Where is meaning located?  In classical thought, meaning approached cognitively and this approach has had a profound effect on the way we read our Bibles.  Hermeneutics is an approach to reading our Bibles using the classical empirical method.  The basic idea is that we can understand the meaning of the scriptures primarily through cerebral measures.   We can “know” the scriptures if we just study them well enough or sit under the teaching of someone who has studied them in the right way.

In classical mythology, Hermes (hence, hermeneutics) is the Greek god of secret knowledge.  With wings on his head and feet he assisted travelers whether they be farmers, poets or students, providing help with interpretation and understanding.  If there were a chasm to be crossed or a gap in understanding one would hope to find a “hermaion,” a messenger of the gods who would provide translation.

We are still relying on Hermes today when we read our Bibles!  The dominant school of thought teaches that we find meaning in our Bibles in the knowing, the interpretation and special guides. 

This is not wrong rather it is incomplete.  So much of our scriptures come alive when we seek to study them, dissect them…know them, but so much is left untouched.  The scriptures are a mystery being revealed, a song being sung, a way of life being presented.  They are meant to be sought and experienced and lived. 

One can dissect a cocoon and understand what is happening to the chrysalis.  The only problem is that we end up killing the butterfly!

We need an alternative to the classical way of knowing we need to replace our hermeneutics with a jazzaneutics…An approach to the scriptures that sees the meaning in the knowing AND the doing.