How are We Supposed to Understand Scripture?

There are nearly as many interpretations of Scripture as there are people reading it. Since Scripture instructs believers to have “sound doctrine,” how can serious seekers discover what sound doctrine is?

I have concluded that the answer is found in the nature of truth. God claims to be Truth. The Bible claims to be His Word. It also claims to be Truth. If that is true, then it is reasonable to conclude that the nature of truth itself is the key that unlocks Scripture. So, what is Truth?

Philosophers tell us that Truth has two qualities: The first is that the Truth is totally consistent with itself. The second quality is that Truth is consistent with all the known facts. That means that when what we understand Scripture to say—its underlying and guiding principles—does not contradict any face-value (obvious) assertion of Scripture, our understanding is likely to be accurate.

That is the hermeneutic (method of understanding) I use to understand Scripture.

Thus, our task here is not to interpret Scripture. It is first to understand it. Then it is to see how that understanding applies to our lives in this postmodern culture. Concerning The Internet Church, it is to see how Christ’s model church can operate in today’s Internet culture. In that I seek your input. I want to hear anything you feel important to say.