Posted on 08/10/2004 2:36:28 PM PDT by topcat54
iteralism is considered by many a test of orthodoxy--the only hermeneutic by which one may correctly interpret and understand the Bible. Dispensational premillennialists who reject other eschatological views in the belief that they tend toward "spiritualization"[1] and "allegorizing"[2] claim the distinction of being consistent literalists. One author who holds that literalism is a superior method of interpretation writes, "I am a dispensationalist because dispensationalism generally understands and applies Scripture--particularly prophetic Scripture--in a way that is more consistent with the normal, literal approach I believe is God's design for interpreting Scripture."[3]
What is meant by "literalism" here? Traditionally a literal hermeneutic referred to the grammatical-historical method, that is, interpreting the Bible as it presents itself.[4] Nowadays, the use of the world "literal" by dispensationalists tends to mean the opposite of "figurative."[5] This tendency to deny figurative interpretations is pursued so aggressively that some say dispensational literalism is more properly described as hyperliteralism.[6]
The conviction of a superior, literalistic approach to Bible interpretation can lead to a spiritual arrogance leading to a feeling of infallibility.[7] One man noted, "As a former dispensationalist I was mesmerized with the literal hermeneutic, the way in which we interpreted the Bible. I was satiated with the confidence that this principle of interpretation was the cornerstone of any true approach to Scripture, and paraded it before all as the bedrock of the dispensational method. This `literal' approach produced in me a calm lethargism to anything the covenant men could say. Any argument they could make was disarmed in advance with such statements as this: `They do not advocate a literal hermeneutic.'"[8]
(Excerpt) Read more at credenda.org ...
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