Minute Paper (The Amateur Experts 9/15)

Today, our group discussed the role of allegory in the interpretation of the Bible. Allegory is a method of abstraction for the purpose of generalizing or making relevant a particular story and determining the more subtle meanings of the Bible. Typology is the process of relating past to present; Christians use this method to relate Old Testament stories to those in the New Testament, such as prophesying the Crucifixion. Prior to the Reformation, the fourfold method of biblical reading was espoused as superior, but afterward, all methods were called into question for both their veracity and feasibility. Also as a result of the Reformation, Christians moved from a more literal method of reading to a spiritual method based largely on allegory.