PreachingToday.com | The Hermeneutics Quiz

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Ever wonder how two people can look at the same passage of the Bible and come away with such different applications? The ways we interpret the Bible, and what enters into our process of applying the Bible, are important for us to be aware of. Without this self-awareness, we can have blind spots in our Bible reading and not even know it.

The Hermeneutics Quiz first appeared in Leadership journal's winter 2008 edition, and you can read the full article here. It is designed to clarify how you understand the Bible and how you apply it. Some people will quibble with the categories in the quiz or insist on more than one answer. That’s okay. No test like this can reveal all the nuances needed, but broad answers are sufficient to benefit from taking the quiz.

On a scale of 1 to 5, mark the answer that best fits your approach to reading the Bible. (If you fall between response 1 and response 3, give yourself a 2.) Then total the points, and your score will reveal where you land on the quiz's hermeneutical scale.

1

The Bible is:

	1. God's inspired words in confluence with the authors.
	2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3.
	3. God's inspired words that arise out of a community and then are written down by an author.
	4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5.
	5. Words of an author who speaks out of a community's tradition, but which sacramentally lead us to God.

2

The Bible is:

	1. God's exact words for all time.
	2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3.
	3. God's message (instead of exact words) for all time.
	4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5.
	5. God's words and message for that time but need interpretation and contextualization to be lived today.

3

The Bible's words are:

	1. Inerrant on everything.
	2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3.
	3. Inerrant on only matters of faith and practice.
	4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5.
	5. Not defined by inerrancy or errancy, which are modernistic categories.

4

The commands in the Old Testament to destroy a village, including women and children, are:

	1. Justifiable judgment against sinful, pagan, immoral peoples.
	2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3.
	3. God's ways in the days of the Judges (etc.): they are primitive words but people's understanding as divine words for that day.
	4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5.
	5. A barbaric form of war in a primitive society and I wish they weren't in the Bible.

5

The story of Hosea (the prophet) and Gomer (his wife) is:

	1. A graphic reality that speaks of God's faithfulness and Israel's infidelity.
	2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3.
	3. A parable (since, for example, God would never ask a prophet to marry a prostitute).
	4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5.
	5. An unfortunate image of an ancient prophet that stereotypes women and too easily justifies violence against women.

6

The command of Jesus to wash feet is:

	1. To be taken literally, despite near universal neglect in the church.
	2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3.
	3. A first century observance to be practiced today in other ways.
	4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5.
	5. An ancient custom with no real implication for our world.

7

The gift of prophecy is:

	1. Timeless, despite lack of attention in the church today.
	2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3.
	3. An ancient form of communication that is seen today in proclaiming scriptural truths.
	4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5.
	5. No longer needed and dramatically different from today's preaching.

8

Homosexuality's prohibitions in the Bible are:

	1. Permanent prohibitions reflecting God's will.
	2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3.
	3. Culturally shaped, still normative, but demanding greater sensitivity today.
	4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5.
	5. A purity-code violation that has been eliminated by Christ.

9

The unity of the Bible is:

	1. God's systematic truth that can be discerned by careful study of the Bible.
	2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3.
	3. The gospel call to living by faith that is expressed in a variety of ways by different authors in the Bible.
	4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5.
	5. Not found by imposing on the integrity of each author in the Bible to conform to overarching systems; the unity is in the God who speaks to us today through the Word.

10

The Holy Spirit's role in interpretation is:

	1. To guide the individual regardless of what others say.
	2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3.
	3. To guide the individual in tandem/conversation with the church.
	4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5.
	5. To guide the community that can instruct the individual.

11

The injunctions upon women in 1 Timothy 2:9-15 are:

	1. Timeless truths and normative for today.
	2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3.
	3. Culturally shaped but, with proper interpretation and transfer, for today; e.g., we can learn from how Paul addressed a situation with uninstructed women in Ephesus.
	4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5.
	5. Needed for early Christians, bound in the first century, but not for today.

12

Careful interpretation of the Bible is:

	1. Objective, rational, universal, timeless.
	2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3.
	3. Dialectical, relational, culturally shaped, timely.
	4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5.
	5. Subjective, personal, culturally bound, time specific.

13

The context for reading the Bible is:

	1. The individual's sole responsibility.
	2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3.
	3. The individual in conversation and respect for Church traditions.
	4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5.
	5. The confessional statement of one's community of faith.

14

Discerning the historical context of a passage is:

	1. Unimportant since God speaks directly to me.
	2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3.
	3. Often and sometimes significant in order to grasp meaning.
	4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5.
	5. Necessary and dangerous to avoid in reading the Bible.

15

The Bible:

	1. Can be examined and understood without bias.
	2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3.
	3. Can be understood but with bias.
	4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5.
	5. Can be partially understood by a reader with bias.

16

Capital punishment:

	1. Should be practiced today because the Bible teaches it.
	2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3.
	3. Should be examined carefully to determine if it is the best option today; some instances of capital punishment in the Bible are no longer advisable.
	4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5
	5. As delineated in the Bible pertains to ancient Israel; such practices are no longer useful and should be universally banned.

17

Tattoos:

	1. Are forbidden because of Leviticus 19:28.
	2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3.
	3. Are forbidden in Leviticus as idolatrous marks, which we know from study of the ancient Near East.
	4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5.
	5. Are permissible, because the purity codes are not for Christians today.

18

The requirement of the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:29) not to eat any meat improperly killed (strangled instead of having the blood drained properly):

	1. Is a permanent commandment for all Christians today.
	2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3.
	3. Is for Jewish Christians only.
	4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5.
	5. Is a temporary custom for first-century Jewish Christians, and is no longer a concern for Christians.

19

Adultery:

	1. Deserves the death penalty, as stated in the Old Testament.
	2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3.
	3. Was not punished by death when Jesus confronted it, and therefore death is not a Christian punishment.
	4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5.
	5. And divorce were governed by Old Testament laws from a primitive culture, very different from our own; just as these concepts developed within Bible times, our understanding of proper punishment has been improved.

20

Sabbath:

	1. Was never eliminated by New Testament writers and should be practiced by Christians (on Saturday).
	2. I fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3.
	3. Developed into a Sunday worship observance for Christians, and Christians should not work on that day.
	4. I fall somewhere between No. 3 and No. 5.
	5. Turned into Sunday for Christians, who need to worship together (on the weekend, at least) and can work if they think they need to.

Hit "Submit" to see where you scored and what your score means in terms of how you read the Bible. The total scores range from a possible low of 20 to a possible high of 100.

To read more about the Hermeneutics Quiz, click here.