Reading the Bible

Currently, this semester for my Bachelor of Arts in Religion degree, I'm taking a very interesting course titled Biblical Interpretation. I'm only four weeks in, but this course has opened my eyes greatly, to many mistakes that I make when reading the Bible, and other issues that I now notice in the way we as a Christian society approach the Bible. Perhaps the biggest issue for myself right now is the way we read the Bible.

Many times, we simply read a book cover to cover. We just read for enjoyment, and the occasional teaching. What we read doesn't necessarily have a huge impact on our lives. Many times we treat the Bible in the same way. I know that personally I have just read the entire Bible to say I've done it! Get the gold star in Sunday School class, and move on. That's not the way to do it.

The Bible isn't just any regular book. It contains the Words of God, which He divinely inspired man to write down (more on this topic in a later post). The Bible has an unique purpose, a potential to change lives. And not just slightly, but radically. But this purpose, this potential, this goal of God can only be realized if we put in the work, and approach the Bible correctly.

Instead of just reading the Bible, we need to start studying it and interpreting it. We can't just read the words, and not understand what is being said, and how to apply it! We need to comprehend what God is instructing of us. Last year in the fall I was involved in a youth Bible study every Wednesday night. While leading us through the book of Romans chapter by chapter, the pastor who was leading the discussion challenged us to see if we knew what certain words meant such as sanctification, justification, and salvation. I was surprised with how much I struggled to place a definition in words in the context of the verses in Romans! I've read the book multiple times, I've heard the words, and I thought I knew what they meant. But in the context of each verse, I gapped, and struggled to come away with a concrete lesson, or meaning, or application from each verse because of uncertainty of these few words.

Not only do we need to start studying the Bible more, and start understanding and comprehending what it being said, but we need to start properly using interpretation skills. This is where my course has really paid dividends. Using some specific skills, such as the interpretation of verses, or taking a meaning and application from each passage, is difficult, but worthwhile. We continually run into problems where we either don't care about interpreting the Bible, and we are stuck right back into the "just reading" problem, or we interpret incorrectly. Finding the right way to do this is key. I have discovered that central to interpretation are these pointers; take the passage in the Biblical context (the time that it was written), understand who the passage was written to, dissect the translations (find the original words written), find the meanings of certain words, and understand how this Bible verse could apply in our culture. When it comes to interpretation, there are two approaches that are important; the literary approach, and the historical-cultural approach. The literary approach deals with the translations, original text, meaning of words, e.t.c. The historical-cultural approach deals with who the author was, who they were writing to, what the purpose of the book/passage was, e.t.c. Together, these two approaches form a balanced way of interpretation. Of course, this isn't fool proof, and I'm still learning and adding to my procedure of interpreting. Don't just interpret in a way that you think is right! Find some time to learn from someone who has mastered the craft! Interpretation is the most important skill when it comes to studying the Bible.

Closest to my heart right now is the issue of reading the Bible versus properly studying it. Think of how the world could be changed if we all just put forth a better effort to fully understand the pages we read everyday! It takes effort, and it takes time, but it pays dividends. In my opinion, it is better for someone to fully understand just one passage from the Bible and to have figured out how to properly apply it to their lives than for someone to say that they have read the Bible cover to cover.

Delayed Distortion: I Love You

Delayed Distortion: I Love You: Check out my first SoundCloud original! Titled I Love You, this song talks about the greatness of God, and what response that generates. Aiming to be dynamic and emotion charged, the song is an anthem worship tune.

Let me know what you think about it!

https://soundcloud.com/jesse-ramson-1/i-love-you