Why Even Heretics Understand Hebrew

Knowing how to read the Bible doesn’t guarantee you’ll read it well. As the saying goes, “Even heretics know Hebrew.”

For all our tools, methods, and scholarship, something deeper is needed for biblical interpretation to be faithful, fruitful, and transformative virtue. Not just intellectual skill, but moral and spiritual maturity. Because how we read is inseparable from who we are.

This claim is both ancient and urgent. It echoes across the centuries from church fathers, Reformers, and biblical authors themselves and it presses especially hard in our current cultural moment, one infected by partisan pride and paralyzing sloth.

In this age of suspicion and polarization, Christian readers need more than exegetical precision. They need humility and boldness. They need character.

Why Reading Is a Moral Act

Twenty-five years ago, theologian Kevin Vanhoozer published Is There a Meaning in This Text?, challenging both modern overconfidence and postmodern despair. He argued that biblical interpretation is not just a technical skill it’s a moral act. To read Scripture rightly, we must cultivate the kind of person who listens well, thinks clearly, and submits humbly to God’s Word.

Today, that conviction is more important than ever.

Theological disagreements abound. Denominations divide. Social media multiplies conflict. And in the middle of it all stands the Bible often weaponized, rarely understood.

We’re tempted to think the answer is better tools: learn Greek, study context, apply the right method. But as Vanhoozer warns, method alone is not enough. Many heretics have parsed verbs flawlessly and led others straight into error.

What we need is virtue.

From Intellectual to Interpretive Virtue

Philosopher Linda Zagzebski defines intellectual virtues as habits of thought that lead toward truth. These include traits like attentiveness, fairness, and courage in the pursuit of knowledge.

Vanhoozer builds on this idea by proposing interpretive virtues habits of reading that lead toward understanding the text rightly. Such habits go beyond technique. They involve the reader’s whole self: heart, mind, character, and conscience.

Interpretive virtue means reading not to prove a point, not to win an argument, but to know the mind of Christ. It means holding truth with conviction, but also with humility. It means being bold enough to say, “Thus says the Lord,” and humble enough to say, “I may be wrong.”

Two Vices to Avoid

In reading Scripture, Vanhoozer identifies two ancient vices that have adapted to modern times:

1. Pride — Not just personal arrogance, but tribal certainty. The kind that says, “Me and my people know the truth. If you disagree, you’re not just mistaken you’re my enemy.” This is the root of much theological conflict today. Pride doesn’t listen. It declares. It divides.

2. Sloth — Not laziness, but indifference. The kind that says, “Who really knows what the Bible means anymore? Everyone disagrees. Why bother?” This skepticism, inherited from postmodern suspicion, leads not to humility but to apathy. It erodes confidence and discourages discipleship.

These two vices pride and sloth are enemies of true interpretation. They distort our reading, derail our dialogue, and divide the body of Christ.

What we need instead is a posture of hermeneutic virtue: boldness without arrogance, humility without apathy.

The Balance of Boldness and Humility

Acts 4 tells the story of Peter and John, standing before hostile authorities, “speaking the word with all boldness” (v. 31). This boldness, or parrhesia, is not bluster. It is courage born of conviction, empowered by the Spirit. It is the courage to speak gospel truth, even when it’s dangerous.

But boldness must be tempered by humility. Not all interpretive confidence is Spirit-inspired. Some of it is ego. Some of it is rooted in tradition, not truth. Even the Reformers Luther, Calvin, Zwingli disagreed on key doctrines. None could claim perfect illumination.

So the wise interpreter, like Augustine, is always ready to retract, revise, and repent. They know that understanding is a process, not a possession. “Now we see in part,” Paul reminds us (1 Corinthians 13:12) and often a smaller part than we imagine.

Virtue in the Local Church

How can we foster this kind of reading?

The local church must become a virtuous reading culture a community where interpretation is shaped not just by skill, but by character.

This means:

• Teaching humility: helping readers acknowledge their limits, their biases, and the reality of being wrong.

• Teaching boldness: encouraging faithful proclamation of truth, grounded in Scripture and empowered by the Spirit.

• Modeling charity: treating those who disagree not as enemies, but as fellow seekers.

• Cultivating patience: resisting the pressure for instant answers or easy slogans.

Church leaders must be both teachable and able to teach. They must embody both conviction and correction, openness and orthodoxy. They must show that sanctification includes how we handle God’s Word.

As Vanhoozer puts it, “Learning how to embody these interpretive virtues is sanctification too.”

Why It Matters Now

We live in a moment where truth is contested, confidence is fragile, and interpretation is politicized. People ask not “What does the Bible mean?” but “Whose side are you on?”

In such a moment, the most radical thing a church can do is read the Bible faithfully, humbly, and boldly together. To raise up readers who speak truth, but with grace. Who contend for the faith, but without contempt. Who confess, “Here I stand,” while remaining open to the Spirit’s correction.

Because the world doesn’t just need people who can quote the Bible. It needs people who embody it with courage, humility, and love.

If this helped you reflect more deeply on how we read God’s Word, pass it on or subscribe to our newsletter for more.