Inductive Hermeneutics and the Early Restoration Movement

In nineteenth-century America, inductive reasoning was championed by some in the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement as the last word in biblical interpretation. By rationalistic methodology, it was believed all could see the Bible alike and find common agreement in Scripture. This agreement would end religious division. Yet such has not been the reality. This article traces some of the intellectual background of inductive hermeneutics, contrasting them with postmodern methodology as a way to enrich and inform our own present practice as we seek to avoid some of the divisive pitfalls of the past.