Bible Study | Knowable Word

What The Hunger Games Taught Me About Bible Study

May 21, 2012 By Peter Krol

I just finished reading the first Hunger Games book, which simultaneously captivated and horrified me. This post is not a review of the content of the book, but an attempt to capture some literary points that (I think) contribute to the book’s success. For more evaluative reviews, see my brief Goodreads review, or reviews by Tim Challies or Mark Meynell.

1. Pay attention to verb tenses

Something nagged at me through the first part of the book. The story felt alive to me, almost too alive. It took a while to notice the cause, but eventually I realized the verbs were in the present tense. Sorry, I did that paragraph all wrong; let me try it again.

Something nags at me through the first part of the book. The story feels alive to me, almost too alive. It takes a while to notice the cause, but eventually I realize it’s the verbs are in the present tense.

Collins isn’t the first novelist to use this convention, but I think it’s uncommon. I can’t remember the last time I read a novel that employed it.

What does this fact have to do with Bible study? Pay attention to tenses! Authors communicate tone and mood through it. Each biblical author communicates different style and purpose through his text. One particularly vivid example is the Gospel of Mark.

For example, check out the New American Standard Bible, which conveniently lets us know when the original language behind a narrative uses present tense (instead of the more common past tense) by marking it with an *.

“Immediately the Spirit *impelled Him to go out into the wilderness” (Mark 1:12, NASB).

“They *went into Capernaum…” (Mark 1:21, NASB).

“Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they *spoke to Jesus about her” (Mark 1:30, NASB).

Swap each of those *verbs with a present tense (the Spirit impels…hey go…they speak…), and you’ll get the picture Mark intends. You’ll picture yourself right there with Jesus and his disciples, and the story will come alive.

2. Put Yourself in the Story

Part of what I enjoyed about The Hunger Games was that stuff happens. We didn’t need chapter after chapter of set up. We didn’t get a lot of back story, except through the course of the action. Collins’s greatest strength is her plot, which she uses well to both build characters and configure setting. But the plot is always central.

So also, in the Bible, there are times when plot is central. Again, the key example that comes to mind is the Gospel of Mark. For example, notice how often Mark uses the word “immediately.” Compared to the other three Gospels, Mark has the fewest recorded speeches of Jesus. Mark cares about action, and he wants that action to impact us as though we were there. Jesus is a doer, the King of the Universe, and he’s doing everything in his power to fix what is broken, especially in our own lives.

In short, as I read The Hunger Games and considered why it was so popular, I was inspired to go back and re-read Mark, which I did at my first opportunity. As you engage in the folklore of our culture, allow it to sharpen your skill at reading God’s Knowable Word.

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What a Large Homeschool Convention Taught Me About Bible Study

May 13, 2012 By Peter Krol

My wife and I just returned from “The largest Christian homeschool conference in the Northeast.” We eagerly anticipated this event, and it didn’t disappoint.

So many benefits came from the time. We were able to get our hands and eyes on many curriculum options, finally choosing what we will use for the coming school year. We couldn’t even wait for the Fall to begin; as soon as we got home, we unwrapped a few things and immediately did the first of the new lessons with our children. They just loved it, and our energy was still high from the buzz of the convention.

This blog isn’t about homeschooling, though, but about Bible study. So, to get to the point: what I learned about Bible study is that we need much more of it.

At the convention, we heard a number of talks on various topics: publishing, storytelling, simultaneously instructing children of different grade levels, and including the preschoolers in homeschool time. The last session we attended was especially helpful, in that the speaker (Marilyn Boyer of Character Concepts) listed about 30 character qualities, from the Bible, that we should seek to instill in our children. She gave loads of tips on how to help our children connect with the Scriptures on a heart level, through memorizing them, meditating on them, and applying them to all of life’s adventures.

What I found noteworthy was that, other than this final session, the Bible was almost completely absent from the other workshops we attended. To be fair, we could only attend a small fraction of the workshops, and perhaps we chose the only ones weaker on Scripture.

But I can’t help myself thinking that if “Christian homeschooling” can get dislodged from its moorings in careful biblical study, it’s merely symptomatic of Christian culture at large, which can be saturated with morals and activities but be somewhat barren when it comes to understanding God’s Knowable Word.

I’ll list just one other symptom that struck me. Among the hundreds of vendors, we must have seen dozens of Bible curricula for children and teenagers. This encouraged us. However, almost every sample we perused focused on either the Bible’s stories, its ethics, or its theology.

These three are important topics, but what I’d also like to see is training for children and teens in how to study the Bible. My hope for our children is that by the time they graduate high school, they won’t need a Bible text book anymore. I’m not saying they’ll have perfect knowledge of all things, independent of the Christian community or the preaching of God’s Word. I just mean that I’d like them to be able to pick up their Bibles, read them profitably, understand them rightly, and be equipped to use them to change the world.

Why Should You Read this Blog?

May 1, 2012 By Peter Krol

When God sets everything on fire, two things will endure: his Word and his people. I want to invest my efforts there, and I hope you do too. I’m sure it will be worth it. Sort of like those who put their money in Apple stock all those years ago, but even better.

Many online resources excel at teaching what the Bible says. What makes this site unique is that I want to help you learn how to study the Bible. God’s Word is a Knowable Word.

I don’t want to give you great Bible studies; I want to help you become great Bible studiers.

I don’t want to publish a Sunday School curriculum; I want to train skilled Sunday School teachers.

I don’t want to tell you what to think or do; I urge you to trace every thought and action from the text of Scripture.

I don’t just want to influence you for Christ; I want you to influence your world for Christ.

In fact, I don’t just want you to influence your world for Christ; I want you to teach others to influence their world for Christ.

Everything on this blog aims for this purpose: to help you understand the Knowable Word, be changed by Him, and teach others to do the same.

I strive to be:

Clear – written in plain language for ordinary people. The epistemological and hermeneutic nomenclature ought never obfuscate either our ecclesiological praxis or the post-diluvian orthographic transmittal and its linguistic ramifications for the faith community. In other words, I’ll do my best to avoid too much technical Christianese jargon.
Accurate – true to the text. I believe God has communicated to us through the Bible, and we can understand him rightly only when we understand the text rightly. I’ll focus on the main points of passages rather than on minor sub-points, personal feelings, or preconceptions. Guest bloggers might even disagree with each other on some points, but we all agree to submit to the clear teaching of the Knowable Word.
Imitable – I want you to try this at home. I hope you’ll imitate me as I imitate Jesus, who knew the Word because He Himself was the Knowable Word. Those who know Him represent Him. I’d like readers to respond more often with “I can do this, too” than with “That was an awesome post!” Please let me know if you ever have trouble identifying how I did what I did.

Jesus promised that knowing Him is eternal life. He’s made Himself available to ordinary folk like us. Would you join me for the ride?

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