Recently, as part of my daily devotional, I worked through a six-video series by The Bible Project on the Shema, a famous Jewish prayer based on Deuteronomy 6:4-5. I more or less pulled this study out of a hat and my expectations weren’t that high. I doubted I was going to discover any deep new and exciting information.
Boy, was I wrong!
This Bible Project series is a word study of six key words in this prayer: Listen, LORD, Love, Heart, Soul, and Strength. The narrator takes each of these words and explores how the original Hebrew word would have been understood by the Israelites in Biblical times. To say that our modern understanding of these words is shallow would be an understatement. Unpacking each of these words has ramifications throughout the scriptures and really helped me realize even more how God’s love and our response permeate every aspect of our lives.
Each of the six videos is less than five minutes long and I highly recommend them. The series can be found at the Bible Project website, or you can walk through it as a daily study using the YouVersion Bible app as I did.
After some talk about microphones, Deb shares some of the self-improvement she’s been working on. Then Terrence and Deb debate who is more curious, gullible, cautious, indecisive, excitable, and more.
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Gentlemen, prepare to defend yourselves! -Sergeant Major Basil Plumley, We Were Soldiers
Brian and Sean have been visiting George’s barbershop since they were in college. George’s trims are neat, reasonably priced, and accompanied by a lively chat. One Saturday in April, Brian took the chair first while Sean scanned emails and texts on his phone while waiting for his turn. Somehow, the conversation drifted to cars, a subject Brian knew little about. He did like to save money, however, which is why he still drives a 15-year-old Honda Civic and learned how to change his own oil.
“Next oil change, I’m thinking of trying a synthetic,” Brian told George.
“Nah, that stuff’s so expensive,” the barber scoffed. “It’s just a way for them to get more money out of you.”
“Hmm. I hear you don’t need to change your oil as often. I figured that would save me money in the long run. Also, synthetic is supposed to be better for your engine.”
“Don’t know about that. My cousin tried the stuff. Told me it leaked all over his driveway. He ended up spending more just to keep it topped off. I’d save your money if I were you and just use the cheap stuff.”
Later, during the ride home, Sean offered his opinion. “Y’know, George might be right. Trying synthetic oil might not be a good idea.”
“Why?” Brian asked.
“I listen to the “Auto Tune” podcast, the one where Will and Theo talk about car repair. They’re big on synthetics but warn about using it in older cars that have only used conventional oils. Apparently, synthetic oil is great at cleaning out the system. So good, in fact, it removes the gunk that plugs up small holes. When those holes are clean, oil tends to drip out. I asked my mechanic, and he said the same thing. What happened to George’s cousin is not that uncommon.”
REASON VS. HEARSAY
To whom do you think Brian was more inclined to listen? My guess is that you would answer Sean. George’s opinion was based on feeling and hearsay, but Sean relied on expert opinion. In the end, both offered the same ultimate advice: don’t switch to synthetic oil. But the recommendation backed by reliable research was most likely the one that Brian “heard” and to which he gave greater consideration.
I believe the same applies to Christians when they either speak about their faith or present an opinion from a Biblical perspective. Having valid reasons to support your belief that scripture is reliable gives your words more authority than simply saying “because the Bible says so”. Now, I’m not saying relying solely on the Word of God can’t be effective. The Bible clearly teaches that it can. (Heb. 4:12; Rom. 10:17; Eph. 6:10, 17) However, the Bible also instructs us to be prepared to defend the reasons behind our hope. (1 Peter 3:15) Why? I suspect it’s because God knows the human heart. In this culture of relativism (which isn’t new), it’s easy to dismiss an opinion founded in a “truth” to which one party or the other doesn’t subscribe. In other words, “I don’t believe God exists, so anything the Bible says is irrelevant.”
But suppose you can appeal to generally accepted truths as evidence for why you believe the Bible is valid, reliable, and relevant. If the person you are in conversation with knows you are a rational person and has respected your opinions in the past regarding other things, they should at least be willing to listen to what you have to say and seriously contemplate your words, even if they are not ultimately swayed.
WHY THIS MATTERS
So why does this matter, you might ask? I can concede that a need to defend your faith is not always necessary when presenting a Biblical perspective. For instance, when discussing topics such as crime, health, finances, abuse, and marital faithfulness, there is a common understanding of justice, well-being, gain and loss, victimization, and vows that generally falls in line with the Bible. One doesn’t need to profess a particular faith to hold to its tenants of right and wrong. In these instances, you don’t need to rely specifically on scripture to make a point. And when you do, you are less likely to be questioned because scripture confirms what many people already believe.
However, there are those positions that ultimately come down to whether or not they conform to the Word of God. For instance, abortion. Christians can present studies that demonstrate the potential physical and mental harm done to a woman resulting from having an abortion, or appeal to the concept that this new life will be a valuable contribution to society. Those on the other side might then respond with counter-studies and offer examples of abuse and families that have been destroyed because of an unwanted child. In the end, what this really boils down to is the question of when does someone become a human? The Christian would probably answer that God places value on a life the moment it is conceived, and therefore that life should be considered human, and as such has a purpose and right to live. But this idea is only supported by God’s word. Without the Bible, there is little evidence to argue that a fetus has any value apart from that which the mother places on it. If the mother doesn’t value that life, then it’s easier to define it as “less than human” and dispose of it.
If a Christian’s desire is to avoid being dismissed in such arguments, it is vital that they first offer reasons why they believe what they do. It might not completely change a person’s opinion, but it might give your words more credibility in their minds.
WHY THIS MATTERS TO ME
First Peter 3:15 has been on my mind lately because I currently find myself in such a discussion with someone close to me. Till now, I have relied mainly on logical arguments and examples to make my points. I haven’t taken the biblical approach primarily due to fear. I fear this person might think that any claims based on faith, regardless of the religion, are little more than arbitrary opinions that, at best, have no real-world consequences or, at worst, are an attempt to control a person's actions. Instead of listening to “baseless claims” they might choose to simply walk away from the conversation. More and more, however, I am realizing that I have reached the point where my position can best be explained by faith in God’s Word over the world’s opinions. Luckily, the one thing I have going for me is that this person trusts me, values my opinion in other things, knows I love them, and understands that I ultimately want the best for them. So, the next time the topic comes up, I might have to start off with something like this:
“I think you know that I did not grow up with a strong, spiritual upbringing. In fact, as a teenager, I was very skeptical about the existence of God. The reason I believe now is because, as I got older, I learned that the claims of the Bible are supported by many areas of study, like history, archaeology, medicine, psychology, literary criticism, and yes, even science. While you may not agree with everything I say, I want you to know that I’m not blindly believing something just because someone said it was true. I believe because I have researched Christianity and come to my own rational opinion about its validity and impact on our lives.”
The goal is not to “win this person over.” That’s God’s job. My goal is to keep the lines of communication open. By stepping out in faith, namely my faith in God, I am hoping this explanation will help this person be more open to the truth of God’s word.
NEED HELP?
What about you? If you are a Christian, do you know why you believe the way you do? Do you have the evidence to back up your belief? If not, or you’ve never really thought about it much, I would recommend any of the books written by Lee Strobel -- in particular, his first, The Case For Christ. This book discusses how many different disciplines support the claims of the Bible and provides a long list of resources for further study. To find out more, read my Half Air review about both the book and the movie.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn some money if you click on one. Read the full disclaimer here.
Right off the bat, let me say yes, I know. This article is a month too late. You don’t recommend a “Bible-In-A-Year” plan that is best started on January 1st midway through the month. Hopefully, you saw my brief mention The Bible Recap and checked it out, but if not, I apologize. However, just because you missed the official start date doesn’t mean you’re out of luck. You can start anytime, but more on that later. First, I felt it might be helpful to share how I benefitted from reading through the Bible in a year.
This wasn’t my first journey through the scriptures. In fact, I had just finished a chronological plan in late 2021. However, that read-through took me over five years. If it isn’t obvious, I wasn’t exactly faithful to the reading plan. I didn’t read every day and, when I did read, it was only one or two chapters because I chose to accompany every reading with a commentary. While I did get a lot from that slow process, reading at a much faster pace gave me a better understanding of scripture than I had before.
I’m not saying I had any sweeping new revelations about God’s word. Sure, I picked up a few factoids here and there that I didn’t know previously and saw some different perspectives on specific tales and verses, but the bigger themes were concepts I was rather familiar with. What this quicker journey through scripture did do, however, was to better clarify these themes, improve my understanding of them, and offer ways they might be applied to my life that I had not seen in the past.
THE SINFUL NATURE OF GOD’S CHOSEN
One of the conclusions I’ve come to this past year is that God’s people kinda suck. Yes, I know they’ve made mistakes ever since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit: the Golden calf, fearing to enter the Promised Land, sexual immorality, idol worship, and so on. Still, I always had the sense that the Israelites, as a whole, did their best to honor God’s commands. I believed these failures were either specific moments of weakness scattered through history or only characteristic of specific segments of the community.
However, this quicker, chronological journey through scripture made it clear that that was simply not the case. You can barely read through a few paragraphs of the historical books before stumbling across an instance where the Israelites were engaged in some sort of sin. The prophetic books are full of corrections and warnings directed specifically toward God’s people. Even the paragons of the faith – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon, etc. – weren’t immune from the draw of sin. God’s chosen are a ragged bunch.
Yet the message of the Bible is that God did not abandon them. When they were unfaithful, God remained faithful. Despite their sin, God preserved a remnant, ultimately sending a savior to ensure an ongoing relationship. I admit that reading about Israel’s weakness should have saddened me, but instead, it gave me hope. In the past, I would compare my obedience to God’s Law to my perception of the Israelite’s obedience and the result would be that I felt woefully inadequate compared to them. However, this better understanding of their struggles actually strengthens my hope. I may not be where God desires me to be, but I’m right where He expects me to be. He will be faithful to me as He was to his people in the Old Testament, and He sent his son Jesus to seal the deal.
CONTEXT HELPS
For most of my Christian life, I have touted the importance of context when interpreting scripture. There are too many instances of misunderstandings, confusion, or outright false teachings because a passage has been studied out of its intended context. When looking at a particular verse, I like to skim the ten or so verses before and after it to have a better idea of what was going on at the time and what specific topic is being discussed. For instance, knowing that Paul was in prison when he wrote Philippians 4:13 (“I can do all things through him who strengthens me”) helps the reader realize the apostle was talking about enduring struggles and suffering, not making a guarantee that any goal can be achieved as long as your faith is in Christ.
This past year has helped provide me with more context and insight than I have ever had in the past, starting with the books of the Law. Many of the laws and restrictions found in them seem very strange to us today, at times even discriminatory or sexist. This is because we are comparing them to today’s culture. While having a better understanding of the culture, language, politics, and beliefs of the time may not clear up everything, it certainly helps offer practical reasons for the regulations and things that might seem harsh.
Context also helps with understanding the New Testament. This is particularly helpful when reading Paul’s letters, which can be challenging at times. Even contemporaries of Paul, such as Peter, found some of his writings difficult (“Our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you . . . There are some things in them that are hard to understand…” 2 Peter 3:15-16). If Peter found the apostle hard to understand, how much more difficult must it be for us living in a time and culture far removed from the first century?
Many readers want to treat Paul’s multiple letters as one uniform piece of work, offering instruction that can be applied universally to any person at any time. The problem is that while the basic underlying truths of his writings are universally applicable, some of the examples used or issues being addressed were specific to a certain first-century church and may not have a direct analogy today. Understanding these issues within the context of the time period goes a long way to avoiding skewed teaching.
This is especially helpful in understanding Paul’s instructions concerning women. The apostle is often criticized as being chauvinistic or backward in regard to his treatment of women. However, analyzing his words with a proper understanding of the original audience reveals that statements that appear on the surface to trivialize women could actually be missives for both genders, encouraging them to maintain church order and to respect the marital relationship. One example is Paul’s discussion of head coverings in 1 Corinthians 11. In that chapter, he implores wives to cover their heads, the covering acting as a symbol of their husband’s authority over them. To us, this might seem very degrading. However, knowing that head coverings were an indication of whether or not a woman was married gives the direction new meaning. The basic idea is that a married woman should make it known that she is betrothed and not falsely advertise to the men of the church that she might be available, potentially leading to unwanted advances or inappropriate relationships. It would be similar to a married woman today removing her wedding ring before going out to the club.
I know I’ve gone on much too long about context, but I do want to mention one last example: the book of Revelation. Even if you have just a cursory knowledge of the Bible you are probably aware that Revelation is this cryptic, highly symbolic book that is typically considered a vision of the end of the world. Many Christians have attempted to figure out how its imagery corresponds to specific world events and what this means for us in the future. However, with the right context, it’s quite possible this might not be the book’s original (or even eternal) purpose.
Revelation’s original audience was seven churches in the area known today as Turkey. At the time, these churches would have been rather familiar with the prophetic and historical writings of the Old Testament. When they read John’s descriptions of strange beasts, dragons, fiery bodies of water, and great conflicts, they would have recognized the images not as unknown things to happen in the future, but as reminders of events and visions that occurred in their past. In fact, having just read through the prophetic books myself, many of these images were familiar to me, as well. Finally, much of what was written addressed the political and economic conditions of the first century, the reader’s present time, and used phrases or expressions familiar to that culture. At the end of the day, a contemporary reader of John’s revelation would simply have been reminded that while there is great evil in the world, time and time again God overcomes that evil. He overcame it in Israel’s Past. He was doing so in their Present. And He will continue to conquer evil in their Future.
THE BIBLE RECAP
Clearly, this understanding of culture and context doesn’t come solely from the words written on the pages of scripture. It comes from an in-depth study of the word of God. That’s where The Bible Recap comes in. This wonderful, guided journey through scripture is the brainchild of Tara-Leigh Cobble. Honestly, I don’t much about Cobble other than she is someone who is passionate about reading the bible, has done a lot of study, and wants to share what she has learned in order to help others experience the joy that comes through being in the Word every day.
The core of The Bible Recap program is, of course, Bible reading. Using a chronological schedule (reading the stories and writings in the order they happened instead of following the Biblical book order), you are asked to take fifteen minutes or so and read several chapters a day. Next, you listen to a podcast episode that Tara-Leigh has recorded corresponding to that day’s reading. The podcast (available in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language) recaps the reading and explains important details, facts, and themes. This is where you learn the context and see how that day’s reading ties into what you have read before. Tara-Leigh’s style is conversational and easy to follow. She even tries to make scripture more accessible by metaphorically modernizing some of the storytelling and assigning nicknames to some of the historical figures who have more challenging names. (Your mileage may vary on these last items. For the most part, I found the modern metaphors cute and entertaining, but I would have preferred she stuck with the real names.)
Alone, these two aspects of the plan offer a great way to learn more about God and his plan of salvation. But for those who want to dig deeper, The Bible Recap offers many more resources. Before starting each new book it is suggested that you watch a fantastically produced video, created by the Bible Project, that offers a brief overview of the book and its themes while an artistic, one-page comic is created before your eyes!
Next, included in the show notes are links to additional material for further study. The links lead to such things as maps and graphics, articles that delve deeper into a specific topic, explanations of alternate viewpoints on difficult concepts, or other sites and resources that one might explore. If you want to be stretched more in your study, or just prefer something tangible to hold in your hand, the Bible Recap has published a number of books and study guides that you can use alongside the main program to help you better process what you are reading and learning. Finally, a network of bible study groups across the country and online, called D-Group, is available for those who want to study with others.
The Bible Recap Book
All in all, the Bible Recap is a great plan, and everyone I know who has participated found the study insightful and encouraging. Don’t worry if you missed the January 1st start date. You can begin the plan anytime. The only adjustment you will need to make is that you will need to navigate to each day’s podcast episode instead of having the episode appear in your podfeed each day. While I chose not to repeat the plan in 2023 to allow time for other biblical studies, it is something I am considering doing again in the future. And who knows? If I find that I’m missing my daily time with Tara-Leigh, I might just jump in for the New Testament. Its start is now less than nine months away.
