#Illuminate .online how to#
The Bible Project has many such videos, which will help you learn (among many things) how to spot structure. Here is an example of an outline of Ecclesiastes. Or the book of Acts, as the gospel message moves from Jerusalem outward. For example, the Gospels record Jesus’ ministry as it moves from Galilee toward Jerusalem.
Audience - Particularly helpful in prophetic literature, you can trace a book’s structure by who is being addressed.Focus on repeated words to spot important themes and topics. For example, the book of James moves between topics like faith, wisdom, and the tongue. Topic or theme - Often, a book’s movement between subjects is its primary structure.Or in Acts, the focus shifts from Peter to Paul in chapter 13. For example, you could divide Genesis by the different patriarchs it follows, from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob, and so forth. Characters - Especially in narrative, you can trace structure along with the focus on characters.A shift from indicative (“God is…”) to imperative (“We must…”) indicates a new section, as just described in Romans 12. Mood - We’re not talking about emotional moods (although that could be), but verb moods.For example, Romans 12:1 begins with “Therefore,” and from there Paul gets more “practical,” which leads most scholars to agree that chapter 12 marks a major shift in the letter. Conjunctions - Particularly in epistles, words like “now,” “so,” “but,” and “therefore” reveal shifts in thought, either subtle or dramatic.It’s best if you do this work yourself before consulting commentaries to see how others have outlined books. Generally, the following are clues for identifying structure.
Outlining a book is an exercise in identifying structure, which reveals a book’s flow of thought. As biblical scholar Craig Keener says, “Context is the way God gave us the Bible.”Ĭlick each topic below to learn more about each. Doing so provides us some knowledge of the culture and history the book was written in-and helps ensure correct biblical interpretation. Examine its relation to the rest of the Bibleīefore beginning to study any book of the Bible, it’s critical that you understand the proper context of the book-it’s genre, when it was written and by whom, and more.There are six main steps to researching and writing a paper on the theology of a biblical book: Not only will it require familiarizing yourself with the entire book, but you’ll also synthesize how the parts relate to the whole as you seek to explain the book’s theology and message. Writing a paper on the theology of a biblical book is one of the best ways to internalize that book’s message. Facebook Twitter Reddit Pinterest Email LinkedIn
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