Charles Manson’s Hermeneutics and Sound Exegesis

I have accepted a challenge (along with some friends here in Wichita) from the Wichita Public Library to read 1 book a month in 2018. I usually read more than that each month, but the reason I accepted the challenge is because each month, we are supposed to read a different genre of writing. None of the prescribed genres are religious in nature; so, I decided to expand my reading intake this year and read books outside of my preferred style.

The 1^st month, we were given the category of any book that you could check out in the library, and I read a biography of Wyatt Earp, the 1^st Police Chief of Wichita – my hometown. This month, we were given the assignment of reading a detective novel or a true crime book, and I am reading Helter Skelter, which is a re-telling of the murders orchestrated by Charles Manson.

The evil of Manson is almost unparalleled. This delusional, murder-loving cult leader died on November 19 of last year. Manson claimed to be responsible for dozens of murders in the 1960’s, but he was only convicted of the murders of 7.

Manson was a unique example of evil. He manipulated others to do his evil bidding. He committed sodomy, homosexuality, fornication, and adultery. He was a drug user and abuser.

But, one of the worst of despicable acts was using Scripture for his own purposes. At times, Manson thought he could be the Messiah, and his abuse of Revelation 9 shows just how far he was willing to go to use Scripture for his own evil purposes.

Manson believed Revelation 9 was prophetically significant for him and the Beatles. He believed the Beatles to be the 4 angels in Revelation 9 and he the 5th angel in Revelation. He believed the Beatles were communicating to him through their music to carry out “helter skelter” on the world. To Manson, the bottomless pit represented the past obscurity held by the Beatles before their stardom. To Manson, the feminine-like hair represented the long hair of he and the Beatles. To Manson, the fire and brimstone coming from their mouths represented the lyrics of the Beatles’ songs. To Manson, the breastplate of fire represented their guitars.”The bottomless pit” – the Beatles past obscurity

“Hair as the hair of women” – long-haired musicians

“fire and brimstone from their mouths” – the lyrics

“breastplate of fire” – their guitars

The point of all this? When you have an agenda and look for that agenda in Scripture, you will mis-fire on your interpretation. You will read into the text, which is what is called eisegesis.

How can we avoid reading into Scripture meaning that is not there?

If you want to interpret Scripture correctly, let context drive the meaning. Most interpretive questions can be solved by considering the context in which they are written.

If you want to interpret Scripture, don’t spiritualize the text. Prioritize a text’s literal, straightforward meaning.

If you want to interpret Scripture correctly, don’t be afraid to consult others to test your interpretation. God has given a plethora of resources that have been written throughout church history to give us perspective and help to better understand His Word. Use helps.

If you want to interpret Scripture correctly, don’t be lazy. Commit yourself to “stay in the chair” until the meaning makes sense and fits the context. Truth does not reveal itself to the lazy student.