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You are here: Home / Check it Out / What ‘Inductive’ and ‘Deductive’ Really Mean

What ‘Inductive’ and ‘Deductive’ Really Mean

July 8, 2026 By Peter Krol

I’ve written before about why I never use the term “Inductive Bible Study” for what we do on this blog. My problem is not with what inductive Bible study is; my problem is with what it’s called. The conventional definition—that induction means starting with particulars and moving to generalities—is not accurate. So we simply use the label “OIA Bible study” for our method.

In addition to what I’ve cited elsewhere, I now provide further evidence from the apologist William Lane Craig.

Deduction and induction are not about movements between particulars and generalities, but about certainty vs. probability. We use both kinds of reasoning in OIA Bible study.

Check it out!

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