Introduction
2 Timothy 3 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” This verse reminds readers that the Bible is its own best teacher and is beneficial to all that read it. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, addresses the issue of understanding the Bible. Originally published in 1981 and is now in its fourth edition, the book emphasizes the truth that the Bible is meant to be read by everyone. The books purpose is to assist the reader in becoming a better interpreter of the Bible. The book states “that the aim of good interpretation is not uniqueness,” but rather the aim is simply to get at the plain meaning
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It is in these final sections that the reader learns to put into practice hermeneutics methods with sections such as, Old Testament narratives, psalms, wisdom literature, parables and Revelation. Both chapter five and six build on one another as the same principles are used in both. Everything taught in chapter five is relevant to Acts yet Acts has a more immediate relevance to the church. The reason is because most Christians don’t read Acts in the same way they read Judges or 2 Samuel, even if they are not fully aware of it.6 The book then moves to The Gospels and the Parables. The Gospels are unique in the sense that they are characterized by layers of context. Because the books were written years after the actual events took place, the documents are considered to be two levels because the reader has to consider both the historical context of Jesus as well as the four authors. To understand any Scripture text, the reader has to seek to discover both the context and the understanding of the author and the original audience. Chapter eight explains interpretation of Jesus’ parables. The reason the parables need a chapter of their own is because they have been the most misinterpretation portion of the Bible behind only the book of Revelation.7 For Jesus, the parables were a way to call forth a response and proclaim the kingdom of
The contents of the Bible have dealt with controversy in regards to its inerrancy since publication, and will surely continue to. Historians progress to learn more about biblical stories in order to provide evidence for the reliability of information. Many believers today understand that not everything in the Bible has been factually proven. An outstanding topic many scholars pay attention to lies within the four gospels. The three synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, replay essentially the same story with minor inconsistencies, while John portrays Jesus in an entirely different way. The differences in each gospel are due to how each gospel entertains different portrayals of the life and understanding of Jesus himself, in order to persuade
According to David M. Carr, the history of Scriptural interpretation indicates that religious texts are popular candidates for reinterpretation and, as such, are spaces wherein the personal identity of the reader frequently inscribes itself at length:
N.T Wright (2008) stated that “When we read the scriptures as Christians, we read it precisely as people of the new covenant and of the new creation” (p.281). In this statement, the author reveals a paradigm of scriptural interpretation that exists for him as a Christian, theologian, and profession and Bishop. When one surveys the entirety of modern Christendom, one finds a variety of methods and perspectives on biblical interpretation, and indeed on the how one defines the meaning in the parables of Jesus. Capon (2002) and Snodgrass (2008) offer differing perspectives on how one should approach the scriptures and how the true sense of meaning should be extracted. This paper will serve as a brief examination of the methodologies presented by these two authors. Let us begin, with an
He makes the point that Acts develops the themes of the gospel, one reason for this is because Luke is the first to extend the story of Jesus to the apostles. Luke seems to extend on Marks gospel but in a different way then what Mathew does. Luke seems to focus on Jesus’s disciples, his calling of them, and his teachings to them. It seems that the reason Luke did this was to set up for the new church. However the most convincing reason that shows Luke believed his books ought to be read together is his writings in Luke 1:1-4 and in Acts 1:1-3. This is when in both books Luke gives us an intro stating that Acts is his second book to
This quote by Gene Nowlin in his book The Paraphrased Perversion of the Bible summarizes the composition of the Bible. Throughout life, Christians grasp tightly to these words of God in hopes to inherit the Kingdom of God one day. In order to do this, they must study the Bible closely and apply it to their lives daily. Without the proper Bible, this may become a difficult task to accomplish. Although the various translations of the Christian Bible are exceptionally similar in their message, some have quite a few differences and perversions that set them apart from one another. Many of them even leave out several potentially important verses in their revision. These variations contribute to the justification of one translation being more reliable and accurate than the other versions.
Harris, Stephen. Understanding The Bible. 6 ed. New York City: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2002. Print.
The Interpreter's One Volume Commentary on the Bible. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1971). Lenski, R. C. H. Interpretation of St. Luke's Gospel (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing). House, 1961.
... main discourses of Jesus. Upon reading the Gospel of Matthew, readers are able to identify Jesus as the crucified Messiah and exalted Lord of the church. As the first book of a two-work narrative, Luke focuses on displaying Jesus as the universal Savior of the world, and readers are encouraged to spread the message of redemption to people of all nations. As the universally-known action story, the Gospels incorporate the drama, suffering, and hope associated with the life of Jesus, the ultimate hero. Whether people read this story through the lens of the intended audience or simply to gain understanding and knowledge about Jesus’ journey on earth, the purpose of the Gospels is clear. Despite differing elements of the Gospels, their intention to spread the wondrous story of Jesus and the coming of His kingdom throughout the world will forever remain constant.
The Old Testament and the Bible itself has been studied extensively for centuries. Archeologists and Scholars have labored and pondered over texts trying to decipher its clues. It does not matter how many times the Old Testament has been studied there will always be something new to learn about it or the history surrounding it. In the book Reading the Old Testament: an Introduction, the author Lawrence Boadt presents us with a few different authors of the Old Testament that used different names for God and had a unique insight into the texts. These four sources are titled P for priests, E for Elohim, J for Jehovah, and Y for Yahweh (95). These four unique sources help us realize that there is more than one author of the Pentateuch. These authors took the text and adapted for their culture. This independent source is used by scholars to help gain insight into what was behind the texts of the bible so we are not left with an incomplete picture of what went into the creation of the bible. Julius Wellhausen used these four sources to publish a book to able us to better understand the sources and to give it credibility with the Protestant scholars at the time (Boadt 94). These sources that is independent of the bible as in the DVD Who Wrote the Bible? and the Nova website aide in shedding light on the history that surrounded the writers who wrote the text and what inspired them to write it in the first place. The DVD shows the discovery of The Dead Sea Scrolls and the extensive history of the texts and all its sources in an effort to try to find exactly who wrote the bible (Who Wrote). These scrolls have aided scholars immensely by giving us some of the oldest known manuscripts of the bible in the world today. It shows that the bible w...
The Bible is read and interpreted by many people all over the world. Regardless, no one knows the absolute truth behind scripture. Walter Brueggemann, professor of Old Testament, wrote “Biblical Authority” to help people understand what he describes as six different parts that make up the foundation to ones understanding of scripture. He defines these six features as being: inherency, interpretation, imagination, ideology, inspiration, and importance. As Brueggemann explains each individual part, it is easy to see that they are all interconnected because no one can practice one facet without involuntarily practicing at least one other part.
Throughout history, people and entire societies have heard of the Gospel. The Gospel is the considered to be the “heart” of the Biblical Narrative. In other words, the entire Bible centers around the Gospel and what the Gospel entails. Many have heard of the Gospel, but what lies deeper within the context of the Gospel message? People have heard of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John which are Biblical books in the New Testament that discuss Jesus’ life. They bring the reader from Jesus’ birth to His death in a chronological order. We can read about the miracles he performed and about all of the trials he faced in these books. However, the Gospel is about more than how Jesus lived and what he did. It is about why he came to earth and sacrificed himself and why this is important to us as humans. Through Him, we have been given the chance at eternal life. The Gospel is incredibly imperative to all lives and we must know how to interpret it before we can truly embrace it.
The Book of Acts was written to provide a history of the early church. Acts emphasis the importance of the day of Pentecost and being empowered to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ. Acts sheds light on the ministry gift of the Holy Spirit, which empowers, guides, teaches, and serves as our Counselor. When reading the Book of Acts many of the readers will be enlightened and encouraged by the many miracles that were being performed during this time by the disciples Peter, John, and Paul. The Book of Acts emphasizes the importance of obedience to God’s Word and the transformation that occurs as a result of knowing Christ. There are also many references to those that rejected the truth that the disciples preached about in Jesus Christ. Power, greed, and many other vices of the devil or evidenced in the book of Acts. Acts 1:8 serves as a good summary of the Book of Acts. Acts records the apostles being Christ's witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the rest of the surrounding world.
The New Interpreter's Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha. Nashville: Abingdon Press, ©2003.
Thus, an effort is made to highlight how Bible interpretation – through its publication – has developed in the history of Christianity.
Thiselton, A.C. (2005). Can the Bible mean whatever we want it to mean? Chester, U.K.: Chester Acadamic Press, 10-11.