Computational Exegetics – Unnatural Philosophy

What is Computational Exegetics?

“Computational Exegetics” is simply a fancy term for teaching and applying the principles of computational logic (e.g. discrete mathematics, proof building, logic theorems, data processing, etc.) as part of the art of interpreting Scripture faithfully. Only God’s Word is an infallible truth upon which we can build reliable doctrine and practice. Strict rules of logic keep man’s reason from overstepping its bounds and asserting doctrines that cannot be proven from what God has declared, including the irrational practice of using man’s reason as a judge rather than as a student of God’s Word. Training the theologian to think logically in mathematical proofs and computational programming will carry over to improve his ability to apply God’s Word according to what God actually said.

Are these rules of logic secular or separate from God’s ways? Not at all. Though the secular world recognizes them and accepts them, they are derived from the laws of creation that God spoke into being. Logic that we learn from natural creation and human speech much be used to interpret God’s Word, because God spoke in human language, and that is how language must work. To forsake logic as a basis for interpreting Scripture is to assert that words cannot have a definite intended meaning, and that the intended meaning of God’s Word has no coherence or framework.

To learn logic is to learn how God orders creation and Word. Logos. To apply logic well is to apply the Logos well. And vice-versa.

Consider the following theses.

Theses of Computational Exegetics

The Computation of Faith

Man reasons with sequence and patterns by nature, but those patterns of reason are not necessarily true or logical by nature. (“Logic” here shall refer to that which is true and accurate logic in its sequence of reasoning.)
For man’s reasoning to be logical, he must learn the patterns of true logic from a logical source.
Man is a creature of faith by nature. Faith is that which receives, learns, clings to, and conforms a person’s patterns of thought and deed to match the object of faith to which he is exposed. (Newborns are the ultimate image of faith, naturally clinging to and conforming to their parents.)
The True Faith is the faith that learns from and conforms with God who is the Author and objective standard of truth, and thus shapes a person to fully conform with truth.
Man by nature is not a creature of The True Faith in God, even if he does learn some truth from God’s creation, but he must be born again from above to have The Faith. (See John 3, and the surrounding context.)
Faith must precede logic, for it is that which defines our reasoning and learns logic.
The logical first principle of faithful reasoning is that reason is a servant of God’s Word, for otherwise one’s reasoning does not conform with truth. (God’s Word is truth.)

The Function of Faithful Logic

Logic is the shepherd of the faithful. Without logic, faith has little structure by which to conform to its object faithfully.
Because true logic must be learned, some will advance further or with different specialties than others, as each is equipped differently.
God made two teachers of logic: natural knowledge and revealed knowledge.
Those with with faith in natural knowledge learn natural logic: language, mathematics, and computation.
Those with faith in revealed knowledge learn revealed logic: theology (Logos of God).
Those who learn logic well can apply it to God’s Word to discern what He says more deeply.
Natural logic is necessary to learn revealed logic, just as natural knowledge is necessary to learn the language of the revealed Word. (You must learn what a tree means before you can understand the statement that Christ was hung from a tree. Likewise you must know some natural logic to understand what Paul means any time he says “therefore”.)
Those with The Faith, but without any natural logic, do not benefit from hearing the Word, for God communicates the Word with language, which communicates through natural logic.
Those with natural logic, but without The Faith, must fail to find the truth, for their logic builds and learns from false or incomplete premises.
Those with The Faith and with revealed logic, but with faulty natural logic, must err to whatever extent that they attempt to deepen their understanding of revealed logic using flaws in their natural logic.

The Teaching of the Faithful

Shepherds of those with The Faith must be taught both natural and revealed logics, or they will err and feed falsehood to those under their care, who will themselves thereby learn faulty logic.
When those with The Faith are fed falsehood by their shepherds, though their faith be pure, they will stray from God’s Way, for God’s Word and Way is truth.
When God’s logic does not shepherd the flock, the sheep must scatter from each other and from Him, for each is swayed by different false premises and conclusions.
When those who bear God’s name apply God’s Word illogically, God’s name is blasphemed among the unfaithful.
If the Faithful apply God’s Word logically, the unfaithful will revile His name regardless.
If the unfaithful revile God for hearing truth, the guilt for their downfall is theirs, but if they revile God for hearing falsehood from the Faithful, the guilt for their downfall is the Faithful’s.
If the Faithful stray due to being shepherded illogically, the guilt for their injury or downfall is the shepherds’.

“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. . . . Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3)

Principles for Exegesis

Using this foundation, one can humbly follow the following principles during exegesis:

Whatever you hold to be certain must be built only from the authority of God’s Word.
- God spoke many things that are not recorded, but only the Bible remains today as a reliable and attested record of the Word of God.
- The created universe was spoken into being by God’s Word and is also a reliable foundation for knowledge. But its usefulness is very limited when it comes to knowing anything more definite than the processes of present physical matter.
- The role of human teachers is to point out implications of God’s Word that you might not have noticed. They are not sources of truth themselves.
Your theology must not add to God’s Word.
- Every step of thought must be linked to and supported by its foundation.
- “Most likely” and “probably” and “many early church fathers say…” are insufficient justifications for holding an interpretation of God’s Word as absolutely certain. The guess might very well be correct, and it is fine to speculate, but one must be honest about uncertainty whenever one is guessing or whenever one is relying on the interpretations of other mere men.
- If the only Biblical support for a proposed idea comes from passages that all have other equally reasonable interpretations, in context, than those which support the proposed idea, then that idea is not proved by those passages.
Your theology must not subtract from God’s Word.
- Any passage that you find confusing shows a shortcoming of your understanding, and thus a flaw in your perspective or logic in how you read Scripture. You must learn from such passages, not ignore them.
If you derive a statement in any way from another idea that is not 100% certain based on God’s Word, the derived statement inherits the same degree of uncertainty.
- In other words, each logical consequence of a guess is also only a guess.
God’s recorded behavior teaches what is objectively good and wise.
- Both what God chooses to do and what He refrains from doing should be part of what you learn from, though with the understanding that He has authority as God and Creator that you do not.
Jesus of Nazareth’s recorded behavior teaches what is good and proper for man.
- It must also be part of what you learn from, in imitation by faith, though with the understanding that He has a higher authority as Christ the Son of God that you do not.
Do not import definitions from man’s distinctions or terminology onto God’s Word.
- Interpret God’s Word according to the context of its original language as it would have been read by its intended original audience.
- If a term would be treated broadly or colloquially by the original writer and recipients of a Biblical message or text, do not force it into a narrow academic sense when reading that text.
- One might (and the church does) build true derivative doctrines from the first principles of Scripture, but like a tower that starts from a wide foundation and narrows toward its peak, the derivative will be narrower and more focused than the full counsel and Logos of God. Taking the narrower derivative and superimposing it back onto the broader foundation as if the foundation was only that derivative only waters down the foundation.