Hermeneutics

Hermeneutics is a science of interpretation. This name is generally applied to the explanation of written documents, and for this reason, Hermeneutics can be more particularly defined as the science of interpreting the language of authors. This science assumes that there are various modes of thought, as well as ambiguities of expression; and its purpose is to eliminate probable differences that may exist between a writer and their readers, so that the latter can accurately understand the former.

The hermeneutical principles espoused by Milton S. Terry appeal so powerfully to reason and are so compatible with a reverent attitude toward the Bible that the passage of time will have little or no influence on them. In most cases, the same can be said about his illustrations, even though it is in this area that the personal element enters into interpretation. Attention has been drawn to this point in a note regarding the author's use of illustrative material for his interpretation of the difficult subject of the Second Coming of Christ, but even this does not affect the fundamental principle of interpretation that he has presented so clearly in connection with this same subject.