What does community interpretation look like?

by Mark Lafler | May 27, 2011

You are reading the [community] bible interpretation series. Read more from this series of articles.

3 misunderstandings concerning bible interpretation

interpreting the bible in community
what does community interpretation look like?
In my last two columns we discussed misunderstandings of Bible interpretation and the foundation
for interpreting the Bible in community. So in this final installment of the three part series on Bible
interpretation we will explore what interpreting the Bible as a community might look like.
Interpreting the Bible in community means that we interpret the Bible beyond our individual self.
We recognize that the body of Christ is a lot bigger then we are and not every person agrees on
every detail of interpretation.
Therefore, interpreting the Bible in community engages the whole body of Christ in as much as is
possible.
So what kinds of people are in our community? I suggest that our community consists of
a known and an unknownelement.
The Known Community
Perhaps most important is our known community, which is our local assembly. The people that we
rub shoulders with that know our weaknesses that encourage us and warn us these are the people
of our known community.
Our pastors and teachers are part of our known community as well as friends, co-workers, and
family members.
This known community helps to bring accountability to our interpretation as well as accountability
to our actions which should reflect our interpretation.
We should talk with people in our known community about our interpretations. Dietrich
Bonhoeffer suggests that a community should not only encourage private reading, but (more
importantly) reading scripture out loud together (Life Together, 50-57).
The Unknown Community
Our unknown community is the historical and contemporary church that we do not know
personally.
Scholars and Christian thinkers in the past (i.e. Augustine, Luther, Irenaeus) and present (i.e.
Gordon Fee, J. I. Packer, N. T. Wright) should be part of our unknown community. We might not
know them personally, but we can read their interpretations in books.
Christians from cultures different then our own are part of our unknown community. Perhaps these
different cultures are pastors from a third-world country or scholars from Asian or Latin American
backgrounds.
We should look at Christians from differing theological bias such as feminist theologians,
Anabaptist theologians, or adherents to a form of libertation theology.
This unknown community helps us see from a different perspective and brings a level of balance to
our interpretation that we cannot acheive on our own.
Not that we will or should agree with everyone, but engagement with the unknown community
helps us better understand and respect the whole body of Christ.
Community of the Book
We should develop our interpretations within our known and unknown communities.
S. Grenz and J. Franke explain:
sensitivity to reading within community extends to our individual interpretive efforts
as well, as our private readings of the text are seasoned with the awareness that, even as
the church scattered, each of us remains a participant in a particular gathered
community (Beyond Foundationlism, 92).
Interpreting scripture within community brings accountability, balance, and a greater awareness of
the Holy Spirits ministry in the community.
The Bible is a church (or community) document and we should interpret it within the context of
community.
We are not individuals of the Book, but a community of the Book.