This will be a working entry.  I find that the differences between believers about Theology seem to all come back to the presuppositions that we bring to the Text.  Dispensationalists, Covenant Theologians, Liberation Theologians, Catholics, etc…  I will say at the beginning of this that I am a traditional dispensationalist.  I personally believe that it is the only hermeneutic that handles the Text fairly.  God’s revelation was given progressively.  Therefore, the OT must be able to stand alone in its interpretation.  For one to be able to understand the Bible accurately, you must read left to right (OT to NT).  If you begin in the opposite way, reading right to left (NT to OT) you will undoubtedly end up interpreting something in the OT incorrectly. 

Here are the fundamental beliefs in a dispensational understanding of the Word of God: 

Israel and the Church are distinct.   

Historical-Grammatical Interpretation of the Text.

The unifying theme of the Bible is God’s glory.

More, next time.