Reading Right

Read book 2 of Augustine's On Christian Teaching as well as the very recent article on "How to Read the Bible" linked to on Moodle. Are these two accounts saying the same thing, or can any real differences be found in the positions? And finally, is the philosophy of reading the Bible represented in these readings a positive thing in your opinion?

There are certainly some differences in the two accounts. Augustine's focus actually seems slightly more compatible with modern thinking. He gives the reader himself more credit, asking him, essentially, to be scholarly - to know the historical context and the languages, to read carefully and with thought. He believes that by careful study alone, a person could become so close to God that Scripture essentially becomes obsolete.

Billings, on the other hand, considers it important that one studies in a group. He thinks a person must continue to study and meditate on the Bible. He suggests that a person will always have more to learn from it, but that this is not a bad thing.

I think, as someone said in a different blog (I can't remember who), that one reason for the differences is that they are writing to different cultures. They are also writing from different cultures. They see different problems with Biblical study and therefore offer different corrections.

Nonetheless, these are the similarities that stood out to me:

1. There is a correct way to read the Bible.
2. It is important that people read it correctly.
3. It must be read intentionally, that is, actively: One must think about it.

These three points converge at one central thought: That the Bible is true, and that we are capable of understanding it, to a certain extent. That may sound obvious, but it is actually quite radical. For what I mean is that both Augustine and Billings believe that understanding of the Bible is not merely personal - that there is absolute, unchangeable truth in it, which can be discovered by the most different people, if they read carefully.