Big Questions: What is the Literary Context?

In the most recent post in this series on the ‘big questions’ that can help us read the Bible better we looked at the importance of understanding historical and cultural context. Today’s big question is also about the context of a given text, but is about the text in its immediate surroundings: What is the … Continue reading Big Questions: What is the Literary Context?

Big Questions: What is the Historical and Cultural Context?

In the first three posts in this series re-introducing my Integral Hermeneutic method by exploring the ‘big questions’ it’s important for us to ask in our attempt to read the Bible better, we have looked at the questions that fall under the first two steps of that process, Experience and Encounter. Today we’ll move on … Continue reading Big Questions: What is the Historical and Cultural Context?

Big Questions: Who Am I Meeting?

We’re in the midst of a series of posts about the big questions I feel are important to ask so we can get the most out of our Scripture reading. The first two were components of the ‘Experience’ step of the Integral Hermeneutic method through which we’re working. Today’s post moves on to the simplest, … Continue reading Big Questions: Who Am I Meeting?

Second Chances: A Reflection on John 20:19-31

One of the most central, marked, and these days controversial aspects of Christianity is its proclamation of the forgiveness of sins. It is central in that Jesus preached about it a lot and Christianity would be unrecognizable without it, marked in that it’s not a common theme in world religions so it stands out, and … Continue reading Second Chances: A Reflection on John 20:19-31

Big Questions: What Am I Being Called to Do?

This series in my broader “Reading the Bible Better” project is all about the big questions I have become convinced are important for us to ask as we engage with the Scriptures. The other day, we looked at the first question under the ‘Experience’ category, ‘What am I feeling?’ We saw that it’s about intellectual … Continue reading Big Questions: What Am I Being Called to Do?