FREE PUBLIC EVENT: The Hamilton Science Faith Forum and the CSCA present a lecture by John Hilber (Research fellow at McMaster Divinity College).
Is the Plain Meaning Always Plain? Cognitive Science and Biblical Interpretation
There is an old axiom of interpretation that “we should interpret the Bible literally unless the literal sense makes no sense.” After all, don’t we interpret ordinary conversation literally? But linguistic theory as well as both behavioural and electrophysiological studies agree that literal interpretation is not selected by default in human communication. This issue is particularly relevant for science-faith discussions, and the interpretation of Genesis creation texts will be considered along with several other helpful test cases.
John Hilber is a research fellow at McMaster Divinity College. His undergraduate studies in geology and graduate work in Old Testament launched a life-long study of interpretive issues related to Bible and science.