Module 3: Introduction to the Historical Schools - Allegorical Schools Part 1

Historical Schools
Reading: Ramm, pg. 22-44

Ok. Here we go. As mentioned in the last lecture, it is good to study the history of hermeneutics in order to understand its development and, therefore, its need. There are new terms being introduced here so make sure you do your reading first before reading the lecture. We begin with the Allegorical Schools. The use of the word "allegorical or allegory" from now on with be considered a negative approach to scripture, as you will see. Look up the definition of allegory in your dictionary.

Introduction:

Knowledge of the history of Hermeneutics is important so that we can learn from others' mistakes. The two most important mistakes that others have made are:

(1) Believing that the system that someone was trained in, is the only system. You say, what system, I am just getting started. Well, believe it or not, you do have a system. It is likely that you have learned a system of studying and understanding the word by accidental approach or by what was modeled for you by a teacher or a pastor. You will see that as you go along, you are more affected by these "systems" than you realize.

(2) Believing that certain traditional and familiar interpretations are the only adequate interpretations. Now this is getting deeper isn't it? "You mean to tell me that some teaching that I have heard is not necessarily solid hermeneutics in it's approach?" You betch ya. Not at EWC though...

We begin by understanding how this happened...

1. Allegorical Schools - Symbolism on a grander scale.

*You will find thatallegoriesm is very commonly used today. It is just couched in different terms. During this course, be on the lookout for some uses ofallegoriesm in books, sermons, etc.

a. Greek Allegorism - where allegorism began.

i. Allegorical interpretation teaches that beneath the letter of the obvious is the real meaning of the passage. (Extended Metaphor or hidden meaning)

ii. Problem is determining if the passage is even an allegory at all

iii. Greek Method:

(1). Greek heritage was built in by the Greek fathers Homer and Hesiod. The works of these two writers were the bibles of the Greeks. They believed that anything of significance in life was going to be hidden in an allegory from their writings.

(2). They had a system of philosophy (deep thinking) and a historical tradition this was based mostly in mythology and fables that explained why things were as they were. These two stood juxtaposed or in conflict. The solution to accepting both was to allegorize the stories or myths to relieve the tension between the two. This method or system spread to the city of Alexandria were there was huge jewish population, and Christian population. The Jews began to be influenced by this process as it was cutting edge thinking.

b. Jewish Allegorism

i. As the Jews were immersed in the Greek lifestyle and culture, they were impressed with the culture, and the way the Greeks allegorized their writings. The Jews simply borrowed this to help them with their own problem with keeping the Old Testament relevant. They began to look beyond the letter of The Law. They thought there was something deeper and began to allegorize the scriptures. Tension was growJudaismudaisim was loosing its strength (we know why) and their traditions were being questionveracityericity and relevancy.

ii. They began to deal with the tension, and they too came to allegorize the Old Testament. They began to interpret their history (the stories) as mystical or allegorical. Ex. Moses represented Jews who had a desire to follow God. You can see where this would begin to create quite a mess. Every rabbi or teacher could come up with his own "hidden" truth.

iii. 1ST Jewish Allegorist - Aristobulus (160 b.c.)

- He believed that the teachings of Greek allegory could be found in the Old Testament. He took this even further and essentially denied the purpose of the Old Testament.

iv. Another well known man was Philo (20 b.c.)

(1). He said that in all philosophy you have the original idea, the antithesis, and then the synthesis (someone who reacts to both the originator and the challenger of an idea and creates a new idea.)

(2) He also said that the Bble is superior to Plato in Greek philosophy. He got rid of the concept of mythology, but still believed that there was allegory in the scripture.

v. Some of the Jewish methods of allegory were sound. Much of the scripture is allegorical in a positive sense, later this will be called "typology or symbolism, but not allegory".

However, this approach did help the Jews break out of their literalism and to begin looking for something deeper in their sacred writings. Again, we know that there were and are deeper meanings within the Old Testament. They just ignored the "one" with whom they have to do.

c. Christian and Patristic Allegorism

During the time of Christ, "the learned" began doing using allegorism to interpret scripture.

i. The early Christian fathers used the Greek Language to translate the spoken words as Jesus and the apostles used it. The NT was used to unlock the truths of the OT. They believed that the OT was a Christian story, only in allegory. They found symbols that did not exist. They would try to impose Christ into every facet of the OT. In essense, you are probably thinking that they were close to the truth, and you are right. However, it was the method that was wrong.

ii. Two things may be said of the early church fathers:

(1.) They sought to make the OT a Christian document

(2.) They emphasized the truths of the gospel in their fancies, so they imposed on the OT the various doctrines they wanted to see.

2. The problems with this method:

a. They had a lack of a historical sense of exegesis. Total lack of history of the people of God considered in their methods.

b. Their citing of the OT in much of their interpretation proved that they were very infantile in their understanding of the progress of revelation.

c. They considered that the OT and NT were filled with allegories which sufficed to bring the intended meaning. It was more spiritual to be allegorical than literal. Did you catch this?

d. They confused the allegorical with the symbolic (the symbology that was really there {i.e. The Lion of Judah}).

e. They believed that Greek philosophy was in the OT, and one had to use allegory to find it (the peoples and places represented something else [i.e. Joseph, Jerusalem, etc., were not real people and places but symbols])

f. It fostered a dogmatic interpretation of scripture.

g. The allegorical method obscures (they get close enough to the truth ,but the applications get outlandish, and can be used for a selfish purpose) the true meaning of the Word of God. It is the seed for cultic and heretical teachings (i.e. gnosticism)

Think for a moment. Are we not a place where some of this is being done in modern thinking? If one assumed that the Bible has mythological stories (none of it happened), but contained helpful information, one could come to the same conclusions, right?

Lecture Question:

You will notice that the "seed" of allegorism began with the Greeks. Describe Allegorism in your own words and give some examples of Greek allegorism from Greek History. You may need to do a little online research for this. How does this method of allegory appear in modern biblical interpretation? Ex. Liberalism or Postmodernism