jdunn62@liberty.edu
Due Date: Monday @ 11:59 PM (EST) -- midnight
James Dunn
Name: LU Email Address:

BIBL 350 – Inductive Bible Study
Assignments for Week #6

Assignment 10-1: Explain the Difference Between Reader Response and Authorial Intent (p.202). (20 Points) Note, this assignment is worth 20 points and should reflect considerable thought and effort in your response.

Make sure you include in your explanation definitions of the terms involved.
What role do presuppositions play in interpreting the Bible?
Who controls the meaning of a biblical text?
What is the source of reader-response view?
What are the two main interpretive questions involved in these two views of who determines meaning?

Reader Response: Reader response is the result of when the reader overlooks or neglects to discover what the author is intending to communicate in a biblical verse or passage. This method is dangerous as the reader attempts to bend the Word to their particular situation or circumstance. The question for this method by the reader is, “What does this verse and or passage mean to me?” rather than asking, “What is it that God is trying to communicate to me?” Or, “What does God want to teach me from this?” Reader response must be avoided at all cost as it has the potential to lead someone astray and down the wrong path. Scripture in the practice of this method is quoted out of context and is not taught or quoted as the author intended.

Authorial Intent: Authorial intent would be the proper way to study and interpret the Scriptures. This method, the reader will read the verse and or passage and ask, “What does the author mean? The reader reads the biblical passage or verse over again until they come to the understanding of what the author is communicating in a particular biblical verse and or passage. This method permits the reader to discover a deeper