Reddit mentions of Hermeneutics

As someone else mentioned, start a study into Theology with an introductory text in Hermeneutics. This where so many people go wrong and misinterpret the text, drawing false and erroneous conclusions. The way you interpret the text will determine what you draw out of it.

Hermeneutics: Principles and Processes of Biblical Interpretation was the first Hermeneutics text I worked through, and I highly recommend it. It's highly unbiased, and the end of each chapter is packed with problems to think through.

Once you're done there, if you have access to iTunes University or the [Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details id=com.subsplash.thechurchapp.reformedtheologicalseminary2&hl=en_US&referrer=utm_source%3Dgoogle%26utm_medium%3Dorganic%26utm_term%3Drts+mobile+app&pcampaignid=APPU_1_vSLpW7CiCMbCzwL3vK-wDw) app for Android, find Robert Cara's lectures in Advanced Biblical Exegesis under "Old and New Testament" and listen to them (they're free).

When you get to looking at a Systematic Theology to work through, I recommend staying away from Wayne Grudem. He's really popular among Evangelicals, but I'm personally not a fan of him. There's better Systematic Theologies out there. I highly recommend Louis Berkhof's Systematic Theology or Classic Christianity by Thomas Oden.

It is not just that the OT/NT were written in a language that is foreign to most people but it was written in a historical and cultural context that most "don't get" as well.

As has been said we need to figure out what it meant to those to whom it was originally written. That historical/cultural context must be the baseline for what it means to us today.

Nor Bible is a systematic theological textbook. Each book was written for a specific purpose and if one does not understand that is then they might mis-interpret what is being said.

Nor does each book utilize the same literary genre (and some employ more than one) and if one does not understand that is then they might mis-interpret what is being said.

So it is not just as simple as saying, "read the Bible in its original languages".

Two good summaries of "hermeneutics" - the theory of text interpretation can be found here or here