THE ERROR OF OVERSIMPLIFYING BIBLE STUDY<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In America, we live in a microwave society in which people want something now and without much effort. The main course and all the sides come frozen in a box from the grocery store. All one has to do is slit the plastic cover, set the timer to just a few minutes, and push the button. The result is supper! It\u2019s not much work. It has some, but not a lot of nutrition. But it\u2019s all okay because we are tired, and some nutrition is \u201cokay.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Often, today\u2019s Bible study has the depth of a microwave meal. It\u2019s not challenging, but it has enough nutrition to take away the \u201cgrumblies.\u201d In an article entitled \u201cHave We Made Bible Study Too Simple?\u201d (see https:\/\/www.missioalliance.org\/have-we-made-bible-study-too-simple\/<\/a> ), Wendy Giehart shared some all too common viewpoints about Bible study:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I sat at the table with someone who was trying to explain their understanding of a few New Testament passages. They asked me how I understood them, and as I shared how I looked at the context and the original language they paused and said, \u201cAren\u2019t you just using the cultural-context of the passage to explain away its clear and obvious meaning? If you have to study it that much, then it is probably not what it means.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n ***<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since that first conversation, I have run into this line of thinking in Bible Studies and church classes often. Someone asks, \u201cWhat does this mean to you?\u201d and each person vamps on their personal take on what the English words could possibly mean without showing any value for theological study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Bible study has been relegated to \u201cWhat does it mean to you?\u201d status, you have \u201cBible-lite.\u201d It tastes good without many calories, but it is not the real thing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBible-lite\u201d is one reason why many of those folks who experience the Bible are \u201cBible quoters,\u201d and not Bible readers or Bible students. In his Gospel Coalition article \u201cHave Bible Quoters Replaced Bible Readers?\u201d (see <\/p>\n\n\n\n