In 1986 my wife expressed an interest in learning more about the Bible. I have been reading the scriptures most of my life and tried to share some of my observations with her. She had been raised in a prominent denomination but knew little about the scriptures themselves. I quickly learned that my knowledge made it difficult for me to back up and cover the basics without jumping ahead and complicating things prematurely. Needless to say I was not doing a very good job. The more I struggled with organizing the information the more I realized I needed to step back and take a look at how to approach the subject. I began looking for a study that would introduce the content of the Bible at a basic level and build up to more complex information. I soon realized there was no single reference that accomplished what I was searching for. I found a number of good studies that dealt with various subjects, books of the Bible or general topics but never found a single volume that dealt with the Bible in the way I was looking for.
Imagining what my ideal study would be like I decided that 3 conditions had to be met.
The approach was simple. The study would start by identifying the books of the Bible and their physical location in the majority of versions and translations available. Representative elements would then be explored and their behavior discussed so that one would be able to see patterns in the scriptures. The study would need to avoid commentary and opinion as much as possible. I have heard numerous explanations about what various passages mean over the years and can honestly say I understand why there is so much confusion in the world over what the Bible says. Starting with objective fact, observing how those facts are presented and used, does much to point one in the correct direction, no matter what the subject is. I believe studying the Bible to be a critical aspect of our lives and the need to understand it as well as possible is of utmost importance. Having these criteria in mind, I reviewed every reliable Bible study I could find.
In October of 1986, after finding a number of excellent Bible Study resources, none of which covered all aspects of what I viewed as a complete study of the Bible, I realized I would have to create the type of study I was looking for. I told my wife I was going to write her a book and began the endeavor. She had a lot of questions during that time about what was going on in our attic. I started handwriting the study, moved to a word processing typewriter and then to a word processor which allowed me to save the content on 720 Kb floppy disks. The first draft of the study was completed in 1992. In 1994 I had the first printed version in hand. Ten copies were distributed to folks who agreed to read it and offer comments. As I worked on the second draft I realized I needed more storage capacity as the word processor was becoming more difficult to edit files and see the changes I made. On Memorial Day, 1995, I took the plunge and purchased a computer and laser printer which allowed me to keep all the files on a single disk. Format incompatibilities between the word processor and computer immediately became a problem. Several months later I located a conversion service and they transferred the files to a format compatible with the computer. By early 1996 I had a revised working copy of the text and a functional way of editing it.
Late in 1996 I had what was as close to a final draft as I could get. The intervening time had been chaotic. There were health problems and other things that interfered with any forward movement. A prefinal copy of the study was printed with the date of 1996 and given to a few folks who expressed an interest in what I had been working on. In 1997 my daughter was born, in answer to a lot of prayers, and I worked on the study intermittently at best. I was also teaching at the congregation we assembled with and this provided the opportunity to test the material in a learning situation, which is what it was intended for. The reactions to the material were good and quite a few faithful Christians encouraged me to continue development of the manuscript.
In May of 2002 I began preaching at the local congregation sharing the responsibility with two others. I continued to teach classes as well. From 2002 to 2011 life was hectic in general and my daughter was very young so I spent as much time with her as possible. The study during that time remained in a notebook and was referenced for classes, bulletin articles and sermons. In late 2010 I knew I needed to do something with it. I needed to finish it and make it available to anyone who would be interested. In April of 2011 I finally dusted off the notebooks, found all the files, folders and notes, and proceeded to work on what was hopefully the final draft.
The Bible and Christianity have been the subject of literally millions of volumes. Explanations, dissertations, commentaries and the like fill the world and this made me really wonder if I wanted to add something else to the pile. The answer was yes. There is a need to teach the word in a manner in which God wants it taught. There are many fine teachers, preachers and Christians who do this and I wanted to share what I have learned about the Bible and maybe help someone else struggling to understand the scriptures. Over time I realized that there are many learning styles and perhaps mine would make a good fit for someone else. If the study is done correctly the voice of God through the scriptures will be heard and not mine. With that in mind there are some guiding principles I followed while writing the book.
If I was looking for a teacher on a subject I would not want to be overwhelmed with too much information all at once. Some teachers either do not know how to simplify things or wish to impress others with their wealth of knowledge. I would not want to be overwhelmed with detail before I am ready to take it in. I would want someone to start with the most basic aspects of the subject letting me know what I needed to learn before venturing into advanced concepts. I would then want someone to present information to me in such a way that I would have time to review it, understand it and draw my own conclusions about what was presented. I would want someone to review all the components and show me how they work together and how to further my own use of the information. I would not want abstract or figurative allusions when a simple example would do the job of making a point.
I have tried to place myself in the shoes of one who knows very little about the scriptures and then address them intelligently so they can build their knowledge and skill in understanding the Bible. This study is designed to do just that. I started with what is in the Bible and where it can be found. I then explore the way in which God attaches meaning to the figurative elements of the scriptures and finally, bring these elements together showing how they convey the doctrine of God through the scriptures.
The links will open excerpts from the introductory chapters to each of the three sections of the study entitled God’s Words: An Introduction To The Bible. I hope you find them interesting and helpful. I plan on finally getting the book into print later in 2016. Check my updates page for news and progress. Thank-you for visiting TLCBiblical.com.
TLC, February 2015
God's Words: An Introduction To The Bible, is now available. Click here to read a chapter summary . Click here to purchase