Q. You talk about active readers and warn against reading one’s own meaning into an ancient text. What safeguards do you commend as a hedge against this sort of anachronism?
A. There are probably more, but I will give you two. First, as we talked about in the previous question, we should read first as if it were an ancient text addressed to an ancient audience. But second, we need to read in community. The best guard against reading one’s own meaning (usually self-serving and self-affirming) is to read the interpretation of other people who are different from you. If you just read or talk to people who are like you, you won’t find your own understanding challenged and having them challenged is important. You may end up after reflection rejecting another person’s interpretation but you should always be open to the possibility that you are wrong. After all, the Bible is inerrant, but your interpretations are not.
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