The Value of Hermeneutics

Abstract

The essay focused on hermeneutics in its more theoretical aspects. While many modern and postmodern interpreters approach the text of Scripture with a “hermeneutic of suspicion,” the essay focused on how the believing interpreter sees himself as a servant of the text, wishing above all to understand it in its plain sense, not to “overstand” it. The believing interpreter reads the text with the presupposition of faith, recognizing what the Scriptures say about themselves—that they are the divinely inspired Word of God at whose center is Christ and justification by grace alone through faith. The essay points out the strength of our Wauwatosa heritage, which puts a premium on the historical and literary context of the Scriptures.