Living by the Book/Living by the Book Workbook Set (12 page)
Read Living by the Book/Living by the Book Workbook Set Online
Authors: Howard G. Hendricks,William D. Hendricks
Tags: #Religion, #Christian Life, #Spiritual Growth, #Biblical Reference, #General
Answers to reading test questions, page 70: 1. F; 2. F; 3. T; 4. F; 5. T. What percentage did you answer correctly?
EN
S
TRATEGIES
TO F
IRST
-R
ATE
R
EADING
Read Thoughtfully
Read Repeatedly
Read Patiently
Read Selectively
Read Prayerfully
Read Imaginatively
Read Meditatively
Read Purposefully
Read Acquisitively
TRead Telescopically
EN
S
TRATEGIES
TO F
IRST
-R
ATE
R
EADING
Read Thoughtfully
Read Repeatedly
Read Patiently
Read Selectively
Read Prayerfully
Read Imaginatively
Read Meditatively
Read Purposefully
Read Acquisitively
CHAPTER 8Read Telescopically
EAD
T
HOUGHTFULLY
T
he step of observation requires you to assume the role of a biblical detective, searching for clues as to the meaning of the text. But as any detective will tell you, there is more than one way to crack a case.
Sherlock Holmes, the master sleuth, can sometimes be found on his hands and knees, inspecting the floor for cigar ashes or footprints. Other times he broods for hours, rolling things over and over in his mind, straining for answers. He assumes disguises, feigns sickness, conducts experiments—whatever it takes to solve the mystery.
In the same way, finding clues in the biblical text demands more than one approach. The Bible must be read to be understood. But there is more than one way to read it. In fact, I’m going to give you ten strategies that can turn you into a first-rate reader. Each one yields different clues about what the text means. The first one is:
EAD THE
B
IBLE
T
HOUGHTFULLY
Thoughtful reading involves study. Not boredom. Far from it. When you come to the Bible, put your thinking cap on. Don’t throw your mind into
neutral. Apply the same mental discipline that you would to any subject in which you take a vital interest. Are you a stockbroker? Then use the same mental intensity to study Scripture that you would the
Wall Street Journal
. Are you a pilot? Then pay as much attention to the Word as you would to a flight plan or a weather advisory. Are you a nurse? Then look for the “vital signs” in the biblical text just as you would with any patient on your floor. The Bible does not yield its fruit to the lazy.
Proverbs 2:4 gives an interesting insight concerning the richness of God’s Word. It admonishes us to “seek [wisdom] as silver, and search for her hidden treasures.” In other words, biblical wisdom is like precious ore. It’s not found lying around on the surface, but at a deeper level. A good analogy for our own day would be the many oil deposits under the parched deserts of the Middle East. For millennia, people wandered across those trackless wastes, unaware that only a few thousand feet away lay resources of unimaginable value.
So it is with Scripture. The very truth of God is there, able to transform your life. But you must probe for it. You’ve got to penetrate the surface with more than just a cursory glance. In other words, you’ve got to think.
To change the metaphor, your objective needs to be to develop a spiritual “cud” so that you’ve got something to think about, something to chew on. In effect, you need to program your mind with God’s truth.
HE
B
OOK
T
HAT
R
EFUSED TO BE
W
RITTEN
One of the best examples I know of thoughtful Bible reading is the story of Frank Morison. An English journalist at the turn of the 20th century, Morison set out to disprove the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
When, as a very young man, I first began seriously to study the life of Christ, I did so with a very definite feeling that, if I may so put it, His history rested upon very insecure foundations. (
Who Moved the Stone?
[London: Faber and Faber, 1930], 9)
Morison had been heavily influenced by certain scholars of his day who were out to debunk the biblical narrative and destroy the credibility of Scripture. Moreover, science seemed to undermine Scripture at many points.
It was about this time—more for the sake of my own peace of mind than for publication—that I conceived the idea of writing a short monograph on what seemed to me to be the supremely important and critical phase in the life of Christ—the last seven days. . . .
It seemed to me that if I could come at the truth why this man died a cruel death at the hands of the Roman Power, how He Himself regarded the matter, and especially how He behaved under the test, I should be very near to the true solution of the problem. (p. 11)
The “problem” that Morison was out to solve was the problem many modern people have: How can anyone believe in supernatural miracles when the world is obviously governed by natural laws and forces? The supreme miracle of Scripture is the resurrection of Christ. If one could explain that away, the others will surely fade away with it.
Morison’s quest to disprove the resurrection took him directly to the four gospels. He studied the life of Christ in extraordinary detail, paying particular attention to the final seven days before His crucifixion. He analyzed the trial of Jesus before the Jewish leaders and before the Roman governor, Pilate. He evaluated the timing of events and the physical space in which they occurred. He considered the psychological factors behind the behavior of Pilate and his wife, Claudia. He compared the behavior of those who deserted Christ with those who remained by His side.
Morison also asked a preeminent question: What was it that caused the entirety of Jesus’ followers to quickly and unanimously claim that He had risen from the dead? He looked at two of these disciples in detail: Peter the fisherman, and James, the brother of Jesus. He also examined the conversion and conviction of Saul of Tarsus.
In short,
the opportunity came to
study
the life of Christ as I had long wanted to
study
it, to
investigate
the origins of its literature, to
sift
some of the evidence at first hand, and to form my own
judgment
on the problem which it presents. I will only say that
it effected a revolution in my thought.
Things emerged from that old-world story which previously I should have thought impossible. Slowly but very definitely the
conviction
grew that the drama of those unforgettable weeks of human history was stranger and deeper than it seemed. It was the
strangeness
of many notable things in the story which first arrested and held my
interest
. It was only later that
the irresistible logic of their meaning
came into view. (pp. 11–12, italics added)
Can you see how involved Morison’s mind was in this Bible study process? Here was a man reading thoughtfully. He was applying the same mental process to his study of the New Testament as he did to his journalism.
Result: The book that he started out to write turned out to be “the book that refused to be written.” Instead, integrity demanded that he write
Who Moved the Stone?
instead. Published in 1930, it is still one of the best defenses of the resurrection of Christ ever produced. It’s really the story of Morison’s conversion to Christianity. Best of all, it’s a quintessential illustration of the first strategy of Bible reading: Read thoughtfully.
H
ere is a project that will help you cultivate the skill of reading Scripture thoughtfully. It involves the little book of Philemon in the New Testament. Only twenty-five verses long, Philemon records Paul’s advice to an old friend whose slave, Onesimus, had run away. Onesimus encountered Paul in Rome, became a believer, and now Paul sends him back to his master with the letter in hand.
Read Philemon according to the principles of thoughtful reading. Barrage the text with questions. What can you find out about the relationships between Paul, Philemon, and Onesimus? Reconstruct the situation. What feelings might be involved? What practical considerations? What questions remain unanswered as you read this letter? What problems does it create? What issues does it speak to? Why do you think it is significant enough to be included in the Bible? What issues do we face today that this book might speak to? How would you communicate this book and the insights you gain from it to someone else?
EAD
R
EPEATEDLY
Y
ears ago I read a book about the Bible in which the author wrote, “When I read this passage for the one hundredth time, the following idea came to me . . .”
I thought,
You’ve got to be kidding!
In those days, if I read a portion of Scripture twice, it would be incredible. If I read it three or four times, it would be miraculous. But here was this great, seasoned student of Scripture telling me that I needed to read it over and over again—not once or twice but a hundred times, if necessary, to gain insight.
