22 Jun 2008
Too often the Bible is quoted rather than studied. This is often known as proof-texting and it is something that you frequently see in youth resources. You’ll be looking at an issue and instead of exploring a passage in its context, the resource will encourage you to discuss a particular topic and every-so-often there will be a Bible reference in brackets that supports or provides proof for what’s been said.
Quoting the Bible in this manner is often appropriate. Flick through a systematic theology book and most paragraphs contain several references to ‘proof-texts’. Highlighting individual verses can also be an extremely effective way of making the Bible accessible to young people. They might struggle to deal with a whole passage, but they can cope with an individual verse – a ‘soundbite’. When a particular issue is being explored, some young people might be quite surprised that the Bible has something sensible to say on the subject. Hearing a ‘quote’ from the Bible that, in their mind, makes sense might encourage them to take the Bible as a whole more seriously.
The main problem with proof-texting comes if it is the only way we approach the Bible. When we approach the Bible in this way we often do not let the Bible speak for itself – instead we use the text to support our point of view. The danger is that we twist verses to say what we want them to, rather than wrestling with what they actually say.
Other than the book of Proverbs the Bible isn’t written as a series of quotes. The vast majority of it is written as narrative. One of the problems of solely using quotes is that it doesn’t teach young people to engage with the narratives, it doesn’t help them understand where things relate to the big picture. It’s no wonder that so many young people find the Bible extremely difficult to read and understand when they do decide to read a chunk of it.
If you are told to do some gardening but are not given any tools it would be extremely difficult. Cutting grass by tearing the individual blades with your fingers is rather time consuming! Likewise, turning over soil with your hand, without a spade or a fork, isn’t particularly effective. The bottom line is it will take you ages, you won’t enjoy the experience, and the garden probably won’t look very good! A gardener needs the appropriate tools.
In the same way we cannot expect young people to engage with the Bible unless we provide them with the appropriate ‘tools’. We need to equip them with the necessary ‘tools’ so they can approach biblical narrative appropriately and really get to grips with what a particular Bible passage is saying. We need to help them understand when it is was written, who it was written by, who the target audience were, why it was written, how the initial readers/hearers would have understood it, and what all this has to do with them at the beginning of the 21st Century.
Being given the appropriate tools transforms gardening; likewise having the appropriate ‘tools’ can transform how we read the Bible and apply the truths it contains to our lives.
If you want to read a book that will help equip you with the necessary ‘tools’ get hold of Dig Deeper by Nigel Beynon and Andrew Sach.
Phil Green, *essential project director
Article originally published on the Evangelical Alliance's *essential website.
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