Wednesday, February 19, 2014

How to be a better Exegete of Scripture - a better student of the Bible

I'm archiving here a blog and video from Zondervan. Zondervan has been doing a number of Q&A sessions with leading professors about various issues in Bible study, reading, school work.

This one is particularly appropriate to students I teach, both undergraduates and graduates (though the video is focused on Seminary students).  I think good exegetical skills should not wait until Seminary, but start earlier than that!  I train undergraduates in analytic methods early - following careful reading and research processes.  Additionally,  I focus each class session on how our intentional reading of Scripture is about "presenting ourselves to God" as persons who work with Scripture to rightly discern it!  (See 2 Timothy 2:15!)

In a similar, though different way, Mark Gignilliat describes the experience of being good readers of Scripture.  Gignilliat is professor of Old Testament studies at Beeson Divinity School and author of A Brief History of Old Testament Criticism.
 In our video today, Gignilliat shares two key ways students can prepare for this boot camp educational experience. First, while we tend to bifurcate our spiritual life and academic life, it's important to wed the two from the beginning. Second, we grow as exegetes by becoming a full-orbed person, which includes prayer, reading literature, and thinking beyond the myopic world of theological studies.



Full link here to Zondervan Blog. 

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