has always believed through these last twenty centuries, as authoritative.  The Calvinist will look to a logical, systematized handling of Scripture for their interpretive efforts.  The Roman Catholic will do a combination of logical, systematized interpretation, historical Roman Catholic tradition and papal decree.  The Protestant/Evangelical world will use a wide variety of interpretive tools/imagination in handling text or making doctrinal proclamations.
So defining normal does not come down to "common sense" or "just read the text", but religious authority.  And understanding what that means and the how that authority possesses the authority it does is the pinnacle of importance.