Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Barnes, Kevin Bryan

Titel

A Bible Study about Studying Bible: An Introduction to Inductive Bible Study

Ort / Verlag

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Erscheinungsjahr

2018

Quelle

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The Bible provides everything necessary to learn about God, receiving salvation, and living a life that glorifies God. The Wesleyan tradition champions God’s Word as the primary resource for making decisions and guiding one’s life. One who considers the value and availability of the Bible might assume that all Christians would regularly read Scripture. Sadly, fewer and fewer Christians take the time to study the Bible. This dissertation evaluates the change in Scripture reading habits based on the results of participation in a six-week introductory level inductive Bible study. Looking specifically at persons from the worshiping community at Wesley Way United Methodist Church, I offered a six-week introductory level inductive Bible study to the entire congregation. I also personally invited selected persons who have participated in several Bible studies. The inductive Bible study covered the Gospel of John. The participants completed a questionnaire prior to the first evening of the study to establish a base for the participants’ biblical knowledge, attitude, reading habits, and familiarity with the inductive study method. Upon the completion of the Bible study, the participants completed a post-Bible study questionnaire to determine changes in the participants’ biblical knowledge, attitude, reading habits, and familiarity with the inductive study method. Four weeks after the completion of the Bible study, I held a focus group to discover if any participants were studying Scripture more than they were prior to participating in the Bible study and to determine if they were applying the inductive Bible study habits. The findings suggest that, while Christians respect the Bible as an authoritative book, they are not reading it very often nor understand it on a conceptual or structural level. The findings also reveal a desire by Christians for their senior pastor to be the provider of scriptural information and interpretation; directly or indirectly related to this desire is the trend of hesitancy for Christians to interpret the Bible on a conceptual level. This type of interpretation requires a more structured reading of the Bible than many Christians prefer to endeavor. The inductive Bible study method fostered a better understanding and respect for the structure and intentionality with which the Bible was written and assembled.