This article explores some instances of students offering eccentric interpretations of literary texts under the apparent influence of elements of their Christian assumptions and identities. It suggests that rather than viewing such incidents in terms of either error or self-expression, it might be more fruitful to regard them as representing a kind of interpretive interlanguage (a concept current in applied linguistics) that draws imperfectly upon more developed models of Christian interpretation. Four such models are identified and related to students' interpretive practices. (Contains 2 notes.)