Here’s another book review. This book may be a little intense for the average layperson, but it might make a great gift for the pastor of your church. \ud83d\ude0f<\/p>\n\n\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n
Introduction: The Champions of Induction<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n
F. Scott Fitzgerald once famously\nnoted, \u201cWriting is hard. And if it\u2019s not, you\u2019re doing it wrong.\u201d The same\ncould be said of reading, at least when it comes to a book as deep and multi-layered\nas the bible. If it is easy, it is likely because the reader is mapping his or\nher own unexamined presuppositions onto the scriptures. If the reader is a\npreacher, this sort of deductive approach leaves the biblical message not only unseen\nby the reader but also unheard by the congregation. David Bauer and Robert\nTraina wrote Inductive Bible Study <\/i>to champion, and then to explain\nstep-by-step, an approach to scripture which seeks to draw plausible inferences\nof meaning from careful inspection of the text and context.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n
The Steps<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n
Before detailing each step of their\ninductive process, Bauer and Traina begin by defining induction as a practice\nand establishing its advantages over deduction as a method of studying\nscripture. They describe the deductive \u201cspirit\u201d as \u201cdogmatic and authoritarian,\nabsolute and categorical, characterized by a closed mind\u201d (18). The authors\nexplain that an inductive approach is the opposite, making no assumptions and\nseeking to evaluate carefully all textual evidence and only then drawing conclusions\n(19). Central to this process is a focus on the \u201cimplied author\u201d and what that\nauthor wrote to his \u201cimplied audience\u201d. This keeps the meaning of the text itself\nfront and center (45-46).<\/p>\n\n\n
Having made their case for the\nbenefits of an inductive approach to scripture, Bauer and Traina next lay out\nthe first steps: the reader must observe what is there in the text and then ask\nquestions about what is observed. The authors urge readers to look closely at\nthe text, being perceptive, exact, persistent, and impartial (76-78). This\ncareful inspection and questioning is to be carried out at three levels: the\nbiblical book as a coherent whole, then the parts of that book, before focusing\non the smaller passage at hand (78). The book is read in its entirety before its\nmajor unit of thoughts are noted and relationships between those units are\ndescribed. Then, the reader is to consider the specific type of literary form\nat the section level of observation. It is at the passage level, though, where observations\nwill likely play the greatest role in providing the evidence needed for proper interpretation\nof the text (164).<\/p>\n\n\n
Now that the reader has questioned\nthe text on all three levels, Bauer and Traina are ready to raise important\nconsiderations for the reader in answering those questions, i.e., interpreting\nthe passage. Foundational to this step of interpretation is keeping in mind \u201cthe\nbiblical text arose out of cultures that have a profound strangeness to most\nmodern readers, and the text possesses a depth and thickness of meaning\u201d which\nis not necessarily obvious on the surface (178). According to the authors, the\nthoughtful interpreter draws inferences in response to the questions he or she\nhas already posed, selected on the basis of importance and relevancy. This is\nto be done in awareness of research into history, etymology, and other relevant\ntopics. It is at this point in the process that Bauer and Traina give\npermission to consult biblical commentaries, as long as they are exegetical in\nnature (233). The authors also outline numerous fallacies which interpreters\nare prone to commit, fueled by ignorance or over confidence, and how best to\navoid them (249 ff.)<\/p>\n\n\n
Closely tied to interpretation, in\nthe authors\u2019 minds, is the successive step of evaluation, which in turn leads to\nappropriation (290). Evaluation involves determining a text\u2019s value and relevancy\nto the implied audience while appropriation requires discernment of what in the\ntext is transcendent and how that transcendent meaning may be applied to a present-day\naudience (319). This must be done in light of \u201cthe central concept in the\nBible\u201d, namely \u201cthe lordship of God\u201d over human lives (300).<\/p>\n\n\n
Bauer and Traina\u2019s final step,\ncorrelation, is the synthesis of meaning either across various books by the\nsame author or across the biblical canon as a whole (337). Ideally, this is a\nprocess which builds over time with the reader\u2019s ever-growing familiarity with\nthe bible. In this lifelong pursuit, the authors again warn against falling\ninto certain fallacies, like overgeneralization (346).<\/p>\n\n\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n
Conclusion: Truly a Comprehensive Guide<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n
In this reviewer\u2019s experience, the\naverage sermon preached in the average American church, to the extent it is\nbased on scripture in any meaningful way, is constructed on a shaky, deductive\nfoundation. As a result, the preacher\u2019s word supplants God\u2019s word, forestalling\nthe edification and transformation of the congregation, not to mention that of\nthe pastor.<\/p>\n\n\n
In Inductive Bible Study<\/i>,\nDavid Bauer and Robert Traina make a compelling case for studying the bible\ninductively. They then proceed to outline each step of their method in detail.\nThey do not oversell inductive reasoning as somehow guaranteeing arrival at \u201cabsolute\ncertainty\u201d of the Truth, but rather for greater \u201cdegrees of probability\u201d (287).\nThere can be little doubt of the preferability of induction over deduction for\nthose who hope to discover what message the text itself seeks to convey. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n
If there is a drawback to the book it\nis that Bauer and Traina\u2019s thoroughness is bound to leave the average pastor\nfeeling overwhelmed and inadequate. For my part, while reading Inductive\nBible Study<\/i>, I have never felt greater regret over my own ignorance of\nGreek and Hebrew. Preaching God\u2019s word is a serious responsibility. Limitations\non time and expertise are a reality and will always negatively impact the\npastor\u2019s ability to carry the Lord\u2019s message to a congregation. Nevertheless,\nthe Spirit is accustomed to using jars of clay and the authors\u2019 tone is one of\nencouragement toward excellence and accuracy. Bauer and Traina have much wisdom\nto contribute to any seeking to become \u201ca worker who does not need to be\nashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth\u201d (2 Tim 2:15 NIV).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Here’s another book review. This book may be a little intense for the average layperson, but it might make a great gift for the pastor of your church. \ud83d\ude0f \u00a0 Introduction: The Champions of Induction F. Scott Fitzgerald once famously noted, \u201cWriting is hard. And if it\u2019s not, you\u2019re doing it wrong.\u201d The same could […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevegrossblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevegrossblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevegrossblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevegrossblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevegrossblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10366"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stevegrossblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10367,"href":"https:\/\/stevegrossblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10366\/revisions\/10367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevegrossblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevegrossblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevegrossblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}