Knowable Word

Helping ordinary people learn to study the Bible

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How’d You Do That? (7/4/12)

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In yesterday’s post, I tried to demonstrate an important principle for how to study the Bible: correlation.  Correlation is the process of linking different passages together to understand what the Bible has to say about a topic or idea.

When it comes to correlation, it can be pretty easy to make a number of errors:

  1. Cross-referencing too soon: Sometimes when we read a passage, we immediately jump to all the other passages that come to mind.  As we jump from place to place in the Bible, we can feel like we’ve had a good Bible study.  The danger, however, is that we can jump so much that we failed to understand any of the specific passages in their context!  Numerous cults use this technique to justify their teaching, while making it seem biblical.
  2. Isolating a text from the whole Bible: Sometimes we can get so focused on one passage that we develop an imbalanced understanding of a certain topic.  Without connecting this passages to other passages, we might over-focus on one side of an issue to the exclusion of the complete biblical perspective on it.  I find it really easy to commit this error when I’m having a disagreement with someone, and I want to over-emphasize my perspective.
  3. Connecting passages unhelpfully: Sometimes we can connect different passages for no other reason than that they use the same word.  When we do this, we miss the fact that different authors might use the same words in different ways.  We read a certain meaning into various texts rather than drawing meaning out of them.  We often commit this error if we search for a single word in a Bible search engine, and then assume that every verse that turns up must apply to the particular question I’d like to answer.

How do we correlate various Bible texts accurately?

  1. Make sure you understand the passage at hand in its context.  That means identifying the author’s main point before you jump to any other texts.
  2. Once you’ve identified the main point, then look for other passages that speak to the same main point (which may include using the same words, but it also might not).
  3. As you look at other passages, make sure you understand the main points of each of them in their own contexts.
  4. Allow each passage to nuance your understanding of the idea.
  5. Make changes in your life to obey what you have learned from God’s Knowable Word!

How’d You Do That? (6/17/12)

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We just finished examining a bit of Solomon’s biography and credentials for authoring the book of Proverbs.  We saw that God’s wisdom, God’s promise, and great wealth qualified him for this task.

How did I come up with these principles?

The main idea here is that the narrative books of the Bible often give us key information to help us interpret the didactic (teaching) books.  We learn about Solomon’s story from the books that chronicle his life.  As I studied those sections, I began to draw connections to the Proverbs.  Especially helpful was 1 Kings 3:1-15, where Solomon asks for wisdom, and 1 Kings 4:20-34, where Solomon demonstrates his wisdom.

We can follow this same procedure for other parts of the Bible.

  • When reading Paul’s letters, first check out the biographical information on Paul in the book of Acts.  The most helpful parts are the sections where he ministers in the cities he later wrote letters to.  For example, study Acts 16:11-40 for background on the book of Philippians, Acts 17:1-9 for background on 1 & 2 Thessalonians, and Acts 18:1-18 for background on 1 & 2 Corinthians.
  • Consider Acts 14:8-23 and Acts 16:1-3 for information to help you interpret 1 & 2 Timothy.
  • Certain Psalms are connected with events in David’s life.  Psalm 3:1-8 makes sense after you understand 2 Samuel 15:1-37, and Psalm 51:1-19 should be read in connection with 2 Samuel 11:1-12:25.

I’m sure you get the idea.  When you study books of the Bible, first try to understand the author’s life situation and character.  The Bible itself can help you do this.

What Star Wars Taught Me About Bible Study

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It’s a little known fact that I’m a Star Wars geek.  I’ve been watching The Clone Wars cartoon with my children (which is fantastic), and we just finished Season 3.  I think it’s a good time for a Star Wars post.

Star Wars (both in the films and the cartoons) makes abundant use of a fun literary device called the “type scene.”  The Bible uses the same device, so Star Wars can help us understand it.

If you and I are discussing the Star Wars films, and I say, “I love that scene where the evil Sith lord cuts off the good guy’s appendage,” you would be right to ask, “Which one: Episode 2, where Dooku chops off Anakin’s arm, or Episode 5, where Darth Vader slices Luke’s hand off?”

For more examples, see if you can name which Star Wars movies have the following scenes:

  • Sith asks Jedi to join with him and overthrow his evil master.  Together, they could rule the galaxy.
  • A dismembered C3PO makes all kinds of corny jokes.
  • The young, attractive politician attracts the unconventional warrior.
  • A chase through an asteroid field.
  • The young but skilled pilot wins the battle by blowing up the giant space station.

Such vague descriptions could describe numerous “type scenes” that keep repeating in the Star Wars movies.  With each repetition of the scene, a creator connects two different characters or scenarios without having to say “this one is just like that one.”

Let me give some examples of this technique in the Bible.

  1. The man of God leaves the land of promise due to some sort of famine or distress.  In a foreign land, his wife masquerades as his sister but gets kidnapped.  You may have read these stories in Genesis 12:10-20, 20:1-18, and Gen 26:6-11.  What’s the point?  Abraham faced similar temptation all through his life, and Isaac struggled with it just like his dad did.
  2. God rescues his people from Egyptian captivity, and brings them through the Sea and wilderness.  Of course this happens in the book of Exodus, but the prophets use the same language to describe the Exile (for example, see Isaiah 10:24-25).  Jesus went through it, too (Matthew 2:14-15, 3:13-17, 4:1-2).  What’s the point?  Jesus endured all that Israel endured, as their representative.
  3. God’s ambassador heals a lame man by the city gate, and the Jewish officials get riled up about it.  Jesus does it in John 5:1-17, and Peter & John do it in Acts 3:1-4:22.  What’s the point?  Jesus’ disciples truly act in His name, with his full authority and power (Matthew 28:18-20).

Star Wars shows us how useful type scenes can be.  The Bible does it even better, though.

One more tip: pay attention whenever a Star Wars character says, “I have a bad feeling about this.”  It demonstrates another great literary device: repetition.  I’ll save that one for another day.

How’d You Do That? (6/8/12)

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In our last Proverbs post, I looked at what sort of genre proverbs are.  Let me give those comments a context.

When we come to learning how to study the Bible, one of the first steps is to observe the text carefully.  But what should we observe?  I generally consider five categories:

  1. Words
  2. Grammar
  3. Structure
  4. Mood
  5. Genre

You can observe the words themselves, considering repetition, tenses, number (singular or plural), etc.

You can observe the grammar, considering issues such as sentence structure (subjects, verbs, objects, etc.), pronouns, or prepositional phrases.

You can observe the structure, considering things like comparison, contrast, section divisions, or the shape of the text.

You can observe mood, identifying how the author communicated: excited, angry, patient, personal, etc.

Finally, you can observe the genre.  Primarily, you’ll want to notice whether you’re reading prose or poetry.  If I write of red roses, it’s important that you understand the genre.  On the one hand you might find just what you need in a pinch.  On the other hand, you could create too many giggles.  Don’t mix up genres!

In the case of Proverbs, I discussed the wisdom genre of proverbs.  We should not read proverbs like laws, or even like prophecies.  Proverbs are intended to address many fine details of life.  As we go through the text, we’ll see how this fact plays out.  But by way of introduction, I wanted to draw attention to the significance of genre.

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

I observed Proverbs’ genre,

Now you can, too!

What the Avengers Taught Me about Bible Study

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I just saw The Avengers and thought it almost lived up to all the hype.  It’s well worth seeing, and it can teach you about Bible study!

Characters, characters

This movie was well set up by all the (mostly) independent prequels: The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Captain America, and Thor.  Each of those movies tells the story of a single hero.  All the heroes come together as a team in The Avengers.  Needless to say, the movie’s greatest strength was its characterization.

There is no narrator to tell you what’s happening, and there’s not much explanation of plot or setting except through dialogue.  All you have that drives the drama and action is the characterization of the heroes as they relate to each other, and it works beautifully.

Tony Stark (Iron Man) considers himself a “genius, playboy, billionaire, philanthropist,” and his choices, especially in his relationships, directly reflect this chosen identity.  Bruce Banner (Hulk) remains pretty introverted, fearing the monster that rages within him.  When asked how he keeps the monster at bay, he reveals his secret: “I’m always angry.”  We can reinterpret his quiet withdrawal in light of this revelation.

I could go on, but the point should be clear that much of a story can be told through strong characterization.  Notice how the Bible uses the same technique:

  • Jacob’s character drives much of the last sections of Genesis, as his affinity for conflict (Gen 25:22) and deceit (Gen 27:18-19) is used against him by his uncle (Gen 29:23, 31:26-28) before the Lord redeems it and makes him fruitful through it (Gen 32:28).
  • We are told very little about the prophet Elijah, but we resonate with the one whose nature was just like ours (James 5:17) as we see him alternately hiding (1 Kings 17:5-7) and confronting (1 Kings 18:17-19), inspiring (1 Kings 18:38-39) and raving (1 Kings 19:10, 14).  The man who demanded justice (1 Kings 19:10) and saw the Lord only in wind, earthquake, fire, and whisper (1 Kings 19:11-12) eventually saw the fulness of God’s glory on that mountain in the face of Jesus Christ (Matthew 17:2-3).
  • One leper’s character shines when he returns to thank Jesus (Luke 17:15-19).
  • A whiny, victimized, blameshifting invalid (John 5:6-7) demonstrates the opposite of faith even after meeting Life in flesh (John 5:14-16).  We don’t need the author to tell us to avoid his example.

When you read the Bible, be aware of how the characters are portrayed.  By their description, choices, and dialogue, we receive instruction in how to flee temptation by remembering that Jesus is our escape (1 Cor 10:6-13).  If you still have the chance to see The Avengers, do so, and become a better Bible student.

What The Hunger Games Taught Me About Bible Study

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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

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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?

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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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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?