Bible Study Methods, by Dr. Mark Strauss

Dr. Strauss will take you deeper into the process of studying your Bible. Some of it will be a review of Guthrie's class.

Introduction

Lecture 1:
Introduction to Hermeneutics (Part 1)

A. Presuppositions for Interpretation. It is important to recognize your presuppositions when you study and interpret the Bible.

B. The Nature of the Bible: Unity and Diversity. The writings of the Bible reflect diversity in authorship, genre and cultural background. The common theme that unifies the Bible as a whole focuses on the story of creation, fall and redemption.

Lecture 2:
Introduction to Hermeneutics (Part 2)

Hermeneutics is the science and art of biblical interpretation. The goals of exegesis are to determine the meaning of a passage in its original context, and to determine the significance of the passage for today.

Exegesis

Lecture 3:
Four Key Principles of Exegesis

The first goal of hermeneutics is to determine the meaning of the text that the author intended. The interpretation process must take into account the genre of the literature and the historical and literary context. The meaning of the text controls our application.

Lecture 4:
Exegesis Steps (Part 1)

The first four steps in the exegesis process are identifying the genre, getting the big picture, developing a thesis statement and outlining the progress of thought.

Lecture 5:
Exegesis Steps (Part 2)

The final 6 steps in exegesis process are consulting secondary sources, analyzing syntactical relationships, analyzing key terms and themes, resolving interpretive issues and problems, evaluating your results from the perspective of wider contextual and theological issues and summarizing your results.

Lecture 6:
Word Studies

Word studies are helpful tools you can use to help you better understand the Bible. It is important to make sure your conclusions are accurate and that you use your conclusions in an appropriate way.

Contextualization

Lecture 7:
Application

When contextualizing a passage it is important to avoid imitating biblical culture exactly, and letting the culture govern the message.