So says joel goldsmith in spiritual interpretation of scripture. This leads us to the first primary and fundamental principle of interpreting the bible. Learning some basic principles of hermeneutics, or biblical interpretation, will help us do so consistently. But, he says encouragingly, when we interpret scripture spiritually, the deepest lessons of the bible. Throughout spiritual interpretation of scripture, goldsmith offers fresh new meaning to many bible passages and stories and demonstrates that the principles found in the bible are echoed in many other scriptures of the world. Origen distinguished the literal, moral, and spiritual senses but acknowledged the spiritual i. For our purpose, spiritual interpretation, we understand that joseph is that state of consciousness which is a developing or unfolding consciousness. The unofficial infinite way spiritual interpretation of scripture. Attentiveness and study needed 109110 the correct interpretation of scripture demands attentiveness to what the human author wanted to say and to what god wanted to reveal. The interpretation of the bible in the church ewtn. Jonathan edwards, says one scholar of edwards, devoted most of his waking life to meditating on scripture.
Book description literal interpretation of scripture has created a god in place called heaven, often pictured as above the clouds, and likewise a god with some forward son, such as krishna or jesus. This approach seeks to bridge the gap between biblical studies and theology, which grew wide with the ascendancy of critical approaches to scripture. The metaphysical bible dictionary of unity says of joseph. The rise of allegorical interpretation commentary a. In the middle ages, origens threefold sense of scripture was expanded into a fourfold sense by a subdivision of the spiritual sense into the allegorical and the anagogical. Spiritual interpretation of scripture kindle edition by. While acknowledging that the interpretation of scripture is a spiritual and not merely intellectual endeavor, the church has never held that piety substitutes for study and intellectual labor. Any being made in the image of god who is a spirit. It is important to understand that our spiritual condition can influence the process of gods spirit illuminating the text of scripture in our lives. The difference between application and interpretation. In this book, goldsmith helps to unravel the hidden meanings of scripture to reveal the true essence of how best to pray, to heal and to live a life that acknowledges only one power. But, he says encouragingly, when we interpret scripture spiritually, the deepest lessons of the.
Excerpts from spiritual interpretation of scripture by joel s. The most sure and promising method for arriving at a successful actualization is the interpretation of scripture by scripture, especially in the case of the texts of the old testament which have been reread in the old testament itself e. This book of spiritual interpretation offered a newfound oneness with god, filled with insightful guidance giving people the courage to now look within for spiritual nourishment, health, harmony, and inner. Goldsmith met this challenge by writing an inclusive commentary of selected scripture that history had only taught in literal terms. Identify the kind of literature your text is for insight into its meaning. These statements in the bible, he says, which really are laws, must become a very part of our being. Spiritual interpretation is a crossword puzzle clue that we have spotted 1 time. The interpreter also requires intellectual formation. Weve completed the basic study of how we got our bible.
Spiritual interpretation of scripture book by joel s. Interpretation must be based on the authors intention of meaning and not the reader. Gregory of agrigentum is an example of the early church fathers spiritual interpretation of scripture whereby realities of the old covenant are seen as pointing beyond themselves to jesus christ and the realities of the new dispensation. I strongly discourage the use of standard dream dictionaries to arrive at the meaning of symbols found in dreams we receive from the lord. The simplest and most natural explanation of a biblical text is always the best.
As it unfolds, it reveals increasing vitality, substance and understanding. Joel goldsmiths spiritual interpretation of scripture takes us beyond the normal metaphysical bible interpretations into a deeper realization of the spiritual truth. Spiritual interpretation of scripture kindle edition by goldsmith, joel s download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Common objects, colors, animals, locations, or anything else for that matter can mean different things to people based on their associations and. Spiritual interpretation is a crossword puzzle clue. Pdf spiritual interpretation of scripture download full. This means we must get into the authors context, historically, grammatically, culturally and the literary forms and conventions the author was working in. Spiritual 1 spiritual hosts of wickedness ephesians 6. Joel goldsmiths spiritual interpretation of scripture takes us beyond the normal metaphysical bible interpretations into a deeper realization of. In this book, goldsmith helps to unravel the hidden meanings of scripture to reveal the true essence of how best to pray, to heal and to live a. This should in no way be a substitute for listening to what the holy spirit has to say about your particular dream, but rather it is meant to be a tool. This positivity is enough to cover all the negativity that majority of the interpretations convey. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading spiritual interpretation of scripture. Origen distinguishes between the letter the literal meaning and the spirit the spiritual sense.
Christian walk interpreting common symbols in spiritual dreams by bryan carraway guest writer. Despite the many undesirable biblical meaning of alligators in dreams, there will always be a positive note from it. Spiritual interpretation of the bible february 27, 2012 scot mcknight patheos explore the worlds faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality. He says that the bible was never meant to be taken purely or even primarily in a literal sense, and he points out that the text is often confusing or even contradictory if taken literally. Literal bible interpretation and bible contradictions. The task of the interpreter is to discern the meaning of scripture. Of course, the other major key is the book itself, because the interpretation of the parables is within the bible. But i, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in christ. Other approaches include reading scripture through the lenses of history, allegory, and metaphor. To understand spiritual things, we must have the spirit of god in our minds we must have the mind of christ that in turn opens up the bibles mysteries. This book of spiritual interpretation offered a newfound oneness with god, filled with insightful guidance giving people the courage to now look within for spiritual nourishment, health, harmony, and inner peace. Dreams are there to help us solve the dilemmas in our waking life.
The unofficial infinite way spiritual interpretation of. General principles of biblical interpretation principle 1. Does metaphysical interpretation always work for scripture. Click on a chapter title to read from spiritual interpretation of scripture. Allegorism was well established in alexandrian judaism, especially by philo, who made a systematic use of it to bridge the chasm between the old testament revelation and the platonic philosophy. Allegorical interpretation of the bible is an interpretive method exegesis that assumes that the bible has various levels of meaning and tends to focus on the. As always, he brings clarity to the spiritual life in ways few other writers do. Theological interpretation of scripture is a growing trend in biblical interpretation, with an emphasis on the contexts of canon, creed, and church. Weve gone from gods inspired revelation to the actual bible translations we read. Sprouls knowing scripture intervarsity, 1977 and james sires scripture twisting intervarsity, 1980. One of the most important elements of swedenborg s theology is the principle that the bible has an inner, spiritual meaning encoded within the text. The basics of bible interpretation bible gateway blog. Spiritual interpretation of the bible scot mcknight. He is wellknown for his allegorical interpretation of scripture, but he also produced a lot of work that is useful for literal interpretation like his work on the passover.
Metaphysical cults, theosophical cults, divine science cults, pantheistic cults all base their interpretation of holy scripture on the theory that the meaning of scripture is plural. Philo compares the literal sense of scripture to the shadow which the body casts, finding its authentic, profounder truth in the spiritual meaning. Interpretation the process of a reader seeking to understand the meaning of a. Spiritual interpretation of scripture acropolis books inc. It can always be applied to scripture, but it is better and results in a richer experience of scripture when multiple approaches are combined. Who wrotespoke the passage and who was it addressed to. Metaphysical interpretation is but one approach to scripture. Interpreting scripture with augustine conversant faith. From the catechism of the catholic church, simplified prev. The first meaning is the ordinary historical or grammatical one.
The new testament lies concealed in the old, the old. Joel is leading us to the concept of eternal life and immortality via the metaphysical meaning of bible scripture. The following study is a very simplified summary of how the christian can use the scripture so that it affects hisher life. Like all of joel goldsmiths writings, spiritual interpretation is a classic. Spiritual interpretation of the bible scot mcknight patheos. Spiritual interpretation of scripture english edition. In other words, the literal interpretation may call for a thing which exists in the. Origen now argues that bible interpretation involves mysteries hidden by the letter of scripture and that god did this on purpose, even revealing the law of truth, which would be a reference to the new covenant, in the words of the old law but only to those who would pursue truth diligently.