Bible Study (Feb 24)

Dorman gave each person a pine cone and instructed us to write down ten observable facts about it such that if someone else read our list, they would readily agree. We each shared one of our observations and then looked to find any that were related.

He then shared a story titled "The Student, the Fish, and Agassiz" [pdf] from Appendix American Poems (Houghton, Osgood & Co., 1880). The story, about a student's training in zoology by observing a preserved fish, splendidly expresses the essence of Bible Study. Ask Dorman or me for a copy if you missed this meeting.

The keys to Bible Study:

1. Read, Read, Read (i.e. read the passage over and over again)
2. NO outside aids (commentaries)
   
3. Observable facts - incontrovertible
4. Guidance is available from the ... the Holy Spirit, the author of the Scriptures!
5. Make notes or draw what's described
6. Don't be content

Dorman noted that at Dallas Theological Seminary, a new student would be asked to make 25 observable facts on just one verse: Acts 1:8 !

Reading the passage over and over again helps to reveal things in the passage not apparent earlier.

Dorman used Psalm 23, as an example of "read, read, read," a passage very familiar to people and which many have memorized. He observed that in verses 1-3, the shepherd is ahead of the sheep, leading them. Yet verse 4 is the turning point- in the darkest moment, the shepherd is right next to the sheep, "for you (God) are with me."

Homework: 50 observable facts from Genesis 1:1-2:3

Can NOT just repeat what it says.
i.e. Genesis 1:1 facts:
#1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

rather...

#1 The subject of the first verse of the Bible is God.
#2 1st action taken by God as recorded in the Bible was to create.
#3 Creation of heavens mentioned before the creation of the earth.
#4 The Bible begins at the beginning.

You can make observations by breaking down the grammar, but that's not the only way.
Look for patterns and breaks in the pattern.
At this point, do not draw any theological conclusions, just make observations.