Dungan - Hermeneutics

D. R. Dungan's Hermeneutics: A Text-Book: Chapter III.
knowledge of heaven's will. This enables them to establish a monopoly of interpretation. So that, to the
people, the Bible is not the book itself; but the meaning of the book, as interpreted by the priesthood, is
to them the Bible. All the restraints are thus removed from these men, and they are at liberty to interpret
the Bible in that way that will best suit their purposes. This kind of power is always dangerous, as well in
this respect, as in any other.
If, in answer to this, it shall be said that only the more ignorant of the membership of that church are
thus prohibited, and that many of them are at liberty to [37] read the Bible, and that they are encouraged
to do so, I am willing to grant that such is the case in some places, and especially of late. But this does
not remove the correctness of our position nor the justness of our charge. Much has been done in
opposition to the thought that the common people can understand the word of God; and in this way it has
been kept from their hands.
(2.) Our Protestantism is an improvement, perhaps, but not such an improvement as will give us any
particular cause of boasting. The creeds that are in use have been made a long time, at a time when
knowledge was lower and prejudices were higher than at present. And yet in the light of these catechisms
we have been compelled to conduct our investigations. So it has not been, even to Protestants, so much,
"What does the Bible say on the subject?" as, "What does the creed or catechism say?"
(3.) There, has descended to us a kind of reverence for authority found in great names, that is very
hurtful. These authorities have been canonized by us, and are not to be disturbed. This is partly because
of superstition from which we are not yet free, and partly from laziness that makes us willing to accept
statements, rather than look for the truth ourselves. In this way errors are handed down from one
generation to another, for centuries, without having been suspected of being untrue. Some great man has
made a hasty statement, which, at the time, he intended only to be understood as a kind of guess, and
then it has been copied by one after another, till a dozen or twenty scholars can be quoted as holding that
view; and this will be evidence enough for the faith of all the rest, for centuries to come.
(4.) It is not intended to encourage disrespect [38] for candor and learning. Authors may be used as
aids in study of the Scriptures, as well as in the study of any thing else, but it should be remembered that
nothing but the word of God will do as a guide for the faith and practice of His people. We should accept
of the assistance of these great men in getting that knowledge, but nothing more. Reformations have been
checked, and really prevented, by too much reverence for the reformers. They have had but a single truth
which they have urged before the world. That they saw with great clearness. On many other points they
have been weak, like other men. But their admirers have stereotyped them as the sum of all intelligence,
and refused to have any view of theirs called in question. This has resulted in making these men the
standard of doctrine, and preventing the world from learning anything else than what they learned under
the most difficult circumstances.
SEC. 18. USING THE BIBLE TO PROVE DOCTRINES, IS A GREAT SOURCE OF MISUNDERSTANDING.--
The Bible is not a book with which to prove doctrines; it is the doctrine itself. Almost anything can be
proven to the man who wants to find the proof. It leads to a wrong use of the Scriptures, so that, instead
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