Biblical Interpretations
Study 6A The Divine Oracle
In all different sections of Study 6, we deal with interpreting the Bible and some background issues regarding the text. You may find that you use different methods of interpretation at different times and for different texts. Some methods we will deal with relate to the early church while others have been adopted widely more recently. During particular periods of church history some methods have been given more prominence. Some church people regard some methods of interpretation as disrespectful to the text, dangerous and even prompted by the devil. Work through the different methods an background material presented and see what works for you best.
Given the process of canonising the Bible (including and excluding different documents from the available literature) and the accompanying authority that has been given to it within the life of the Church, it is not surprising that one of the earliest ways of interpretation, one which however still lingers today, is that of the Divine Oracle.
Remember the declaration of Augustine –
Apart from these canonical Scriptures, nothing may be read in the church under the name of Divine Scriptures.
One of the foundations underlying this way of interpretation is that the Bible is one continuous developing story of God’s plan in history. Even though there are many different styles in which the story is told, the Bible is regarded as one unit with one aim, one purpose.
The story begins at the beginning of the Old Testament and concludes at the end of the New Testament. This unified story is told directly by God. God is the real author. There is a direct divine origin for all the words. The humans who were involved in writing the different books of the Bible were the pens of the Holy Spirit. If there are differences in style, these show the endless creativity of God.
These are the foundations of this method of interpretation. If it is God who writes the Bible, then God reveals and directly expresses God’s will through its words. According to the Divine Oracle formula, it is indeed God who writes; it is always God who is talking through the words; it is always God who is telling the story; it is always God who is communicating what God wants; it is always God who is unfolding and revealing God’s mind and will for creation. Thus there is unity and necessary consistency within the whole Bible. One part does, and must, support every other part.
When seeming inconsistencies appear, it is stated that there is an explanation to be found if we look hard enough.
Quoting from the New Interpreter's Bible from Vol 1. p. 127 from Carl Holladay’s article, ‘Contemporary methods of reading the Bible’ -
Since the Biblical text and the divine voice are so closely identified, one may be said to read the Bible as a divine oracle. A divine oracle is a form of direct revelation, in which a divine being speaks to an individual without using an intermediary. The words of the oracle are the very words of the deity.
Although it took the Jews and, correspondingly the Christian Church, some time to decide the canon of the Old and the New Testaments, when the inclusions were finalised, they quickly assumed the status of holy and sacred.
They were thus regarded by the early Church as something totally different to the writings of other wise, religious men. It could be argued that, if it was God who wrote the Bible, then it was also God who, through the Church, decided what should be included in and excluded from God’s book.
By ‘closing the canon’ of Scripture, the Church created a norm by which believers could understand the mind and will of God and understand God’s revelation. By closing the canon the Church has prevented any other Christian writing from receiving a similar status and reverence enjoyed by the books of the Bible.
It is impossible to think that the Church would ‘open the canon’ in order to consider other books or pieces of literature as being worthy of recognition as Holy Scripture. This has been suggested but not taken seriously in any official way however some scholars are pushing for a re-think about this.
Many people still approach the Bible by way of Divine Oracle, particularly those of a conservative fundamentalist persuasion, both Catholic and Protestant, and also many in the Eastern Orthodox and Anglican traditions. It would be true to say as well, that a much larger group of people who read the Bible for guidance or comfort have, to some extent, this way of interpretation - the Divine Oracle - in their minds.
For instance, when one reads Psalm 23 for comfort, it is as if the reader is speaking directly to God . It is written the first person - ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘my’. It follows that the answer is direct as well. A personal conversation is experienced. The reader hears God speaking as the caring and compassionate shepherd. There is no intermediary.
God is speaking directly to the reader through the words. This 23rd Psalm is only one piece of Scripture that can be read this way. Many other examples could be cited.
Most people who read the Bible can think of particular passages which have been of profound significance to them and through which they have, as it were, heard the voice of God. Note that many people can have this experience without having a fundamentalist view of the Bible, without believing that the Bible was written by God, without believing that every word in the Bible expresses the mind and will of God.
Without any commitment to a fundamentalist way of interpretation, many people can say that they have received some special guidance, challenge or comfort from a particular part of the Bible. They might use words like ‘God was speaking to me’, or ‘I felt God was addressing me’, to describe such experiences. They have been involved, to an extent, in the Divine Oracle way of interpretation of the Bible.
Quotations and questions for discussion
The Bible is the exclusive sourcebook for knowledge of God’s will. By reading and studying it we are exposed to God’s direct revelation of God’s self. Do you agree?
If we are allowed to pick and choose what parts of the Bible are important and what parts are not, we are determining how and when God speaks to us. We are listening to some things that God has to say and we are ignoring others.
Are there particular Bible passages that are specially significant for you? Have you heard God ‘speaking’ to you through them?
Is there a danger associated with thinking that God is speaking directly to you?
Print Booklet (Download and print double-side, flip on short edge) The text above has the text of the bookblets edited somewhat and because there are many pictures in the booklets, all reference to them has been omitted.