Interpretation of Scripture = Communication

Model of Communication

1. An information source, which intends to impart perspective and information.

2. A transmitter encodes the desired image into signals.

3. A channel, for which signals/symbols/signs are adapted for transmission, connects the source with a receiver.

4. These channels often have noise things that distract and/or take away from the message

5. A receiver reconstructs the encoded message from a sequence of received signals and decodes it.

6. An information destination, which processes the message, receives the message not only according to the receiver's interest but also the information source.

Every aspect of this effort is supposed to unite the informational source and the destination in the capacity of the message and what effect it is intended to have. This is what effective communication requires.

Communication Model Applied to Scripture

1. Information Source = God

   1. Motivation/Intent = Love, Mercy, and Care for condition 

   2. Once we understand the essential story of scripture, we will find just how significant this is

2. Transmitter, in the case of Scripture = Holy Spirit + Holy Christian

   1. In a sense it was first God the Father (manifesting Himself to man and communicating with Man prior to Jesus), then in an Incarnational way the Sun (life, death, and Resurrection), and then the Holy Spirit in a spiritual (in the depth of our being) and then vicariously in an Incarnational way (liturgy/sacraments, interactions with Saints and holy, spiritually gifted, or prayerful persons)

3. Channel, in this case = The human writings of Holy Christians (and in the Old Testament's case Jews)

4. Noise, in this case = Anything that may interpret the effective communication of God to Scripture

   1. What might this look like?

      1. Anything Satan can do

   2. Popular Heresies = Intentional misrepresentation that might inhibit the faith of those on the fringes of a relationship withGod

   3. Personal Ignorance/Corruption = When naturally tend to misunderstand what is meant through our own expectations

   4. Distraction = not ever reading it because it is not appealing

   5. Forgetfulness = How many homilies do you remember

5. Reciever, in this case = Us, and if effective at all, the Holy Spirit

6. Informational Destination = Our hearts and minds, once we receive the fullness of the message intended there is no disputes to be made about actualizing and reacting to it. Since it is certainly an invitation?

   1. This means obedience and love is a consequence of understanding what God is getting at

To what extent did God seek to effectively communicate His love to man? What we the consequences of the ineffective communication that took place in the garden?

What does the Bible Say About Interpretation?

Revelation 5:1-10

• Revelation is a symbolic text.

• What is the "scroll"?

• Who is the "Lamb"?

 1 Corinthians 2

• What does the verse say about/describe what we need to understand the Scripture?

• How does the Church, the provider of Christian tradition since the first Apostles, help with this?

Jesus, the Law, and the Pharisees

1. Matthew 19:1-11 (if we get to Theology of the Body we will look at this verse closer)

   1. What did they get wrong and where?

      1. They sought to bend or work around what was given to them but they failed to ask why this was the case so Jesus elaborated and explained not only the exception but the meaning of the law

2. John 8:1-11

   1. Why does Christ push for something that the Mosaic law did not prescribe?

      1. The Legislator, of course, has a particular power with the law, but mostly an all-encompassing knowledge of it. His actions here both encompass and supersede the old law

3. Matthew 22:23-33

   1. Here we see Christ demonstrating the main principles of the Mosaic Law which serve as a hermeneutical key to the rest of the Law.

4. Luke 7:36-50

   1. What key principle have we noticed in Christ's dialogues with Pharisees so far?

      1. Love and Mercy should inform our lives

5. 2 Peter 3:15-17

   1. Here also is suggested the possibility of misunderstanding 

Over the next few sessions, we study the mystical requirements of Biblical interpretation. However, next week we will look at John 15 and discuss fraternal love and vulnerability.