1	Application Letting God Speak through Scripture
2	Is Scripture Relevant? 1. Some assume that Scripture can be studied apart from a Faith commitment. 2. The result is academic study without ever moving to questions of relevance.
3	Is Scripture Relevant? 3. Apart from purely academic study the question of application must be faced. 4. The goal of the hermeneutical process within a Faith commitment and community is to read and hear Scripture for relevant and applicable truths about life.
4	Is Scripture Relevant? 5. Relevance assumes some original meaning within the text that can be recovered. 6. Relevance cannot be forced; it must arise from the original meaning (the “anchor” of the text and of the “theological trajectory”).
5	Listening to the Text 1. This does not mean that we can recover an “original meaning” that was the intention the author (the “intentional fallacy”). 2. It does suggest that we can try to hear a text apart from our own biases, assumptions, and ways of thinking. 3. Without that effort we tend to tell the text what to say rather than listening to it and God speak to us.
6	Relevance and Application 1. Our goal is to hear the text as it would have functioned in some “original” context (perhaps more than one) in order to listen to the communities’ testimony to God. 2. It is that testimony to God that has ongoing relevance and becomes the basis of application.
7	Obstacles to Relevance 1. The Chronological Gulf 2. The Cultural Gulf 3. The Linguistic Gulf 4. The Geographical Gulf 5. The Psychological Gulf 6. The Cosmological Gulf Which create the Historical-Cultural Gap
8	Improper Ways of Bridging the Historical-Cultural Gap 1. Allegorizing 2. Spiritualizing 3. Imitating Biblical Characters 4. Moralizing
9	Allegorizing 1. Search for meaning by creating multiple links between text and application. 2. Examples: Parable of the Good Samaritan=Salvation History Song of Solomon = Love of Christ and Church
10	Allegorizing The problem with allegorizing is that it imports meaning to the biblical text (eisegesis). The allegorized points are usually true and may be very helpful. They just are not how the text ever functioned in any original historical contexts.
11	Spiritualizing Allegorizing a single spiritual point which is then developed and applied independently of the text.
12	Spiritualizing Examples: Gen. 37:24 - Joseph was thrown into a pit by his brothers > We often find ourselves in the pit(s) of life due to the actions of others. Mark 5:28 - The woman reached out to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment > we ought to reach out and touch Jesus spiritually.
13	Spiritualizing The problem with spiritualizing is that it imposes meaning on the biblical text that was never part of how the text functioned and is unrelated to the text itself. That is eisegesis.
14	Spiritualizing Generally speaking, the Bible was not written to provide spiritual nuggets that apply to our lives. It was written to focus on the relationship of people with God.
15	Imitating Biblical Characters Making Biblical characters models that should be imitated Examples: Abraham was a man of faith > we should have faith like Abraham Nehemiah built a wall > we should all help on the building fund Gideon had the courage to fight the Amelikites > we should all be like Gideon and fight the liberals
16	Imitating Biblical Characters The chief problem with this approach is that it makes human characters the heroes of the text. In canonical context the hero of the story is God. The point of biblical narratives that contain biographical information is to show how God was at work in their lives.
17	Imitating Biblical Characters It also ignores the fact that many biblical characters are not always worthy of imitation.
18	Biblical Characters not to Imitate Examples: Abraham when he lies and gives Sarah away to save his own life. Gideon is basically an anti-hero. David when he tells Solomon to take vengeance on his enemies. Paul when he grows frustrated with John Mark.
19	Moralizing Drawing moral inferences, usually things to do or become, from the biblical text. Almost always only certain elements of the text are transferred into the moral realm. The evidence of moralizing is usually the word “ought.”
20	Examples of Moralizing 2 Samuel 18:31-33 - David weeping for Absalom > we ought to be good parents. Acts 3:4 - Peter directed his gaze at the lame man > we ought to give full attention to people in need Acts 3:9-10 - Peter saw a change in the healed man > people ought to be able to see a change in us.
21	Combination Errors Allegorizing, Spiritualizing, Moralizing, and Imitating Biblical Characters as attempts to apply the text are often interwoven until it is hard to tell exactly which of these is being done. Such mixing of methods is no better than the use of any one of them by itself.
22	Properly Bridging the Gap 1. Concentrate on the Original Message 2. Recognize the Discontinuity 3. Recognize the Overarching Continuity 4. Focus on the Goal of the Text 5. The message of the passage is more important than individual elements. 6. Concentrate on the message in an original context.
23	Application Application begins by identifying the main theological confessions in the text. Theo=God + logos=word > “God talk” What does the text say about God What does the text say about us What does the text say about relationship with God and each other.
24	Example The story of Jonah What is the main point of the story? What does it tell us about God? How might this apply today?
25	Potential Problems There are two Revised Common Lectionary Readings from Jonah: Jonah 3:1-5, 10, Year B, Epiphany 3 (Sunday between Jan 21-27) Jonah 3:10-4:11, Year A, Proper 20 (Sunday between Sept 18-24) What problems of application might the Year B reading present?