Reading the Bible as a Book...or Books
Some thoughts on how we read the Bible
If you are reading this blog, the chances are that you’ve experienced some kind of paradigm shift, either in “Church of Christ” issues or eschatology or, if you’re like me, both. But regardless of what that shift might be or not be, you’re reading this blog because you’re interested in learning how to read the Bible.
The truth is that we’re always learning, but when we have huge moments of clarity when it seems like the whole world is new and fresh and exciting, we quickly realize how this new worldview may affect our reading of the Bible.
This is scary for a few reasons, but rewarding for many!
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By the way, this topic came from someone on the Exploring Faith Pursuing Grace discussion board, so if you want me to write on a question you have, message me, leave a comment, or let me know in some other way.
Why It’s Scary
Before I talk about how to read the Bible, I think it’s important to validate what you’re feeling right now, or what you have felt in the past.
What Else Could I Have Wrong?
When I first started changing my mind on eschatology (you can read about that in my book, which you can read or listen to for free using the code EFPG), one of the first questions that came to my mind once the excitement began to die down was how this new way of reading Scripture might affect other areas of my life. What about baptism? What about instrumental music? What about Lord’s Supper? (read an awesome new article on the Lord’s Supper here: fearlessandjoyful.com).
These questions flooded my mind all at once, and I went into a bit of a panic. My tradition puts so much stock into having the right answers. Having the wrong answers means expulsion from the community and eternal conscious torment.
So even if you have dropped a lot of that kind of black and white thinking, it’s still natural that you flinch a bit when faced with the potential of changing something else.
Who Might Have I Needlessly Hurt?
I don’t know about you, but when I started to realize that I might be wrong about how I interpreted the Bible, I thought about all of those I had hurt by condemning them or excluding them in the past. I think about the Easter egg hunt invitations I rejected as a kid and the tear-filled Bible studies I had with vulnerable college students.
As some have said in the past, if a person truly believes their friend is going to be hit by a bus, the only loving option they have is to push them out of the way, but what happens when you realize the bus isn’t coming?
That’s a scary thought.
It can be easier to ignore the questions than to risk owning up to past mistakes and possibly being alienated yourself for communing with those who are deemed undesirable (HP) by your old tribe.
Who Will Take Me?
One other understandable reason you might be afraid of reading the Bible after having a major paradigm shift is the fear of rejection. While I’ve already mentioned this aspect of it in both subsections, I think it’s important to point out. We want to be included, especially by those closest to us, and what closer bond is there than that which is fused together by a common faith?
So knowing that rereading the Bible will lead you to changing your mind on something (because once you see, you can’t unsee), then the “safest” thing to do might be to ignore the urge and go through the motions. If you’re in ministry, this might mean preaching through passages that don’t touch on controversial issues. If you’re a Bible class teacher, you might read troubling passages very quickly.
Or you may never even study particular subjects at all.
I have a friend who is careful with what he reads. If he comes across something that he thinks he might not be able to handle in the moment, he’ll put it to the side for now, and I think that’s okay.
Another aspect of this, and the reason behind my friend’s pickiness, is that you may realize that the subject you have a nudge to study, or you suspect may be waiting for you if you launch into another reading of the Bible, may not be a “gospel” issue. That is, even though your tribe may kick you out over a different opinion, it doesn't really affect the core gospel in your mind, so why bother?
I write all of this to let you know that I understand and affirm your hesitancy. We are to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus, but this means following him in his prudence. After all, he did tell his disciples that there were things he wanted to tell them but they couldn’t bear it yet.
The fear may be like the fear of jumping off the diving board at the start of summer - the sign of something fun, exhilarating, and refreshing. But the fear may also be your gut telling you to slow down. It’s hard to discern between the two, but deciding too quickly may close doors that otherwise might be open down the road… of course, hesitating too much may close doors that are open now. And if you figure out how to tell the difference, let me know.
Reading Versus Interpreting
So I know it’s impossible to read without interpreting, but let me clarify what I mean, and it may already be obvious to you. Sometimes, I’ll read through a passage, and while I may make a note or underline here, I don’t spend too much time meditating on any particular verse or cluster of verses. But when I study, which may have been a better word, but we’re already three sentences in, I focus more on the grammar, look up the words, check out other translations, consult different resources like commentaries and scripture indexes in topical books, and maybe even phone a friend.
So, let’s break these two ways of digesting Scripture up into two sections.
Reading
I think that reading the Bible is just as important as studying it. When we study the Bible, we treat it like an object. That is, we are the subject, it is the object, and it is our job to master it. Like an archaeologist at a work site, we use a little bit of muscle to press the shovel into the text to search for truth. And like an archeologist, we have an educated guess of what we might find before we even start digging. But unlike archeology, which can only work with what it finds or doesn't find, we are very good at taking whatever we find and twisting it to fit our predetermined conclusions.
Reading the Bible as a sacred, divinely-inspired text, however, treats the Bible like a subject. Instead of us working on it, we allow ourselves to be open to it working on us as we read. We approach the Bible as a God-breathed book, and while we may not understand everything as we read, we trust in the Spirit working within the text to breath life into us.
Meditating on passages, like in Lectio Divina, or journaling through a particular text is a good place to start. Or you can ask a friend in real life, or perhaps in the Exploring Faith, Pursuing Grace discussion group on Facebook, to read through a book of the Bible with you.
Reading the Bible as a spiritual practice is something that has been beneficial to me recently. Personally, I like picking out a new translation, grabbing one of those multi-colored pens to note similar themes or words, and read through an entire book in one sitting, but not everybody can do that, so find what works for you.
Interpreting
Intentionally and methodically interpreting Scripture, which is called hermeneutics, is important as well. Not only do we want to know what the Bible means, we also want to know what it doesn’t mean. That is, if an interpretation of the Bible is harmful or seems contrary to the Way of Jesus, then being able to explain why is an act of justice and is our duty as believers and followers of the Way.
There are some tools that will help us during this process, and most of them, if not all of them, can be found for free. While some think that reading the Bible with just a concordance and a Thayer’s lexicon is the way to go, the fatal flaw in this plan is that just using a concordance and a lexicon doesn’t get rid of our humanity.
Regardless of how much we like to think it, none of us reads the Bible purely. We all have our preconceived ideas, tendencies, and, if we’re being honest, levels of intellect. Because of this, I suggest to have a wide-range of study tools from various scholars including, but not limited to, two or three lexicons, two or three Bible versions, sermons (or lectures, podcasts, audio books, etc.), and maybe even a few topical books.
If you have a Bible program like Logos, Accordance, or E-Sword, then you probably have all of this already. If not, then biblehub.com is a great way for most people to dive into the text.
For Bible versions, I’d pick ones that follow different philosophies of translation. The NIV, for instance, is a popular thought-for-thought translation while the NASB follows more of a word-for-word style. If you look up “Bible translation styles” in Google images, you’ll see where your translation falls. By the way, people will say that one of these styles is better than the other, but really you need a mixture because translators get stuff wrong, and all translation is also interpretation.
For commentaries, I’d pick one from someone you might agree more with and one from someone you’d likely disagree with. If you lean more conservative, pick a liberal commentary, and if you’re more liberal, pick a conservative commentary. If you want to know which ones, then pick a commentary it looks like you’d agree with, find a place where they bash someone for being too the-opposite-way, check the rating on Goodreads or Amazon, and pick it up. Remember that you’re looking for truth, not trying to validate what you already believe.
Let’s Talk About How to Study
Before we talk about how to study, I need to spend like three minutes talking about what the Bible is.
What is the Bible?
The Bible is not so much a book as it is a library. Yes, I know that you want to say that it has one author, which it does in one sense, but if we de-emphasize the humanity of the Bible, then we miss out on a huge dimension of our sacred text. While I believe there are timeless principles contained within the Bible, I also believe that the Bible is a collection of letters, poems, law, songs, and history written and composed by people to people.
That is, there really was a church at Corinth, and there really was a guy at Corinth who was having an affair with his step-mom. There really was a church, or collection of churches, at Galatia, and they really were super concerned about what other dudes were doing with their genitalia.
Yes, I believe the Bible is inspired by God, but remembering the human element helps us to distinguish between statements that are normative and statements that are particular. That is, it lets us ask the question, “Is this meant to be a statement that we apply equally in every situation for all time, or should we use wisdom in determining if this was meant to address a specific situation for them at their time, and, if so, what is the underlying principle we can take from this for today?”
This also means that we should first let the individual books function on their own before trying to find connections between them. For example, many scholars have tried to work out how the four different gospel accounts line up. They talk about original sources like Q and where Luke may have gotten his material (Luke pulled from multiple sources per Luke 1:1-4).
But I think it’s important to remember that many of the books, especially the ones in our New Testaments, were written as individual letters to specific people. Letting them stand on their own first is important to treating them as objectively as possible. Some Christians, like myself, will use passages from other books to “correct” passages that seem difficult or challenging to us. If you don’t believe me, walk into a Church of Christ and quote Romans 4, or walk into a reformed church and quote James 2.
Being Honest with Your Presuppositions
Before reading a passage, it might do you some good to write down what you already assume about that passage. This could be a journal entry or maybe just a few notes. You might also just think through the passage in your brain the best you can after briefly glancing through the text. Then pray that God will help you to hold these old ways of viewing the text lightly so that if new insights come, you are already prepared to transcend beyond what doesn’t seem to fit with the text while including what does.
Many of the beliefs I “deconstructed” ended up sticking with me, even if I hold them differently than I once did. I still take communion weekly, sing without instruments, and teach baptism even though my points of emphasis (and rigidness) may be different.
Reading the Bible as a Book
Next, it’s important to remember that you are reading a book. Shocking, I know! But for some reason, people forget the skills they were taught in third-grade when they approach the Bible. Ask the “journalistic six” when reading a passage:
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
How?
These questions will help you to establish who the author is, what happened to occasion the writing, when it was written, where or to whom it was written, why it was written, and how might we understand it today.
Other writers talk about approaching the Bible like a map or a journey where you start with trying to understand their situation, find the key principle, and apply it to your situation.
Don’t forget these questions as you sit down to study!
What are You Reading?
Another important thing to think about when you sit down to interpret a passage is to ask what genre you are getting into! We don’t interpret Revelation (apocalyptic prophecy) like we do Acts (theological history or narrative). Instead, we use different tools to study each. While the same questions may exist, how we interact with the text might be different. While the differences may be more subtle, we might also approach Matthew differently than we would Romans.
Disarming Passages
For my audience, there may be a passage or two you have in mind that you’d like to disarm. What I mean by that is there may be passages that were used by you or people you love to exclude or condemn others. It can be hard to revisit those passages, especially when the readings are “so obvious.”
But revisiting those texts, even though it is hard, is an important step in finding your own faith, so when you’re ready, this is what I would do.
First, I would just read the passage within the context of the entire book or chapter. From a surface level reading, is the old meaning as obvious as you were told it is? Take Ephesians 5:19 for instance, when you read all of Ephesians 5, does it seem like Paul is talking about a Sunday morning assembly, or is he talking about everyday Christian life? Is he really prescribing a way we must worship?
Second, I would notice all of the words in that passage. How are those same words used in the context? You may have already picked up on this in the first step, but very often you’ll realize just from watching for those similar words or themes that the author didn’t have the same things in mind that your authority figure did when they ripped that passage out of its context. Studying the word “gospel” in Galatians 1, for example, shows how impossible the interpretation is that one must agree to everything from fellowship halls to praise teams to a cappella music in order to really believe the gospel. The good news is Jesus. That’s it. Anything added to that is no longer good news.
Third, I would consult a commentary or someone outside of your heritage who doesn’t read the passage in that way. Without giving away too much, you might ask them to interpret or explain that passage to you. Don’t do anything to raise their defenses. Just ask them to tell you how they read it because you’re having trouble, which you are. You might be amazed what inviting others into your study can do for you. The Bible was meant to be interpreted in a community.
While you might not need a step four, you may need to go to a website like mine and simply search for that passage. My friend Dallas has a whole book where he looks at “Old Texts through New Eyes.”
Conclusion
I hope I gave you some things to think about in this article. If you needed your feelings validated, I hope you found that. If you wanted to know a little more about how to study the Bible, then I hope you found that. If you’d like more, I wrote a free eBook on the subject. You can download it here. Of course, you can always ask me questions, and I’d be glad to help. Thanks so much for reading, and if this helped you at all, please share this with a friend.