Daniel has an interesting post on E-Merging suggesting that we view the Bible as a conversation. He says:
In real conversations, one participant doesn’t just sit back and agree with everything being said. There are tensions and resolutions, and some questions are simply left unanswered.
I think this is an excellent approach to Bible study and is quite compatible with my notion of participatory Bible study, in which you get into, participate in, the story of God’s interaction with people.
Psalm 104 has a distinct message about God’s creation that has stuck with me strongly since I first studied the passage in graduate school. I have previously posted links to my prior study of the text and structure of this Psalm, done more than 25 years ago. I’m starting from that point now.
When we deal with translation, the message can be presented in many ways. In this case it is presented through poetry. Previously, I worked with Psalm 46, showing how it has been presented in various ways, such as in Martin Luther’s hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is our God.” I then tried to convert the message of the Psalm into the form of an Italian sonnet, at which I can be said to be no better than rank amateur.
My point, however, is not to demonstrate my skill in transforming Biblical passages, rather it’s to suggest that we need to transform passages in various ways. For example, the message of Psalm 46 could be presented as:
I did some similar work with the story of Susanna from the apocrypha of Daniel. You can follow the links to related material there.
All of this falls under the “Share” portion of my Bible study method. I think that Bible students are often the weakest at sharing, but that sharing can be one of the strongest aspects of your approach to Bible study. Thinking of different ways of sharing the message makes you think more about what the message actually is, while getting reactions from others tests the accuracy of your read of the message. Too often our idea of understanding the Bible is reducing it to theological propositions, and then sharing those propositions with others.
Now don’t get me wrong here. Extracting theological propositions from your Bible study is not a bad thing. It’s just not the only thing. And sharing your theological propositions is not a bad thing either. But just as the Bible uses different ways of sharing, so you can use different ways of sharing. Consider that sharing part of your process of Bible study. It’s a way of exercising your understanding to discern good from evil (Hebrews 5:14).
So what about Psalm 104? Well, I think this is a good illustration of precisely this point. Elsewhere, I’ve written about the two creation stories of Genesis–1:1-2:4a & 2:4bff. Now there are a number of approaches to these stories. Some people think they turn up a major Bible contradiction, and thus claim the fact that there are two creation stories as a challenge to the Bible’s inspiration and authority. Others defend against this charge by challenging the idea that there are two stories, thus preventing any contradiction.
I have another suggestion: The story of God’s creation is much too broad and has way too many implications to be comprehended in any single telling. In Genesis 1, the theme is power and authority. God speaks and it happens. But at the same time God can seem very distant and other in that passage. Now these are part of the doctrine of God–transcendance. But what about God’s presence and care for us, immanence? Well, Genesis 2 and even the story of the fall in Genesis 3 present a God who is with us. Combine them, and we get a better picture of God than we would have had with either one. The stories, rather than contradicting, present two very different perspectives on one topic that’s large enough to allow both to present us with the truth of God and creation.
But there is yet more that God needs to present to us. In reading Genesis 1-11, one could get the impression of a generally receding God, one who is getting more and more distant from us. That would be a sort of gradual deism, God the creator who is no longer present. Enter another perspective–Psalm 104. God is here, God is present, God is concerned with everything. At the same time God is ultimately powerful. (It would be good to go read Psalm 104 from your favorite Bible version about now.
God’s power is shown in the first 8 verses. God is absolutely sovereign. God’s word sets the boundaries. The very foundations of the world (or the universe, as I understand it) are set by him. This part ties closely with Genesis 1–God of the powerful, absolute word.
But then we turn in verse 9 to God’s attention to detail. Everything is beautiful. Everything works together. This culminates with the beautiful exclamation:
(24) How marvelous are your works, O Lord!
You made them all wisely.
The earth is full of your created things.
This is the detailed attention, the God who is present, providing food for everyone. It may be hard for us to comprehend this, but for God, who is infinite, there is no prioritizing. He can be the powerful God who sets the earth on its foundation and commands the water to be in a particular place, while at the same time being concerned with the food for a single particular lion, or a nesting place for a particular bird. We can’t manage that, because for every bit of attention we give to one thing, something else suffers. But not so with God. And here we have this theological principle about God presented in poetic form.
But then we get down to the continuing nature of God’s presence.
(27) All of them look to you,
To give them their food on time.
(28) You give to them, so they may gather;
You open your hand, so they may be satisfied with good.
(29) You hide your face, and they are disturbed;
You bring their breath to an end,
And they return to their dust.
(30) You send forth your breath, and they are created;
So you renew the face of the ground.
It’s not just that God created, it’s that God creates. God is the ever-present creator. Every single move of every single subatomic particle is under God’s control. He doesn’t miss a thing. He doesn’t have a priority list. You are in no danger of falling off God’s radar screen, because nothing ever falls off of it.
That’s why I call Psalm 104 the third creation story. There are a few other passages, but I think this one neatly ties together Genesis 1 and 2 and gives us the perspective of a God who is constantly present.
Now the question I’m going to continue with in future posts on this topic is this: How do you share that concept in different ways? How do you catch the right way for you to really comprehend this and apply it? How can you find the right way for a friend?
The other day I was reading an article on the practice of prophetic ministry–I’m not going to say where; it was in print and not on the web–in which the author claimed that a prophet does not have to get it right. In fact, he said, a person with the gift of prophecy may get it wrong early in their career as they are “practicing.” The reason I’m not concerned with the specific source here is that I’ve heard this a number of times amongst those involved in the modern prophetic movement.
Before I go on, let me note that I do believe that all the gifts of the Holy Spirit continue to the present. I don’t, in principle, have any problem with someone exercising the gift of prophecy today. I write a bit more about this in the pamphlet Spiritual Gifts: Prophecy. But I do think that the modern prophecy movement has become very careless with the concept of “the word of God” and runs a serious risk of driving people from the church.
Since I’m talking so much about critical theories in my discussion of Genesis 1-11 (now on chapter 6), I wanted to call some attention to material I have already posted concerning Biblical criticism. The best starting point for this information is the following pamphlet from the Participatory Study Series:
That pamphlet provides answers to some of the basic questions that many lay people have about Biblical criticism. I sometimes criticize conservative scholars for ignoring critical study and methodology, although many do take it into account, such as the authors of the New International Commentary on the New Testament, New International Commentary on the Old Testament, or the Apollos Old Testament series. Liberal scholars and teachers, on the other hand, often seem to simply assume critical results without giving people the chance to evaluate the methods and any assumptions behind them.
To help lay people understand better what is being said when people present conclusions from critical scholarship, and do so very likely with excessive confidence, I wrote a series of entries over on my Threads blog. Some time I’ll gather them together and make them more accessible, but in the meantime, here’s a list.
While it is not part of the criticism series, I have continued discussion of Isaiah 24-27 here on this blog, and intend to continue working slowly through that section of Isaiah.
The main point here is, as always, to evaluate claims for yourself, and not simply accept what others feed you.
(Note: I’m going to introduce this passage as a whole, but when I do a verse by verse study, I’m going to divide it in two–12:1-4 and 12:5-12 simply for convenience.)
If you follow the participatory study method, then you may notice that I’m presenting the last step first. You’ll find that this happens quite often, as you share insights that you get from a passage with someone who has not yet studied it. It doesn’t hurt to hear someone else’s interpretation before you have done your study, but you should try to go back to the passage with an open mind, and not let someone else determine the meaning for you. You may well come back to the same result, but you need to come to your own understanding. A great deal of the value in Bible study does not come from the resulting information; it comes from struggling with God as you study.
Hebrews 5:14 refers to those “who through practice have exercised their understanding to distinguish good and evil.” You are exercising your understanding when you do Bible study. You are also exercising your understanding when you use the knowledge gained in real life. The key here is being active. A pew-sitting understanding of the Bible is not of much use.
Let me recommend that you come to chapter 12 after re-reading the book of Hebrews for yourself. “The whole book?” you ask. Yes, the whole book. It’s not that long. Use an easy reading version such as the CEV or the TNIV and just roll through it. Then narrow your focus and start reading word by word.
And here we come around to the topic of chapter 12, and of these 12 verses in particular. Hebrews is an active book, and it’s also a book that challenges one to action. That doesn’t mean it contains no theology in the theoretical sense. It is, in fact, one of the most packed books in the Bible. But the focus and the goal is always on what you’re going to do about it. “How then shall we escape after neglecting such a tremendous deliverance” (Hebrews 2:3)?
As we approach chapter 12, we have just completed chapter 11, the Honor Roll of Faith. We were presented with a group of people there who had great faith, and that great faith helped them to remain faithful through great difficulties and persecution. There’s was a faith in action.
Thus our author starts with the challenge of this crowd of witnesses. We need to get rid of the stuff that is holding us back and move on forward. But the example he ultimately holds up is Jesus. Jesus saw the cross ahead of him. He even prayed that he could avoid it if possible. But he knew where he was going, he knew the reward, and he endured it faithfully until he came out to the final goal. His faith and trust in God brought kept him faithful in the time of trial. You should keep in mind what has already been said about Jesus as our brother in chapter 2.
Then our author continues by telling us, in effect, that the experiences of this life are discipline from the Lord for his children. If you aren’t being disciplined, you aren’t growing, and you’re being treated not as a child, but as a stranger. The Greek word here allows a translation of either illegitimate or low born, such as a slave. Since the person clearly considers himself a son, but is not, probably illegitimate, or “not real sons/children” as many translations use, is a good translation. (I’ll discuss this a bit further when I go verse by verse.)
The clear message is that if your life is going hard, you should not assume that there is something wrong with your spiritual life. God may be disciplining you to prepare you for greater service and for the kingdom of heaven. If things are going well, on the other hand, don’t make the assumption that all is right with your spiritual life. If you’re not tired and your muscles don’t ache, you may not even be running the race at all!
There are Christians today who believe that faith will make your life easy and help you get rich. God does own the cattle on a thousand hills, and he does care for you. But his purpose is not for you to live comfortably. His purpose is to discipline you and make you a better person than you are. Faith doesn’t make life easy; it helps us be faithful through the difficult times. Don’t get depressed when things are hard. Keep running the race. God is preparing you.
The Christian Carnival CXXXVIII has been posted and for the first time I’ve submitted an entry from this blog.
Go! Read! Enjoy!
Paul at Grace rant . . . what? says he has gotten back to reading his Greek New Testament. I congratulate him on this spiritual discipline, and I do believe studying the Bible in its original languages can be a spiritual discipline, but I do think some of his additional thoughts deserve some reconsideration.
He says:
The trend in scripture translation is to make it more accessible. For example, The Message, The New Living Translation, and the New Century Versions all purport to render the scriptures in a more affable format. I use these translations often in sermon preparation, but I have begun wondering if this really is a good way to digest the scriptures. I mean, isn’t God worthy of us really struggling to find the meaning of the words on the page? . . .
There are some serious problems here, I think. I have a great respect for study of the scriptures in the original languages. I took both my undergraduate and graduate degrees in Biblical and cognate languages. There is much to be gained from deep study of the Bible, and the effort that is required to read it in the source languages helps one get into those spiritual depths. But at the same time, the Bible was not inaccessible to the people who first received it. When the New Testament was written in Greek, Greek was the common language. It was the accessible language, much like the English languages that Paul mentions in his quote.
And while there are some variations, such as Hebrews and Luke-Acts, the New Testament is largely written in everyday language, not complex language.
And shouldn’t we too know that thousands of Greek manuscripts offer divergent phrasing on nearly every passage in the New Testament? Oh, and isn’t it noteworthy that the Greek language’s vocabulary is much more complex and that translators have to make very important theological decisions about which word they think is the correct word from a Greek word that may or may not be the original word?
It is quite true that it’s valuable to know all of these things. But it’s also important to know that this complexity is not merely a feature of Greek; there are always variations to deal with in translation from one language to another. It’s not that Greek is more complex than English, though an argument might be made that it is, it is that English and Greek express things differently. Greek was not complicated to people who grew up speaking it. Certainly translators have many theological issues to decide as they translate–to translate is to interpret–but those decisions can be aided by context and by reading multiple English translations.
But the level of work involved in understanding it is a function of time, and not one of the text. In other words, reading the Bible in Greek requires additional work today, and that is a good spiritual discipline, but it is not a function of the Bible itself.
I think that the struggle of knowing God is very real, but it is not a matter of struggling to understand the words of scripture. Making the scriptures more accessible doesn’t remove the struggle of knowing God, it just opens the door to more people to get involved in trying to know God. Because of translations they can do so with the same ease as early Christians could, because they can access the information in their own language.
By all means use the discipline of studying the Bible in Greek or Hebrew if you know those languages, but realize that it is simply a discipline for you; language is not a barrier God intended between people and the word.
Very frequently in life, once you find out the right question to ask, the answer becomes obvious. You can waste a great deal of your time trying to find the answer to the wrong question. In Bible study, this is even more true. The question(s) you take into your study will frequently determine the answers you take back out. You can even force the text to answer questions it was never intended to answer, and if you do so, you’ll find that you are getting unreliable answers.
I maintain in my study guide on Revelation, that one of our problems in understanding Revelation is the questions we bring to the problem. We go in expecting it to tell us the precise sequence, geography, and dating of events, and we come out with many different answers. I suggest that if God desired to inform us, through John’s vision, about the precise sequence of events in the end times, then he failed miserably. Since I don’t think God fails to accomplish what he intends, I tend to start looking for a different intention.
There is one key question, however, that I’d like to address right now is for whom you study the Bible. Are you looking for the things that talk to the other guy, or are you looking for things that address you in your need and your condition?
One element of what I call the central loop (programming background comes out!) is “compare.” To review, the central loop involves:
Meditate, Question, Research, Compare (Repeat as needed)
This involves a very common principle, that scripture is its own best interpreter. It’s also called “comparing scripture with scripture.” But this process of comparison can be dangerous. It’s very easy to turn comparing scripture with scripture into combining random phrases from one scripture with random phrases from another, and when that happens the result can be absolutely anything.
So how do you compare?
Remember that each passage you study is part of an act of communication. It was given under its own circumstances at a particular time and place. In order to sensibly compare passages, you have to understand both passages and how they are related.
Here are some of the basics:
Many of these points could do with considerably more discussion, but I think is a good start.
In the method of Bible study that I teach, the last element is sharing. Now sharing is last on the list because you have to dig into your Bible study in order to have something to share, but not because it is the least important.
Recently I have been impressed again with how important sharing is to our Bible study. I occasionally get blank stares when I start to talk about this. Surely sharing is a result of Bible study and not a part of it. But the fact is that when you share effectively, you will also enhance your own Bible study. What happened to me recently was that my wife, who maintains a devotional list, needed some rest from preparing a devotional every weekday morning. We discussed taking a bit of a vacation from that list, but then I suggested that I try seeing what I might write out of my morning devotions. And thus I’ve been contributing to her list for the last couple of weeks.
Now I teach that one should share and I know from experience that sharing expands learning, but I have really enjoyed the benefit I get from thinking about a passage while asking the question: What can I get from this passage might be helpful to others in their Christian walk?
In addition, stopping to write down my thoughts makes me read more slowly, and that helps me learn more from the passage than I would otherwise. I recommend both fast and slow reading; fast reading to get an overview, and slow reading with time taken to ask yourself questions about the text.
The biggest threat to learning about the Bible, or any other subject, is the assumption that you already know. One of the best ways to counter that threat is by engaging in dialogue with others. They will surely teach you that you don’t already know.
