Bringing the Depths Into Focus: Engaging Difficulties in Biblical Interpretation

By T. Scott Womble

Book Overview

The Bible is a frustrating book to many Christians. It's not uncommon to hear that it's difficult to understand. To complicate the matter, we live in a culture that dismisses the importance of God's word altogether and we are left to wonder if Scripture has lost its impact. At a time when the world needs the wisdom of God's word, many are skeptical as to why they should bother reading the Bible at all. Scott Womble brings hope to this bleak situation by showing how we can not only learn to read and interpret the Bible more skillfully, but also enjoy our time in study. In addition to discussing critical issues such as literary context, genre identification, and background study, Womble breaks new ground by encouraging us to both "hear" and "see" the text (semiotics). This incorporation of semiotics into the interpretive process helps us more fully interact with the word. While sound interpretation is of great importance, the end goal of Bible reading is application. For Womble, this is the crux of the matter. Scanning prominent theories of application and concluding with seven guidelines, this book is sure to help Jesus followers become more intentional doers of the word.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1666716707
• ISBN13: 9781666716702
• Release Date: August 2021
• Publisher: Wipf & Stock Publishers
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.47 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Great Tool for Learning to Understand the Bible

This book was required reading for a class on interpreting the Bible. I was pleasantly surprised to see how conversational and straight-forward it was for someone who is not attending Bible school. There are lots of great references and examples from movies and sports that make the concepts easier to understand. The layout of the text is logical and easy to follow, and the concepts discussed come with extensive samples demonstrating application of the principles. This book, more than one that is more 'scholarly' will make interpreting and understanding the Word of God more logical and interesting -- I can't say easier, because the more I learn about interpretation, the more involved it gets! It was easy to see that many spiritual leaders don't take the time to really dig into the culture, principles, and logical application of the Word. Not only does this book give me the basic tools to do that research myself, it opened my eyes to inaccuracies I hear in sermons and allows me to be a Berean, searching the word to validate what I hear. I would highly recommend this book as an important addition for study to anyone who is interesting in really learning how to interpret what the Word was originally intended to say and how to translate those concepts into action in today's world.