Course:	DL 214
Assignment:	1
Instructor:	Julie Fritz-Bergman
Student:	Mark Van Loan
Date:		5/4/06

		

	Through the process of studying the bible in my personal life for the better part of the last two years I have actually used, to some extent, the three methods discussed on the tapes for the first lesson of this course. The three methods discussed basically focus on interpreting scripture from a personal viewpoint, a historical viewpoint and a faith viewpoint. This essay seeks to explain my understanding of these methods as well as the benefits and indeed the necessity of combing these approaches, in my opinion, to create a more effective approach to studying scripture.
	The first method seeks to find meaning for our own personal lives. This approach has the benefit of making scripture directly relevant to our world, our lives and our relationships. The scripture example used on the tapes throughout these sessions was the story  of Cain and Able. On a personal level I can find meaning in this story for my life in the struggles I have had with one of my older brothers and the perceived favoritism my parents have shown for him throughout the years. But not all of the stories in the bible are going to have such direct relevance to my life. One of the major limitations to this approach, in my opinion, is that much of the bible is written in a manner that is difficult to understand without looking at the historical context within which a particular piece of scripture was written. Even translations that seek to use modern language are sometimes difficult to understand when taken out of context.
	The second method attempts to shed light on the meaning of a story or piece of scripture to the original faith community. This has been a major focus of my efforts in studying scripture over the last two years. When I first began reading scripture I found that much of it was difficult to understand because I was clueless about the political, cultural and social climate of the times during which the different pieces of scripture were written. I also knew very little about Christianity – in fact I had some heavy stereotypes and believed that all Christians were fundamentalists who interpreted the Bible literally. So I began a quest to understand the history behind the bible. This approach obviously has the benefit of helping us to understand the original meanings of the stories in the bible. Once we have an understanding of the history behind the stories we can better relate the stories and their meanings to our own personal lives. This approach also allows us to see parallels between ancient and modern societies. The big risk with this method, as discussed on the tapes, is that bible study might become an intellectual exercise. I need to be very conscious of this as I continue my study of scripture because I tend to be analytical and very interested in history. 
	The third approach to studying the bible discussed on the tapes seeks to strengthen our faith in God. This approach involves assessing how scripture speaks to and enhances our faith in God by trying to understand what God is saying to us through the scripture passages. The challenge is to take the faith meaning we get from interpreting scripture and see what changes we can make in our lives so that we are more in harmony with the message we are receiving. I feel that this is the most important of all the approaches discussed, indeed it is the very essence of why we should study the Bible. This approach has the benefit of enhancing our faith in God  and hopefully enhancing our character and integrity as human beings. The one caution to approaching biblical study solely in this manner is that we might jump to conclusions about what God is saying through a particular scripture passage. There is always the risk that things could be taken out of context and inappropriately re-interpreted to modern day problems and situations. 
	I believe that an approach that balances all of the above methods is the best one possible. And it occurs to me that a more in depth study of a specific passage by combining these three methods is probably going to be more rewarding than using only one method to study several passages. I have a tendency to read through things quickly and I honestly feel that I should probably slow down and take a more focused, comprehensive approach in my study of scripture. I think this first lesson has given me some great insight on how to do just that!