Thoughts on the Augustinian Hermeneutic

Reading Scripture can be difficult.  The Bible is composed of several different books that were written by different authors who spoke different languages.  Needless to say, some passages are hard to understand and can be interpreted in a myriad of ways.  For example, are we supposed to believe that Noah really built an ark and put a male and female of every animal on board with him?  Did the walls of Jericho come down by a mere group of trumpets, or did the Hand of God destroy the city through his army of Israelites?  What passages should we read more than others, and which ones should we tend to avoid?  St. Augustine expressed his ideas in the Augustinian Hermeneutic.  Augustine’s ideas may be centuries old, but they can still be applied today.

Augustine’s first principle was, “Whatever advances love is an appropriate reading of the text.”  I personally think that the best way to interpret this statement is by saying that Augustine was trying to communicate that we need to approach reading every part of scripture with a loving heart and that we need to appreciate all the wonderful blessings God has given us, even if some the Bible is extremely violent.  For example, in the Old Testament, God tells the armies of several leaders, such as Joshua and King Saul, to execute “the ban.”  God instructed them to kill anyone, young or old, in the cities that were appointed for destruction.  To modern readers, the slaughter of babies and the elderly seems unthinkable.  St. Augustine would tell us that we need to appreciate these actions and to love God even more for giving his people land and safety.  Additionally, he would probably say that we should accept God’s actions without question.  I believe that we should appreciate all of the blessings God has given us in the past and in the present.  I also think we should approach Scripture with unlimited love.  We can, however, and should ask questions about our faith.  Even though St. Augustine would have most likely commanded us to accept every passage in the Bible without thinking twice, we should ask questions and ponder God’s ways so that we can build a more knowing relationship with Him.  Asking questions is a crucial part of faith, and it should frequently be done when reading Scripture.

St. Augustine proposed a second principle: “Whatever is said representationally in one portion of Scripture is said directly in another.”  I agree much more with this principle, and it is much easier to understand.  Most likely, this principle is more agreed upon as well among Christians.  I understand this principle as saying that symbols and actions that may seem ambiguous are explained verbally in Scripture at some point.  As an example, Jesus told many parables throughout his teachings.  Parables such as the Prodigal Son and Good Samaritan have many lessons within them that Jesus may not have explicitly explained, but other parts of Scripture have.  Oftentimes, the implicit lessons talked about by Jesus were already written about in the Old Testament in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Proverbs, and several other Old Testament books.  Even though Jesus may seem nebulous at times, it is a good bet that a prophet or author of the Old Testament taught and preached the same lesson in clearer words that can be more easily understood.  I think another way of saying St. Augustine’s second principle is:  Whatever is said in an abstract manner in one part of Scripture is said in a concrete manner somewhere else.

St. Augustine’s Hermeneutic can be used today, but I think it is best if everyone first examines it closely before they decide if they agree with it and before they decide if it helps them  to understand how to approach Scripture.  Luckily, we have the freedom today to be able to question and interpret Scripture in many varying and usually enlightening ways.