Private Interpretation

An essential element of the Protestant Reformation was the principle of private interpretation of the Bible.  That is not to say that the view was never articulated before Martin Luther, but the Reformation did emphasize the position.  The concept of private interpretation is subject to much confusion.  It suggests to some a license for subjective and relativistic interpretations:  "What is God telling me in this passage?" or, "Well, there are a number of ways to read the text."  How often have we heard the phrase "that's your interpretation," with the unspoken assumption that your interpretation and my interpretation can be equally valid -- even though they contradict each other.  Here the Bible becomes a wax nose, capable of being formed and twisted to suit anyone's prejudice.

That is hardly the intention of the historic doctrine of private interpretation.  Against the relativistic view of subjective interpretation stands the classical principle of the objective truth of Scripture.  The Scriptures do not contradict themselves.  When we disagree, your view may not be correct; mine may not be -- both can be wrong, but both cannot be right at the same time in the same place.  There may be thousands of applications of a given text, but there is only one correct meaning.

The idea of private interpretation arose as a protest against limiting the translation of the Bible into the vernacular (i.e., the common language of the people).  Translating the Bible into French, German and English,   for example, was motivated largely by the desire of the Reformers to allow the laity to read the Bible for themselves.  But the right of private interpretation always carries with it the responsibility of interpreting the Bible accurately.  God grants no one the "right" to distort the meaning of Scripture.  "Private interpretation" does not mean that the individual Christian is free to find in Scripture something that is not there.  That is why we look to the interpretations of those who have gone before us.  Although tradition does not rule out interpretation it does guide it.  If, upon reading a particular passage, you have come up with an interpretation that has escaped the notice of every other Christian for two thousand years, or that has been championed by universally recognized heretics, chances are pretty good that you had better abandon your interpretation.  Private interpretation is not only a right; it is a grave responsibility.

Our distortions or misinterpretations of Scripture are not caused so much by the lack of biblical clarity as by our own weaknesses in handling the text.  Here private interpretations touches another cardinal maxim of Protestant theology:  the perspicuity of Scripture.



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