Hermeneutics is a derived from the Greek word “hermenuein” which simply means “to explain or interpret.” This is also seen in Greek mythology, the god "Hermes." Hermes was the spokesman or interpreter for the other gods. In the simplest of terms, hermeneutics is the practice or discipline of interpretation.
Believe it or not, you use hermeneutics daily. You use hermeneutics whenever and wherever you read. As a matter of fact, you have already developed your own hermeneutic. As you are reading this guide, you are interpreting and processing more than just the words itself. A great example of this is when you are driving down the road and you see a red sign that says STOP. Is this sign informing you to stop immediately when you see it? Are you supposed to stop forever? What exactly is being told to stop?
Anyone with their drivers license should know, the sign is telling people to stop their cars at the sign, and then proceed forward when safe. You are using a hermeneutic when you see this sign. You are reading the sign and understanding what the purpose the creator of the sign intended.
Although in some places we will be speaking generically about hermeneutics, this site is geared specifically to using hermeneutics when studying the Bible. Biblical hermeneutics is vitally important because we want to make sure that we are reading the Bible accurately and coming to God intended conclusions from scripture. To assume we don't need hermeneutics at all is to think too lowly of God's people. The “rigors of God’s revelation” (the diversity of genres used in Scripture) call for a good hermeneutic (see Hebrews 1:1).
Culturally, most Americans have developed bad reading and interpretive habits. Also, we have bad interpretive theories underlying our popular hermeneutics. It is all too common to hear the phrase "what does this passage mean to you?", this is bad hermeneutics! We need to understand that God’s Word is written TO us THROUGH another people, language, culture and historical context. We need good hermeneutics to interpret the "through" part of God's revelation in order to not distort the "to" part.
To get a better sense of why this is important. Lets examine Romans 1:11-13