We can read the Bible and in times of joy it heightens, in times of sorrow it comforts, and in times of confusion it guides. The Bible has been this for so many people for so many years. As times have passed though, so much has changed in what we call the Bible, how we read it, and how accessible it is to only name a few. Cultures, societal norms and economical standards have all changed across the world, and especially in the western world. That brings us to the present day. How do we view the Bible today? How do we use it? Why do we have it as it is?
The past articles discussed the uniqueness of the Bible, the canonization, and the transmission and translation thereof. We have discussed how the Bible got here, how we decided upon what it should consist of and why it is important. That leaves us with how we should use it in the different times of our lives. We have different needs and therefore we can approach the Bible from many different perspectives. That said, we should not only read the Bible with a motive or in need of a specific emotion or answer. We should try to see the Bible for what it was, how it was understood and what change it brought to the people that first read the varied writings that can be found in the Bible. This is then exegesis. Britannica defines exegesis as the critical interpretation of the Bible’s text in order to find its intended meaning. The task of exegesis can seem daunting.
This task of exegesis has been done for quite some time, and many people have done it. Obviously because of scientific processes, as well as cultures changing, the manner in which modern day exegesis is done is quite different from a hundred years ago. That begs the question of how us laymen can understand this important aspect of the Bible.
How can we then do this big task which incorporates the understanding of the original cultures, languages and religious dynamics. These are then not essential for laypeople to master, we needn’t be historians, anthropologists, or linguists. We have the work and efforts of these people, put in more simple and understandable formats. This does not take away from the necessity of this perspective of the Bible.
If we look at what the Bible can mean to us, we have to first understand what it meant to the first people whom read it. We can then use hermeneutics to establish present day truths from this. For now, a few points which all people can do, when looking at a piece of text from the Bible.
Firstly, the passage should be seen in the context of the book it is in and how it fits in that book. A second point would be to examine the literary style of the piece you are looking at. Thirdly, understanding the cultural and historical context of the passage you are looking at. The fourth step would be asking questions about what is in the passage (a great tip is to use at least four different translations of the Bible). The fifth step is to try and understand the theology of the passage, this can be done by looking at commentaries or books that have been written on this passage. The sixth step would be to think about what was written in this passage and try and place yourself in the shoes of the people who first heard this. The last step would tie in with the fifth step which is to understand the passage as other people have, using commentaries and different books or blogs.
The beauty of this process lies in connecting on an honest level of engagement with people of thousands of years ago. This allows us to have a peek into the forming of the faith we hold dear. This helps us understand how people viewed God throughout centuries and also how we have come to understand what our present beliefs are founded on.
We are able to more deeply understand the Bible if we practice this more often. This then enables us to explain the bible and our beliefs more clearly towards other people. I personally think this is extremely important, people of faith are increasingly questioned and ridiculed, believers tend not to be ready for this, in part because what believers take for granted is their ability to have faith. For a lot of people faith is extremely difficult, and some explanation can help a lot of people, we are called for people, and this is a great way of preparing ourselves to help them.
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