Eusebius of Emesa in one of his discourses has quite a long passage about allegorizing. He allows that it cannot altogether be rejected but he is very cautious about its use. It tends to read meanings into the text which are good in themselves but are simply not present in the text. It can be an illegitimate short cut. A man who is bound or who is in prison is anxious to be free by any means, but not all means are right. Had all ancient interpreters of the Bible followed this advice, subsequent generations would have been saved the necessity of reading a great deal of nonsense. (The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God, p. 829, emphases added)
The history of hermeneutics alone demonstrates that this is not the best possible world. π
Related posts:
A letter from the Lord Jesus: About God and Me (Revised)
podcast 107 - Dr. Robert M. Bowman Jr. on triadic New Testament passages - part 1
10 steps towards getting less confused about the Trinity β #5 "Persons" - Part 2
podcast 75 - Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho - Part 2
Keith Ward Trinity symposium in Philosophia Christi
podcast 74 - Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho - Part 1
R.T. France on Mark 13:32
H.o.G.: Philosophical Psychology at Play with the Father and Word/Son (Scott)
podcast 23 - report from the second annual Los Angeles Theology Conference
God and his Son: the logic of the New Testament