Here is the second article of the 3-part blog series regarding trajectory hermeneutics, written by Pastor Randy Bradley.
Dangers of Trajectory Hermeneutics
By: Randy Bradley
By seeking the terminus of projected arcs based on deeper meanings beyond the words in the biblical narrative, Trajectory Hermeneutics[1] recklessly handles Scripture. The Word of God is powerful. The author of Hebrews describes it as “sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12). The potency of God’s Word demands hermeneutical caution. Careless handling of a two-edged sword is ill-advised. Those presenting systems based on TH have not been cautious in their practices. A profusion of failures exists within the methodology proposed by those adhering to TH.[2] These procedural problems result in interpretive errors, a clear hazard. However, above and beyond these failures of function, one finds a greater danger.
A problem in a system is an internal error in methodology; a danger is understood as an outward impact by a system causing harm. The primary source of potential harm produced by TH lay in its attack on the authority of Scripture. This assault is multipronged; historicity is rejected, projected trajectories are relative, all meaning is behind, under, in front of the text. However, more than that, the moral authority of God’s word is wholly destroyed. In the case of William Webb, by placing the ultimate ethic outside Scripture and designating his system as the only means to locate said ultimate ethic, Webb has de facto relocated moral authority from God’s word to his own system of “Redemptive-Movement Hermeneutics.” The arbitrary nature of TH promotes subjectivity in both Biblical interpretation and ethical imperatives. Proponents of TH disallow the factual nature of Scripture, insisting on personal contemplation of the meaning beyond the text, and provide no means of confirming the accuracy of said meaning once it has been detected. One’s personal experience with the text has more authority than the text itself. By placing the meaning of the text at the endpoint of a projected trajectory, they have relocated all meaning and authority from God’s word to man’s contrivances. The potential harm caused by transferring authority from the text to the interpreter is vast, well beyond the scope of this article. Contemplation of atrocities perpetrated in the name of God, by those elevating human moral authority while dismissing Scriptural authority, should suffice.
[1] Referred to hereafter as TH
[2] For a detailed examination of Webb’s system see, Wayne Grudem, “Should We Move Beyond the New Testament to a Better Ethic: An Analysis of William J. Webb, Slaves, Women and Homosexuals: Exploring the Hermeneutics of Cultural Analysis,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 47, no. 2 (January 2004): 299-346, accessed August 27, 2020, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0001457900&site =ehost-live.
Serving Him with you until He comes for us,
Fred Chay, PhD
Managing Editor, Grace Theology Press
