Reason<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nIt takes very little exposure to religious discussions to appreciate that different theologians interpret the Bible in different ways. The meaning expressed in a biblical text is \u201csingle, definite and fixed.\u201d See Article VII of the Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics. For We must interpret Scripture according to the grammatical-historical hermeneutical approach if we are to develop a correct interpretation. A concise definition of the grammatical-historical approach is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The grammatico-historical method, on the other hand, refers to studying the biblical text, or any other text, in its original historical context, and seeking the meaning its author(s) most likely intended for its original audience(s) or addressees based on the grammar and syntax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Historical Critical\/Grammatical View\u201d by Craig L. Blomberg in Biblical Hermeneutics Five Views (2012), IVP Academic Press, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426 at p. 28<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For more details, see Articles XIII, XIV, and XV of the Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The term \u201creason\u201d means \u201cinformation that comes from the human mind\u2019s capacity for logical, rational, and analytic thought.\u201d See page 99 of the Notebook. Reason is the critical discipline one uses to study Scripture, and thereby, correctly interpret Scripture. Examples of \u201creason\u201d can come from mathematics, such as, for example, the basic truth that 1 + 1 = 2 or that a triangle has three sides. Reason includes using fundamental principles of logic like the principle of non-contradiction, which states that that contradictory propositions cannot both be true,<\/strong> e. g., the two propositions ” A is B ” and ” A is not B ” are mutually exclusive. <\/p>\n\n\n\nReferring to the New Testament, the Greek verb dialegomai<\/em> means \u201cto reason, argue, prove, persuade.\u201d See Mounce\u2019s Complete Expository Dictionary of New & Old Testament Words (Zondervan) at p. 561. Mounce\u2019s expounds on dialegomai<\/em> in a Pauline context:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u2026 we must do much more than just talk, dialegomai<\/em> involves preaching and teaching that harnesses reason and logic into a defensive and positive exposition of God\u2019s Word to persuade and edify.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\nGod created mankind to include a mind. A believer\u2019s \u201csold out\u201d love for God includes his or her mind per Matthew 22:34\u201340 (ESV), which reads [emphasis added]:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 \u201cTeacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?\u201d 37 And he said to him, \u201cYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind<\/strong>. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nIn verse 37, the ESV translates the Greek noun dianoia<\/em> as \u201cmind,\u201d and it means \u201cthe psychological faculty of understanding, reasoning, thinking, and deciding\u2014\u2018mind.\u2019\u201d. See Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, pp. 323\u2013324). New York: United Bible Societies.<\/p>\n\n\n\nReason is part of our cognitive thinking process to arrive at the single, definite, and fixed interpretation of a passage, i.e., the correct interpretation, of Scripture. It is through the use of our mind to reason in applying the principles of the grammatical-historical hermeneutical approach that we arrive at the correct interpretation of Scripture, which forms the foundation for our theology. One quotation from Jonathan Edwards reads (see page 99 of the Notebook):<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While God wants to reach the heart with truth, he does not bypass the mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cReason\u201d, which is below Scripture, ranks second on the Theological Hexagon. It is the source that employs the grammatical-historical hermeneutical approach to arrive at the correct interpretation of Scripture. We take the correct interpretation of Scripture and move along the pathway of biblical interpretation to engage tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tradition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe term \u201ctradition\u201d means \u201creligious information that has been handed down from various sources.\u201d See page 98 of the Notebook. Tradition can mean the collective wisdom of the church in interpreting Scripture. Tradition provides us with insight as to how our predecessors in the faith practiced faithful discipleship, as well as ways in which they may have strayed off course. Tradition is a powerful teaching tool that is always in development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking at the New Testament helps to understand \u201ctradition.\u201d The ESV translates the Greek noun paradosis<\/em> as \u201ctradition\u201d in Colossians 2:8, which reads:<\/p>\n\n\n\n8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paradosis<\/em> means the content of traditional instruction. It has the sense of a specific practice of long-standing handed down from respected authorities. See Logos 8, Exegetical Guide. Paradosis<\/em> can have an unfavorable sense when used of the tradition that is added to Scripture. According to one theological dictionary, one can use paradosis<\/em> in a positive sense:<\/p>\n\n\n\n2. Christian teaching is also tradition in 1 Cor. 11:2; 2 Th. 2:15. It must be adhered to by the churches (1 Cor. 15:2). To be valid it must be handed down (1 Cor. 15:3) and must derive from the Lord (11:23), i.e., it must have divine authority. One may see from 1 Cor. 15:3ff. and 11:23ff. that it is older than Paul and is already acquiring a fixed form in his day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (p. 168). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paul handed down paradosis<\/em> or traditions. One biblical example is 1 Corinthians 11:2 (ESV), which reads:<\/p>\n\n\n\n2 Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another biblical example is 2 Thessalonians 2:15 (ESV), which reads:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A third biblical example is 2 Thessalonians 3:6 (ESV), which reads:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6 Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christ-followers were to abide by those traditions taught or delivered to them by Paul. It is safe to assume that the traditions handed down by Paul were consistent with Scripture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Scripture should not be bound by tradition, in our quest for truth, we should not disregard how sincere Christian leaders who were sensitive to the work of the Holy Spirit looked at theological issues. Examples of tradition are creeds, statements of faith, sermons, a liturgy of worship, and other kinds of church-generated materials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The background of a tradition helps to assign theological weight. For example, a tradition like the Nicene Creed, which was the result of much study and discussion, carries more weight than one sermon by one preacher. For \u201ctradition\u201d to meaningfully impact the development of our theology, it must be consistent with the teaching of Scripture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTradition\u201d, which is below Scripture and Reason, ranks third on the Theological Hexagon. Tradition functions to either confirm our theology or act as a bumper stop to prevent our theology from going \u201coff the rails.\u201d After interacting with the correct interpretation of Scripture, tradition will either confirm the interpretation or raise a question about the correctness of the interpretation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If tradition confirms the interpretation, we continue on the pathway of biblical interpretation. If tradition from a credible source raises a serious question about the biblical interpretation, we return to apply again reason to arrive at the correct interpretation. If, after review, the correct interpretation remains the same, we continue on the pathway of biblical interpretation past tradition and on to general revelation. If the interpretation changes in light of tradition, we move on to general revelation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hope you enjoyed this post. Please send me any comments at steve@stevebelsheim.com<\/a> or use the comments feature of the blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNOTICE OF PERMISSIONS<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am mindful of and respect the rights other authors and\/or publishers possess in their works. I thus try my best to not violate any copyright rights other authors and\/or publishers possess in their works. The below copyright permission statement is the result of my best efforts to understand that limited usage or \u201cfair use\u201d is available and\/or to secure direct permission for specific works. Scripture quotations are from the ESV\u00ae Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. The short quotations from various sources are considered to be fair use.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In this post, I discuss the first three sources of theology of the Theological Hexagon. These sources are Scripture, reason, and tradition. Special Revelation, i.e., Scripture The term \u201cspecial revelation\u201d, i.e., Scripture, means the Bible (i.e., sixty-six books of the Protestant Bible). The Bible is God\u2019s Word according to 2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV) and 2 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[321],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-study"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=208"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":209,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208\/revisions\/209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}