Introduction In How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart gives the reader a concise guideline for interpreting scripture. Their recommendations for how to interpret the scriptures are based on the type of genre of the book. The authors give specific examples describing the incorrect way of interpreting scriptures and applying hermeneutics. They then demonstrate the correct way of interpreting and apply scripture. The purpose of this paper is to discuss insights gained from the book, acknowledge any topics that this reviewer has previous knowledge of, discuss questions that arose during the reading, and to detail any points of disagreement with the authors.
Insights
The authors did a thorough job of explaining …show more content…
However, I have prior knowledge of some of the techniques the authors discuss. For example, the authors stress the importance of understanding the context of the scriptures. This is one of the first exegetical skills I learned in seminary. In order to understand the meaning of scripture, one must first consider the historical and literary context of that scripture—context, context, context. This concept is presented in any decent “how to study the Bible” book. However, the authors fail to give a detail explanation on the steps necessary to perform a contextual analysis of the scripture. The authors’ advise the reader to utilize commentaries and Bible dictionary in order to obtain the …show more content…
Especially informative is the material pertaining to the OT covenant and the rules for determining what scriptures are applicable to current situations. Understanding this will allow me to be more effective in teaching Sunday school classes. I can take the principles learned from the book and apply them to my Sunday school lessons. For example, I use to ask the class to describe what a particular scripture meant to them, when I should have been asking the class “how can they apply the scripture to their life.” I failed to explain to the class how to go from understanding scripture to apply scripture. After reading the book, and with additional study of the OT and NT covenants, I will be better equipped with the knowledge needed to explain to others, especially those new to the faith, why we are not bound by obedience to the OT testament laws, but nevertheless, it is still important to understand the OT covenant. This is important because, like myself, there are other Christians who are confused about how the OT laws apply to them.
Insights
The authors did a thorough job of explaining …show more content…
However, I have prior knowledge of some of the techniques the authors discuss. For example, the authors stress the importance of understanding the context of the scriptures. This is one of the first exegetical skills I learned in seminary. In order to understand the meaning of scripture, one must first consider the historical and literary context of that scripture—context, context, context. This concept is presented in any decent “how to study the Bible” book. However, the authors fail to give a detail explanation on the steps necessary to perform a contextual analysis of the scripture. The authors’ advise the reader to utilize commentaries and Bible dictionary in order to obtain the …show more content…
Especially informative is the material pertaining to the OT covenant and the rules for determining what scriptures are applicable to current situations. Understanding this will allow me to be more effective in teaching Sunday school classes. I can take the principles learned from the book and apply them to my Sunday school lessons. For example, I use to ask the class to describe what a particular scripture meant to them, when I should have been asking the class “how can they apply the scripture to their life.” I failed to explain to the class how to go from understanding scripture to apply scripture. After reading the book, and with additional study of the OT and NT covenants, I will be better equipped with the knowledge needed to explain to others, especially those new to the faith, why we are not bound by obedience to the OT testament laws, but nevertheless, it is still important to understand the OT covenant. This is important because, like myself, there are other Christians who are confused about how the OT laws apply to them.