Studying the Bible is similar to studying Art
Why don’t more of we, Christians, annotate our Bibles like we would reading works by Steinbeck, Dickinson, Hemingway, or Shakespeare? Sitting in highschool and university English class was clearly about engaging literary text in a way involving research, creative thinking, and striving to understand deeper meanings of the words in the context of the time period and culture, providing color, tone and texture to the reading.
We’ve been taught how to do it and why we should do it but, when it comes to reading our bibles, many of us leave blank margins within our pages. Yes, we tend to highlight and memorize verses but how often do we pause to analyze specific passages within scripture? We often gloss over the words written emphatically which cry out for deeper thinking.
I liken this to viewing art, more specifically oil on canvas works of art from the greats. For example, the Dutch Golden Age painter, Rembrandt van Rijn’s oil on canvas painting in 1633 called “Storm on the Sea of Galilee” is a depiction of Jesus calming the seas on the Sea of Galilee out of the verses found Matthew 8:23-27 and Mark 4:35-41.
35 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. 36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. 37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? - Mark 4:35-41 (KJV)
A layman or amateur who views this painting in a study book may say, “It’s a beautiful painting;” “It’s an incredibly difficult work;” “Only a master painter could bring such an event to life;” or say, “This is a masterpiece!” All responses areagreeable and undoubtedly accurate yet, seeing the painting simply at face value diminishes its depth and does a disservice to the painter.
When we grow in our appreciation for art, we begin to study the painter, their country of origin, historical context from their country, events in their life impacting their emotions or perspective, the political climate at the time of their work, etc. We may also identify their schooling and mentoring, who developed this individual, and how was their artistic expression developed over time?
We look at their subject matter and determine their political stance, their emotions, who are the persons, places or things in the encounter? The level of research and detail is seemingly endless; in order to, understand the who, what, when, where, and why a piece of art is created. The painstaking detail of exploration into the mind and subject matter, are what is most agreeable to bring art to life.
In parallel with this concept of art, what better teacher than our Lord in heaven, who in and of Himself, gave us art. Arguably, anybody who has spent much time in Yosemite National Park, The Great Barrier Reef, watching a sunset, or gazing up at the stars in the night sky could attest, God surrounded us with magnificent masterpieces so we could experience His creation in awe and beauty. Just as it says in Genesis,
“I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” – Genesis 9:13-16
The iconic stories in the Bible typically preached about are, if you will, capture unique paintings of moments in history; i.e. the Woman at the Well, The Last Supper, Moses and the Burning Bush, Abraham becoming the Father of Nations, Jonah and the Whale, etc. All have been recounted, taught, studied, and preached backwards and forwards about the lessons and teachings from God’s word. All applicable without recourse and with no intention of my own to detract from the teaching of those who came before me.
What I aim to show is in our effort to teach the word of God, sadly many of us fall short in teaching God’s word properly. All wisdom and understanding comes from the Lord and it’s by His grace we recall all forms of history: geography, archeology, topography, natural resources, native commodities, economics, geopolitical landscapes, and natural disasters and tragedy in our humanly efforts to teach God’s word with the assistance of the Holy Spirit. I do believe; however, our approach and technique can and should be improved with the guidance of the holy Spirit.