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Summary: An Absolute Must For All Christians and Skeptics
Review: "Knowing Scripture" is an absolute must for all Christians. The reader will learn how someone is to approach scripture and read it properly. R.C. Sproul takes academic subjects like Hermeneutics and makes them easy to understand, equiping the reader with the right tools to study the bible.Many Christians, as well as skeptics, are unfamiliar with the rules of biblical interpretation and therefore, regardless on which side of the fence the reader is on religious issues, all groups can benefit from this book.
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Summary: Excellent book!
Review: I found this book edifiying, encouraging to study Scriptures,exciting, very insightful. I think this book should be read by anyone who are going to start personal Bible Study.
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Summary: Excellent Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics
Review: In my opinion, this is one of Sproul's best works. He has written some excellent books, and he also has a great passion for the body of Christ. This book was used as a textbook in my Hermeneutics class at school, because it is an excellent book for Pastors to use to equip the church with the basic principles of Hermeneutics. I like it when Sproul goes into the different translations, and points out the bad KJV translation of 1 John 5:7 (our earliest manuscripts do not corroborate with this translation). Most people in the modern day church do not think Hermeneutics is necessary. They rely on their existential Barthian interpretations. Sproul attacks this prevalent view with this quote, "We don't need Theology, just give us Jesus." Sproul responds, "Who is Jesus?" They give him their answer, and Sproul says, "Thank you for your Theology." I laughed at this, because that is so reminiscent of the Christians of today. Every Pastor should conduct his congregation into the basic principles of Hermeneutics, and this is the book to use.
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Summary: A Cure for Confusion
Review: Known for being one of the great hermeneutical works of our time, Knowing Scripture encompasses all that modern conservative biblical interpretation demands in a pragmatic, clear approach to studying the Bible for oneself. Written for the layman and the theologian, Sproul presents the Bible as God's Word for all men in all times, to be understood in the context of its original meaning and historical setting. R.C. Sproul is articulate in defining the concept of "lay renewal" in the search for the truth behind "an enigma capable of vastly different interpretations (p. 11)." "Is there any way out of this confusion? Can serious readers find any principles to guide them through the conflicting viewpoints they hear from all sides? These are some of the questions that this book is designed to deal with (p. 12)."
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Summary: An Important Book!
Review: One of Satan's greatest triumphs is in convincing Christians to abandon the Bible, or at least keeping them from really mining its depths. He tries to convince us that the Bible is outdated, unimportant or less important than many other things. He tries to convince us that it is difficult to understand and that we should rely on others to interpret it for us.
R.C. Sproul wrote Knowing Scripture early in his career to address these concerns and out of a desire to see Christians dedicate themselves to a systematic study of the Bible. Written in 1977, this is one of Sproul's earliest but most important and highly recommended books.
Sproul begins with an introduction to why we should read the Bible. He dispels myths regarding Scripture being too difficult to understand or too boring to hold our attention. From that foundation he shows how the principle of private interpretation was a pillar of the Reformation and thus remains a pillar of Protestantism. He explains what private interpretation is and what it is not. He shows, for example, that it does not preclude us from verifying our interpretations against those of others. He also stresses the need for objectivity as we read the Scripture. In short, he keeps us from viewing private interpretation as being a method of forcing Scripture to say what we want it to say.
He dedicates a chapter to an introduction to hermeneutics. Do not be scared by this technical word as it simply means "a list of rules and guidelines for interpreting Scripture." Some of the concepts he introduces are:
* The analogy of faith. This says that Scripture interprets Scripture, or that one passage supports and explains another. It also means that one part of Scripture never corrects another part, for Scripture needs to correction.
* Literal Interpretation. This says that Scripture needs to be scrutinized as literature, paying attention to grammar, word choice and genre. Just because the Bible is a special book does not mean we can ignore standard literal interpretation.
* Genre Analysis. This says that Scripture must be analyzed for genre and it is crucial that we distinguish between genres such as history and poetry.
* Grammatico-Historical. This is a method of interpreting Scripture that focuses on, among other things, grammatical constructions and historical context. This is the traditional and most accurate method of hermeneutics.
* Authorship and Dating. It is important to understand the dating of a particular book or passage as well as its authorship.
The bulk of the book is contained in a chapter that lays out ten rules for Biblical interpretation. They are:
1. Do not change the rules of interpretation for the Bible. Read the Bible just like any other book
2. Seek to empathize with the Biblical characters
3. Narratives must be interpreted by the didactic
4. The implicit is to be interpreted by the explicit
5. Determine the meaning of words using lexicography, etymology and context
6. Note the presence of parallelisms
7. Note the difference between proverb and law
8. Observe the difference between the spirit and the letter of the law
9. Be careful with parables
10. Be careful with predictive prophecy
Each of these points receives careful attention. Though some of them may sound shocking (such as "read the Bible just like any other book") Sproul provides solid reasons for the necessity of each.
The author then turns his attention to a discussion of culture and the Bible. Just I am confined to a specific cultural setting, so were the authors of the Bible. We need to be able to discern the difference between principle and custom in regards to the Bible. Sproul provides several guidelines for doing this.
The book closes with a discussion of some resources that may help in studying the Bible. These range from commentaries to dictionaries and lexicons. If there is an area of this book that shows its age, it is in this section. There are so many more resources at our disposal now, especially on the Internet, that this section loses some of its usefulness. A discussion of modern translations and some of the newer commentaries would be helpful. Perhaps a second edition of this book is in order. One thing I found amusing is that the author says he does not agree with study Bibles, yet years later was the editor of the New Geneva Study Bible (later renamed the Reformation Study Bible). I presume his view changed!
This book does a wonderful job of introducing hermeneutics for the lay person and I would recommend it for any Christian. It presents advanced concepts in a way that it easy to read and understand. My only complaint is that it advances many rules but does not dedicate any attention to the "how's" of hermeneutics. Some examples where the author led us through some difficult passages would have been most welcome and would have helped ensure we not only understood the rules but also understood how to use them.
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Summary: Only the few know scripture
Review: R. C. Sproul's little book on how to know scripture is a must read for all Christians who want to be insulted. According to Sproul, interpreting scripture must be left to the experts who can figure out all the social, political, and linguistic variables of the time. Really what he seems to be saying is that you have to be R. C. Sproul or the Pope or someone of equal rank to be able to understand scripture. Don't waste your time....just start reading Genesis Chapture One, Verse One, and go on from there.
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Summary: Filled with inspiration and encouragement for the believer!
Review: R.C. Sproul does it again in this great book! One is hard pressed to find a more delightful Biblical reference book. Easy for the beginner who doesn't know a lot about the Bible and encouraging for those who have been in the faith for years. A true classic!
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Summary: Filled with inspiration and encouragement for the believer!
Review: R.C. Sproul does it again in this great book! One is hard pressed to find a more delightful Biblical reference book. Easy for the beginner who doesn't know a lot about the Bible and encouraging for those who have been in the faith for years. A true classic!
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Summary: Short, Gentle, and Very Nice!
Review: Sproul combines theological insights with his very familar humor in order to teach us some basics in deeper reading of the Bible. Since the Bible is a book that gets deeper as one grows taller, most spiritually "tall" teachers seem to write yet another deep book to daunt the study of scripture. On the contrary, R.C. is an excellent teacher, encourager, and writer who first dispels the fear of studying the Bible. Then he immediately points to the importance of studying the Bible, and does an overview of how to interpret and apply scripture in most biblical way possible. His colorful examples are helpful. I am also thankful for his list of further readings in the last chapter (after reading this book, I felt like buying them all!). In almost all of his books I've read, R.C. seems to struggle in trying to be less scholar-like for the sake of the general audience. But only being human =), he cannot hold back his brilliance; and at times R.C. pushes us to think! But he is gentle and very reasonable. This book is short, but very nice. Thus, for leasure or study in group; for scholars and laymen...I highly recommend this book. Both will learn a lot--if not in content, then in sheer style!
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Summary: One of the Better Basic Hermeneutics Texts
Review: This book is a nice little beginning hermeneutics text. Sproul begins this work by telling his reader why it is crucial that they develop a desire, to not only read, but actually study the Word of God. He then moves into how the Bible should be studied with an emphasis on personal Bible study and private interpretation. Sproul also discusses rules for Biblical interpretation. One of the better chapters in this text is titled "Culture and the Bible." Here Sproul discusses the importance of interpretation in light of the culture in which it was written. The reason I like this chapter is the fact that Sproul, who is also a philosopher, is not trapped in the idea that culture dictates interpretation. In other words, while culture is an important thing to keep in mind in hermeneutics it does not determine truth, thus making truth relative to culture. Sproul understands this and explains how to avoid this pitfall. I recommend this work for those who are wanting to get involved in the study of hermeneutics. This is a great place to start that study.
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