Let the Reader Understand: A Guide to Interpreting and Applying the Bible [Paperback]

Dan McCartney (Author), Charles Clayton (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 378 pages
• Publisher: P & R Publishing; 2 edition (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875525164
• ISBN-13: 978-0875525167
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,297 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Complicated but good..., March 24, 2008

By 

Jeffrey W. Brannen (Bella Vista, AR USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Let the Reader Understand: A Guide to Interpreting and Applying the Bible (Paperback)

I would not recommend this book to someone who is just beginning to explore the science and art of interpreting the Bible. For those who are wanting to start slowly by getting their feet wet, I would suggest Fee and Stuart's "Reading the Bible for all its Worth". They are much better at the initial stage of exploration.

However, when it comes to the practice of interpreting the Bible, McCartney and Clayton do serve a good purpose - it would be for those who are leading Bible studies, seminary students, or pastors who are wanting to hone their skills in this area. Frankly, most of us could use further work and development in this area.

I appreciate that the authors are unabashedly evangelical and committed to a high view of Scripture. Often, the field of interpreting Scripture is littered with so many landmines from higher criticism that it is difficult to navigate without severe difficulty.

Also, this is the first book on interpreting and applying the Bible (that I've encountered) that begins by detailing the importance of our presuppositions. Our often unspoken assumptions about what the Bible is and what it is supposed to do will color how we read and apply it. They do an excellent job of encouraging the reader to examine these assumptions.

I think they did a good job with introducing the reader to the science of Linguistics and the challenges this creates for properly understanding what Scripture is saying. It is a bit technical and detailed, but you should be able to wade through it and catch the main gist, even if Linguistics isn't your favorite study.

My final bit of praise would be regarding their tackling the dubious method of word studies, which is quite prevalent in evangelical circles. (I'm thinking of Beth Moore and Kay Arthur, in particular.) Words are not the basic unit of meaning; this meaning is found in the context that those words appear. Words, in and of themselves, are highly flexible and their meaning needs to be grounded in the sentences in which they appear and the larger context of the paragraph and book.

My primary complaint would be this - after reading "Let the Reader Understand," I was overawed at the high level of complexity required. It seems that an approach like this takes the Bible out of the reader's hands and puts it only in the hands of the biblical expert. That's not actually true, but this is the overwhelming impression I got from the majority of the book. The authors themselves acknowledge this difficulty, yet because of the complexity of the material, they seem unable to cut through the mess.

Let me put it slightly differently - if we, as evangelical Christians, claim that the Bible is God's Word and that it is inspired and infallible, we must also grapple with the fact that we cannot approach the study of it flippantly or lightly. We need to come to terms with the seriousness of our study and, even, the high level of complexity and thought involved. Ordinary, non-seminary-educated Christians should be able to study their Bible thoroughly and effectively. A book like this should encourage greater and more careful thought on this highly important subject.

For myself, I'll probably put it on the shelf for a year or so and let the ideas gestate and then I'll come back to it to challenge myself on my methods and practices of reading and interpreting God's Word.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Organized Approach, December 22, 2006

By 

David A. Bielby "Ev Xpistw" (Normal, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Let the Reader Understand: A Guide to Interpreting and Applying the Bible (Paperback)

He starts out with a story about a college ministry that had a couple of students who were sleeping together (unmarried). When the campus minister approaches them with scripture verses that condemn their behavior, their response was "that's your interpretation"....hoping this stuns his readers (I'm not sure it stuns as many today as it would have 10 years ago)...he goes on to establish his premise that the bible is not a book with things for us to draw out of it whatever we feel is good for us....but rather a book that actually teaches certain things which comprise truth. From there he logically expands to cover a wide array of topics sequencing through the various issues of what Bible Scholars call 'Hermeneutics'. Biblical Hermeneutics is the art of interpreting scripture correctly.

I find his writing style to be inviting, concise, to the point and well organized. It's a really good book...on a subject that is not as easy to write about as it may first appear.

This book is a good primer for lay leaders as well as college students who are being introduced to the topic for the first time. We are using it to prepare our church leaders for an upcoming seminar on hermeneutics.

One of the things I like about this textbook is that it covers the history
of interpretation in a short period of time (pp 79-118), so the new student can come up to speed on what the history of interpretation has been in crucial time periods of Christianity. For example he focuses on Luther/Calvin hermeneutics and then modernity hermeneutics after that. He covers all the 'turning points' historically of hermeneutics. The quick overview is a really good primer for newbies in biblical hermeneutics.

For a busy pastor/bible teacher who has not had much or has forgotten their hermeneutics training...this book gives you a relatively easy read without sacrificing crucial elements. It will refresh you on the key elements of hermeneutics. If you are studying hermeneutics right now, and your course doesn't use this book, it is a good one to add for additional research or reading.

Five star...you really ought to add this one to your library.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great intro to exegesis and hermeneutics, November 2, 2009

By 

Joshua Smith (Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Let the Reader Understand: A Guide to Interpreting and Applying the Bible (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed this well written book! It is a basic introduction to the field of hermeneutics. Written from a Reformed perspective, there may be some things you will disagree with, however, it did not detract from my experience. The authors skim over all the relevant issues in a very understandable way! It is a great companion to The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation. 5 stars!