Book Review: How to read the Bible for all its worth

BOOK REVIEW SERIES.

HOW TO READ THE BIBLE FOR ALL ITS WORTH.

This book helped me enormously to understanding the Bible in a new way- it was as though my eyes were opened and suddenly, I understood the ‘why’ of aspects of reading the Bible. Each Chapter had many aspects, which I found fascinating, revealing and refreshing. These include:

Chapter one gave me a new insight into why it is important to interpret the Bible and what are the skills needed in interpreting. There was a lot of sense in undertaking this task with the Bible and I was made aware of some of these skills.

Chapter two was revealing in that it explained the need to choose an appropriate translation and the inherent problems to be aware of.  I found this particularly fascinating and exciting because, I have only ever used a R.S.V., and I have often wondered why some translations do not jell to the ‘ear of the heart’ when they are proclaimed.  From reading this book, I am inspired to purchase a bible dictionary, a good commentary and to have at hand several appropriate translations so that I may study God’s Word more appropriately.

Chapter Three was particularly helpful as sadly, my knowledge up to this point of the Epistles has been very limited.  However, having read this chapter, it has inspired me to study the Epistles in a new way and with the help of the Holy Spirit, come to know and love them. I found it particularly challenging to understand; yet the concept of exegesis seems to make good sense.

Chapter Four, which centres on hermeneutics of the Epistles also is most relevant and I feel more will be revealed as I take up this challenge to put some of the authors ideas and practices of hermeneutics into my own reading and understanding of the Epistles.

Chapter Five opened up my eyes to understanding and studying narratives in the Bible. I was particularly interested how the authors applied the 10 principles of interpreting narratives to the Joseph narrative particularly. Just to learn these principles is important considering that the bible is made up of 40% of narratives- either a substantial amount to understand or a significant amount to lose in one’s appreciation of the Bible.

Chapter Six, like Chapters 3-4 on the Epistles was very beneficial in that my knowledge and thorough understanding of Acts leaves a lot to be desired.  Reading this chapter has spurred me on to wanting to make an in depth study of it and to include my leanings and progress in my weekly journal, so that I will be committed to this goal.

Chapter Seven is also beneficial in that it invites me to read the Gospels using the interpreting skills already discussed in previous chapters.  It is important to consider both the historical and literary context of Jesus’ sayings as this will impact on the interpretation and its overall usefulness for me.

However, I found this chapter personally less thrilling than the previous ones, perhaps because I am much more familiar with the Gospels as compared to the Old Testament and the Epistles, and it did not seem to enhance further knowledge and understanding of them. However, I do feel that in the future, I will be inclined to re-read this chapter and glean further insights.

Overall, reading this book has been a great experience in that it has enlightened my mind to the issue of interpreting the Bible, the difficulties encountered in interpreting it, how to read different genres and opened the discussion of exegesis and hermeneutics in a reachable manner.

More importantly, this book has ‘broken open’ the Word, especially the Epistles and Acts and has been most stimulating.  ‘How to read the bible for all its worth’ is indeed a great title- and for me the book has assisted me in doing just that- it is indeed a guide to understanding the Bible.   I feel that reading the Bible and/or hearing it proclaimed would never be the same again, and from now on, I will have some strategies for dealing with passages I do not understand, for ‘tilling the soil’ of familiar ones and tackling the Acts and the Epistles with new enthusiasm and understanding.