Study, with a twist…

15 December 2006 by Brian.

“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.”, Sherlock Holmes, ‘A Scandal in Bohemia,’ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Preconceived ideas. We all have them and when we come to study the Bible, they can often distort our understanding of the scriptures. So, what do we do about it?

#1 – Pray for God to give guide our study to the meaning He intended in the scriptures.

#2 – Acknowledge that we have preconceived ideas about what the passage means and that our present understanding could be wrong.

#3 – Get the data. Do thorough observation of what is IN the text before we begin to decide what the text meant. In addition to looking carefully at the text, knowledge of the circumstances from which the passage was written and into which it was written is extremely helpful. These circumstances include both historical and cultural factors.

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