[fortheDeclaration]

Amen.

That is because for the first three centuries the dominant hermeneutic was a literal/figurative one.

It was under first Origen and then later Augustine, that the hermeneutic switched to a allegorical one.

It was a return to the literal one that sparked the Reformation, although the Reformer's were not consistent in its application.

[blue-duncan]

There was also the politics of the time. Christians had been under intense persecution up until the time of Constantine. When he ended the persecution and by edict, made Christianity the favored religion in the empire, his fawning historian Eusebius looking for a religious interpretation for the change saw it in the millennial theology of the early church and interpreted Constantine's reign as the millennium. That, along with Augustine's "City of God" gave the foundation for the Roman Catholic amil position that later the Reformers adopted.

[topcat54]

That is because for the first three centuries the dominant hermeneutic was a literal/figurative one.

Huh?? Well, what was it, literal or figurative?

This is like saying, "the ice cream flavor of the week is vanilla/chocolate."

lit·er·al (adj.) : Being in accordance with, conforming to, or upholding the exact or primary meaning of a word or words.

fig·u·ra·tive (adj.) : Based on or making use of figures of speech; metaphorical: figurative language.
Containing many figures of speech; ornate.
Represented by a figure or resemblance; symbolic or emblematic.

When the Bible says, "For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine," is that "literal" or "figurative" language?