Discussion Board 2 – Question 2:
Offer a definition of the terms "presuppositions/foundational beliefs" and "preunderstandings."
How can we test these things to see if they are adequate or appropriate? What can be done to
change preunderstandings? List some of the presuppositions or preunderstandings from your
own life that may inform your reading of Scripture. From what sources do these things
originate? How does a person's intellectual and spiritual history (i.e., education and religious
instruction) influence the interpretation of texts? In what way then is objectivity possible in the
interpretation of Scripture?
Duvall and Hays are correct when they state, “Christians…desire to understand all of God’s
Word, not just the easy portions. Many of us want to be able to dig deeper into that Word.”1 To
attempt to gain a deeper understanding of God’s Word, we must interpret the text. This
interpretation is necessary as there are gaps which must be crossed, such as those from the
previous discussion board post. However, none of us go into our interpretative process
completely objective, nor should we. Each person who attempts to interpret the text and message
of the Bible begins with certain presuppositions and preunderstandings which will have an
influence on our interpretation of the Scripture.
Presuppositions are assumptions which we have, that are brought into the interpretive process.
Some of these presuppositions “are necessary for an accurate interpretation of the Bible.”2
Presuppositions which are necessary, according to Klein, Blomberg, and Hubbard, include that
the Bible is a book written under Divine Revelation and is a spiritual document that is true and
authoritative, that is characterized by both unity and diversity, is understandable in itself, and the
sixty-six books of the Bible constitute the entirety of the canon of Scripture.3 These types of
assumptions help guide the reader in the work of interpreting the Scripture.
Similar to presuppositions are preunderstandings. Preunderstandings, unlike presuppositions,
include not only assumptions, but also “attitudes which a person brings to the perception and
interpretation of reality and any aspect of it.”4 Preunderstandings include our personal
experiences, background knowledge, cultural biases, and “even our emotional state at a given
time.”5 This is where preunderstanding varies from presuppositions. Preunderstandings are not
always recognizable as they can be part of our cultural mores. These preunderstandings will vary
for each person and the experiences of each person will influence those preunderstandings. For
example, a person’s education level and religious instruction, will impact how they interpret
Scripture. From an educational standpoint, the more formal education a person has, the more
easily they assimilate abstract concepts and complex language. A person who has written formal
1 J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays, Grasping God’s Word (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020), 24.
2 William W. Klein, Craig L. Blomberg, and Robert L. Hubbard, Jr., Introduction to Biblical Interpretation
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2017), 211.
3 Ibid., 211 – 221.
4 Ibid., 227.
5 Ibid., 227.
research papers for multiple years will be more comfortable reviewing new text and assimilating
material from multiple sources to develop an understanding of new material. For this person,
consulting commentaries, cultural history texts, and other scholarly material for assistance in
interpretation is more likely than for a person who has not completed such tasks in the past. The
same can be said for a person’s religious instruction. A person who has been raised in a Calvinist
theology will view Scripture in a different way than someone who was raised with a Arminian
view.
To my own preunderstandings and presuppositions, I view the Scripture in the same manner
supported by Klein, Blomberg, and Hubbard. The Bible is the infallible Word of God, it is the
source of truth and has final authority as the divine revelation of God to man. As to
preunderstandings, I acknowledge the need to be objective in the reading and interpretation of
Scripture, while understanding that my own bias will always be present. My own interpretations
of Scripture are only valid if they align with the truth found in the Scripture. Having had the
ability to conduct research previously, I also come into the interpretive process knowing that I
must be willing to consult the work of others, especially biblical scholars, when working to
interpret the text.
To test our presuppositions and preunderstandings, to determine if they are adequate and
appropriate, we must first believe in the authority and truth of the Bible. Starting from here, we
must take our interpretations, which are the result of our reading the Scripture and attempting to
understand the text through our presuppositions and preunderstandings, and compare them to the
truth of Scripture. The interpreter must ask, “Does this interpretation align with the truth of the
Scripture as a whole?” If it does, we can consider this to be a proper interpretation, however if it
is not in alignment with Scripture, we must be willing to alter our preunderstandings or
presuppositions which cause the discrepancy. Only by using this concept, relying on the
authority and truth of the Bible to alter our preunderstandings and presuppositions, instead of the
opposite, can we begin to objectively interpret Scripture.
Bibliography
Duvall, J. Scott and J. Daniel Hays. Grasping God's Word. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020.
Klein, William W., Craig L. Blomberg, and Robert L Hubbard, Jr. Introduction to Biblical
Interpretation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2017.
