Hermeneutics is the art and science of interpretation. This subject is important to theology because it is logically prior to any theological study. Without a basis for accurate interpretation, the rest of theology will be flawed. While we have already made a case for the inspiration of Scripture (see “Verbal Plenary Inspiration”), what use is there in having an inspired Bible, if we cannot get an objective meaning out of it? While modernists largely attacked the inspiration of Scripture, postmodernists attack the interpretation of it. Thus we should build a case for the project of hermeneutics.
Faulty Hermeneutical Systems This article explains various faulty ways to interpret the Bible.
Grammatical Historical Hermeneutics This article briefly articulates a proper way to interpret Scripture.
Specific Principles of Interpretation This article articulates several basic principles of interpretation for reading and answer Bible difficulties.
Application Restrictions An interpreter can easily undo their hard work of interpretation without applying it. This article shows how to move from interpretation to application.
The New Testament Use of the Old Testament How did the NT authors handle the OT? Did they use a grammatical-historical hermeneutic? Did they use the methods of other first-century rabbis? Most importantly, did they rip these passages from their original contexts, twisting them to fit their theological agenda?
Dispensationalism and Covenantalism The study of dispensationalism and covenantalism is important for revealing our own biases in interpretation, and also the biases of commentators and Bible teachers. Depending on our view of salvation history, we will come to radically different conclusions on individual passages within Scripture.
Bibliography for Hermeneutics This article has a number of excellent resources for further reading.