The way that I have read the Bible has always continually changed. I can think in terms of major shifts in my life: when the Navigators taught me the "hand" illustration (read, study, hear, meditate, memorize), when Perspectives taught me to read the Bible missionally....at Fuller last week they taught us to pray thoroughly, then read several times with the help of Bible dictionaries, and only after considerable study should we begin to refer to commentaries. We must ask many questions of the text. Our professor proposed that if we study books deeply, we may tend to develop "core" books that we keep returning back to. We will become experts in these books as we "live" in them for long periods of time.
Our professor suggested that many of the major characters in the Bible are cross-cultural ministers. For example, Abraham discovered God's heart for the nations and sought to bless them, such as by interceding for Sodom and entering into covenants with Abimelech. David developed relationships with the Philistines while fleeing from Saul that led to very long-term relationships. Jonah failed as a missionary but displayed God's heart for the nations in a way that would convict Israel. Jesus came to the marginalized of Israel and brought his disciples with him as he traveled widely, interacting with many Gentiles and attracting many Gentile followers.
We tend to divide the Bible up way too much these days. It is important to read the Bible much more holistically. Additionally, it's important to press through our own lenses to discover deeper meanings and truer understandings. We view the Bible through many lenses. For example, some of my lenses are white, male, American, wealthy, Lutheran, young, charismatic, missional, and many more that I probably don't even realize. As we recognize our lenses, we can try to look past them. There are five major aspects to our understanding of Scripture: our context, personal experiences, theological tradition, history, and our definitions of terms. Additionally, it's important to study the historical and cultural context of the original writers. Our professor recommended books such as those by Kenneth Bailey and Joichim Jeremias.
What tactics do you have for overcoming your own lenses? What impact do they have on your understanding of the Bible?
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