A novel idea for biblical scholars
Andy at “Turning Jordan” has offered a novel idea for biblical scholars: “Bible scholars should read the Bible.”
Interestingly, he’s not joking. It’s a serious post. And, it should be.
For example, I’m currently studying Colossians. While I’m studying, if I spend more time reading what “so-and-so” said about Colossians, than what Paul said to the Colossians, then there’s a big problem.
Andy offers seven tips. Given one of my previous posts about beginning to study Colossians, I really appreciate his #3 tip:
3) We have a tendency in biblical scholarship to want to parse out tiny details. That is good, and necessary, but try reading to get some of the bigger picture.
Good tip, Andy. Read and read and read and read. Know the big picture before you begin to diving into the details. Then, when you’re studying the details, keep reading.