so...this blog was like 12 light years in the making. a good friend of mine asked if i would detail what i use to study the bible. i said, "sure. i'll do one soon."
since i'm so spiritual, meant soon in the whole "jesus is coming in 2,000 years" soon. so i waited, and waited, and waited some more.
bible studying was one of my first joys as a young christian. i always liked to read, and since the bible is god's word, i figured i should know it front to back. as i entered divinity school, some old tools were reinforced and others where learned. allow me to share:
READING COMPREHENSION
a lot of errors in bible study can be avoided by simply reading the bible like you would any other book. i do my best to come to the word clear and free from my own thoughts, ideas, and biases. now, clearly i believe it's the word of god so there's a bias right there. you can't totally avoid bias, but you can be aware that it's present. that way, you can put it aside when necessary.
just read it like a book. put aside the ideas that your pastor, grandmother, etc. have told you. doesn't mean those ideas all are wrong. putting them aside gives you the chance to encounter those ideas for yourself. read like you would for school. too many people read and insert what they were already told about a scripture. or they just read it to confirm what they already think (you can do that for almost anything).
RESOURCES
The best resource i have on how to read the bible is a book called "How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth." it's written by Gordon Fee (a top new testament scholar) and Douglas Stuart (a top old testament scholar). these two gentlemen are top-notch scholars AND devout believers. it's a great jumping on point for someone that wants to learn how to read more precisely.
i've learned a lot from this book. honestly, you can just stop reading my blog and go by the book. seriously. go. NOW. i'll be here when you're finished.
welcome back!
in terms of bibles, my main bible is the New English Translation. i love it because of the extensive translation notes that exist online. however, for studying particular passages of scripture i like to have several versions that i know in advance will read differently. that way i can see what's going on and compare translation choices and wording. that might be a little offputting to someone that doesn't know about bible translation, but don't let the differences bother you. you'll find good explanations in the book i recommended.
my go to bibles are the updated NIV, NET, New American Standard Version, and New Living Translation. i honestly NEVER use KJV or NKJV anymore. too many issues, and frankly, there are better translations now. you don't have to use the NSRV (some people believe that there is a liberal bias). i do for school, but nothing else really. and from what i've read, there's nothing in there that makes a big difference. i strongly urge people not to use it simply because it's difficult to read. especially if reading isn't a hobby of yours, you can find other great translations that are easier to read.
ultimately, the best thing is to be able to read in hebrew and greek. but most people won't be in a position to do that. rest assured that there are a lot of good translations out there.
TIPS AND TRICKS
i pretend like the chapter numbers and verses aren't there. those were a later addition. however, in our minds we can separate important parts of scripture and lose the important parts of context. try it and i'm sure you'll discover new meanings for situations that you didn't notice before.
i love commentaries. however, i NEVER use them until i've read the text thoroughly myself. i read the text first and see what comes out. THEN i look for commentaries. but honestly, be careful which commentaries you use. if all you have is the matthew henry's commentary...please get more. a lot of popular commentaries out there are built off of secondary info...which may not be correct. lean toward the ones composed by bonafide scholars. if you are studying a particular book, get several good commentaries on it.
a text can't mean something that it never meant! content and context are two of the most important things that will help your understanding. granted, some things we will never be able to fully figure out. however, we can get pretty close. especially for the things that matter most. one this is sure...on the most important matters of faith, particularly in the new testament, the authors wanted to be clear.
this can be confusing if you're using to reading a scripture and going, "this is what god told me from it." while i don't negate that at all, it can damage the text and distort its meaning. i believe that when we read the bible in a devotional way, we create an opportunity for god to speak. because god isn't a theologian, i don't think he cares about the stuff that we're discussing (in my opinion, theology, just like science, are our attempts to figure out what god is doing and has done). all he knows is that he has your captive attention, so he'll talk to you in a way and environment that you're comfortable in. let's assume that it's very much god's word to you.
emphasis on: TO YOU.
however, if it never meant that to anyone else, especially the people that received it first, you can't pass off what you heard in your prayer closet as god's infallible word. (keep in mind that god's eternal word emerged in a particular context with a particular group of people with a particular culture. it was written FIRST so they could understand it). YOU go live that word out...but that isn't something we should base our lives around.
well, there you go! i hope this was helpful to someone. if you have any specific questions (not rude comments because i hate those), leave them as a comment. i might make it into another blog post.
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