HERMENEUTICS–THE SCIENCE & ART OF INTERPRETATION
WHAT IS THIS TERM “HISTORICAL CRITICISM?
It is the MAGIC that is used to make the Bible say whatever the researcher wants it to say . . .
It is the DISSOLVENT that destroys the plain, normal sense of Scripture and, in turn, can make the Bible reflect any prejudice of the interpreter that is imposed on the text . . .
When Bible “scholars” want to make the Bible say something that it does not naturally say, they apply judicious and generous portions of historical criticism to accomplish that MAGIC!
When Bible “scholars” are offended by something in Scripture, i.e. find it unacceptable to them for a variety of their own prejudices, it allows the scholar to remake anything in Scripture to their own liking–either by negating it entirely or causing an entirely different sense or meaning of a particular portion of Scripture.
It allows the Bible to be RE-MOLDED into something acceptable to the “critical” scholar’s whims . . .
In contrast “grammatico-historical” criticism allows the Bible to say what it naturally says . . . plainly, normally . . .
Here’s a chart:
