Exegesis vs Eisegesis - important to know!

We all know the term "exegesis" - the careful study of scripture to understand what it means or what it is saying to us.

But you may not know the word: "eisegesis"!  Eisegesis is the opposite! It is "reading into the scripture".  Literally, the reader injects his/her own ideas into the text, making it mean whatever he/she wants.  

Eisegesis is what many do when they read or refer to scripture! It's bad because it is entirely subjective.  A good description:

Exegesis involves 
1) observation: what does the passage say? 
2) interpretation: what does the passage mean? 
3) correlation: how does the passage relate to the rest of the Bible? and 
4) application: how should this passage affect my life?

Eisegesis, on the other hand, involves 
1) imagination: what idea do I want to present? 
2) exploration: what Scripture passage seems to fit with my idea? and 
3) application: what does my idea mean?

Notice that, in eisegesis, there is no examination of the words of the text or their relationship to each other, no cross-referencing with related passages, and no real desire to understand the actual meaning. Scripture serves only as a prop to the interpreter’s idea.

Rather than taking a single scripture and making an assessment from it completely devoid of its original meaning, take the time to read ALL the scriptures and come to understand what is really being presented.  

Shalom