Frequent Asked Questions on Bible Study

This topic can be so extened, that I will refer you to the links to my other essays on the subject for more information. I believe it is very important to consider how inspiration works, especially when applying a passage to a particular situation.

Related Links:

• Information or Conversation
  What is your primary purpose in looking at scripture? Are you looking for data, or do you want to commune with God?
• A Tale of Three Prophets
  Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel as examples of how God uses different people in different circumstances.

Related Links:

• Bible Study and Sharing
  The importance of sharing as a part of Bible study.

When you compare scripture with scripture, you need to be sure that the words and topics are related. Don't simply connect words. Each text needs to be interpreted in context before you bring them together.

Comparing scriptures can be one of the most rewarding approaches, but remember that it requires more work from you in understanding the background and connecting the various elements of the two passages logically.

Related Links:

• Comparing Scripture with Scripture
  Key issues in using one scripture to help you interpret another.

We approach various Bible books with different questions in mind. Sometimes asking the wrong question can result in getting incorrect answers. It's easy to force a text to mean what you want it to mean instead of listening to the writer and the Holy Spirit for what you need to hear.

Related Links:

• Goals in Bible Study
  Looks at the questions you can ask and how they will impact your Bible study.
• Asking Questions of a Biblical Text
  Looks at some of the types of questions you can ask and how they apply.

This question doesn't have a short answer. Fundametally all language is by nature symbolic. The word I use for it is not the thing to which it refers. When a symbol refers to something directly (and often in a concrete way), we call that reference literal. But we often use terms that are further removed. For example, we might say that someone has the strength of a lion. We don't mean that he was tested for strength against an actual lion, and that the results were equal. We simply mean he was very strong.

Because our speech and writing contain so many different levels of figurative speech, we can't just assume how a particular passage is intended. We need to examine each passage, it's vocabulary and context and any other indications, to determine just how literally we are to take it.

Those who take the Bible literally unless it is proven otherwise introduce an unjustified bias in favor or literal interpretaiton.

Related Links:

• Scale from Literal to Figurative
  Judging just how literally a passage should be taken.
• Not Taking the Bible Literally
  Basic overview of literal and figurative approaches.

There are two errors I try to avoid. First, I try not to assume that I get 100% of the meaning of any passage of scripture, and second, I avoid accepting every interpretation.

I believe that every passage means something. Some folks are very concerned to either affirm that we can comprehend everything, or at least the vast majority of scripture, while others are prepared to give some credence to almost anything a reader gets from the material. I believe that all correct interpretation starts from the meaning in its original context. It can travel quite far from there, but it should be anchored there.

Related Links:

• Just Your Interpretation
  Responding to the objection that one's understanding of a passage is "just your interpretation."

Many people want to read the Bible just as God's message directly to them. There is a message for you in scripture, but it was not originally written to you, and you need to consider who it was written for when you're trying to get God's message. Careful study and the guidance of the Holy Spirit are necessary.

Related Links:

• Was the Bible Written to Me?
  How to see God's message in a text that was written originally for someone else.

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