A Stone-Campbell Hermeneutic for Justice: A Practical Hermeneutic for the Church Today

Starting from Alexander Campbell’s hermeneutic, seen in his treatment of the issue of slavery, this essay sets out a hermeneutic for using Scripture in the church. Rejecting literalistic readings, it argues that readers must have a consistent hermeneutic if they are to use the biblical texts in legitimate ways, that is, in ways that bring the intent of the biblical texts into the present. Having such a consistent hermeneutic can help avoid imposing ideas on the biblical text.