The main point of this article is that the historical critical method of biblical interpretation experiences a dilemma today. The principles it has adopted, as a legitimate son of the Enlightenment, have matured and caused this quandary. In spite of the high regard it received in its inception and even today, there is nothing neutral and scientific about it. This method appeared, first of all, in response to J. Solomo Semler's call for a distinction between Word of God and Scripture. To make this distinction -- which is a theological one -- is the primary objective of the historical critical method and has determined its operation. Several critical methods arose from this starting point, the main ones being source criticism, form criticism and redaction criticism. The dilemma this article speaks of has been voiced by several German scholars like Gerhard Maier, Eta Linneman, and Peter Stuhlmacher. The historical critical method assumed, from the start, dogmatic presuppositions about God and revelation, which reflect a rejection of Scripture's authority and infallibility. It has also established an impossible goal: to separate the normative canon from the formal canon and to make an exegetical distinction between the Word of God and Scripture. Such goals are methodologically impossible without apriori theological presuppositions. Also, the historical critical method has opened a deep chasm between the academy and the Church, not only due to the lack of practical results, but also because it has prevented the Church to get access to the Scriptures. The method has forgotten that human reason alone cannot respond adequately to divine revelation. The article pleads, as conclusion, for a method of interpretation historically associated to the grammatical-historical method, which has as its basic assumptions the inspiration, authority, and veracity of Scriptures, and the unity of the formal canon. Also, a method that is sensitive to the findings of other modern sciences, especially those in the area of language and communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]