Biblical Interpretation 7

The Church of Rome or the Catholic Church has always held to an allegorical interpretation or what they would call, “spiritual interpretation.” In the Catholic Church no one person can go astray from what the official position of the church is. To the catholic, the church is needed to properly interpret Scriptures; the church, not the Scriptures is the final rule of faith and life. The Catholic Church has continued in the tradition of spiritualizing the Scriptures up to this day.
Contrasted to the Church of Rome we learn of the Jewish literal school of interpretation. Much of their teachings were in favor of a grammatical historical interpretation of the Bible. They did however err in one thing- they focused on the actual writings (words and letters) to the exclusion of the message set forth within the Scriptures. A wake that followed in the path of the Jewish literal school and the Antioch school of interpretation was that of the reformation. Martin Luther and John Calvin were two influential teachers and writers in this day; they were both excellent exegetes and had both come from a catholic background. It is important to remember here that before a large reformation starts, a large hermeneutical principal must start first.