interpreter to use the book according to personal preferences, even to the extent of supporting positions as divergent as the political left and right.97 Yet “meaning” in the original setting and “significance” for the present situation must be kept separate if literature is to have any coherence. To apply Scripture carelessly without regard to its meaning is to abuse it for the sake of self-generated crusades. Without a well-defined interpretation in the historical setting of the author, applicational
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