5. Some Hermeneutical Observations
5. SOME HERMENEUTICAL OBSERVATIONS
How, then, does all — or any — of this apply to us? Here our difficulties are a mixture of several realities. First, how does one handle biblical revelation that comes to us less by direct instruction and more by our observations as to what can be gleaned from a whole variety of texts? Second, if we do think in terms of “modeling” after the New Testament church, which of the various models do we opt for, and why? Third, since we are already set in various traditions, and since so much water has gone under the bridge in any case, what difference does any of this make on our very real personal and corporate histories? I have no illusions that I can resolve these matters; indeed, they merely raise some of the deep hermeneutical issues that have long divided the people of God. For most of us, there is comfort in the known, and structures we are used to are easily seen as biblical. Nonetheless, I want to conclude this paper with a few observations.