The study of the Bible is a joyful work. But often the reader of the Scriptures becomes discouraged when he is confronted by the wealth of information contained in their pages. He has to deal with sixty-six books, all setting forth the same great theme of God and man, but each containing different material, presented in widely different ways. The most obvious question to him then is, How can I master all this material? So he may need some help.
Those who study the Bible Lesson prepared for each week in the Christian Science Quarterly will use the King James Version regularly. And many feel that for the student looking for inspired meanings no other Bible translation quite equals the King James Version. There is much spiritual insight in its pages—and more use of elemental words than in any other translation. While its language is sometimes archaic, this great version stands unrivaled in its literary beauty.
Besides the King James Version many students have found it helpful to have on hand one or several other Bible translations. Mrs. Eddy herself sometimes refers to other translations; there are even cases where she uses one of these in place of the King James Version, as in the words "cast out demons" Matt. 10:8; in the cross and crown emblem on the cover of her writings. Modern translations correct textual errors. They can rely upon a greater knowledge of Hebrew and Greek and thus bring out the original meaning of many a word. Because of new knowledge, new renditions have the tendency to be more specific, thereby narrowing down the meaning of an expression or phrase. This has advantages and disadvantages. The King James Version often gives one a more generic term than a modern translation, and so a wider range of possible meanings.
While the modern translation may look like an obvious improvement to the modern reader, we have to see that this is not always the case and use the various renderings with discrimination. For example, Mark 16:18, "And if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them," is rendered in The New English Bible, "drink any deadly poison." Here, though "poison" may sound more precise, "deadly thing" (a literal translation of the Greek), is more inclusive. It can include false theories, gossip, rumors, false prognostications, mental malpractice, and so forth, while the modern wording might narrow our application of Christ Jesus' promise.
Besides translations, what other tools are available?
A Bible concordance is indispensable to the study of selected words or ideas contained in the Bible. Appendix B in the Concordance to Mrs. Eddy's works is of invaluable help in another way. It contains a list of scriptural verses with the passages where Mrs. Eddy quotes them, bringing out their spiritual sense.
On a different level, we can get a good Bible dictionary, which gives general information about objects and persons appearing in the Bible.
A Bible commentary, on the other hand, undertakes to comment on the Bible passages, chapter by chapter or verse by verse. The Christian Scientist who uses such a commentary does not, of course, expect his questions of spiritual interpretation to be answered as they are by Mrs. Eddy's writings. A commentary is a tool, not a spiritual authority. It may bring to light useful background information—that "the lilies of the field," for example, are not the white Easter lilies he may be thinking of but the variegated flowers of Palestine, such as bright anemones, comparable to "Solomon in all his glory." 6:28, 29;
Whatever his choice of tools, the student will need spiritually guided discretion in using them. Spiritual sense is his basic equipment for embarking upon a study that will stretch out over a lifetime, bringing him daily a deeper understanding of the ideas contained in the Bible and of their use in his own experience.
Just as Rome was not built in a day, so a knowledge of the Bible is not acquired within a week or a month. It takes patience to persist and humility not to become discouraged but to rejoice over each step forward. Persistence and constancy are necessary thought-ingredients for a successful study of the Bible. To study each day for only thirty minutes is probably better than to study for a whole day every second or third month or whenever there is a special need.
How does the student of the Bible start? While it is good to read through the Scriptures at least once a year, thereby familiarizing oneself with their contents, the student will soon realize that this in itself does not enable him to get at the treasures contained in this Book of books. To reach the ideas hidden in the Bible, one will have to dig deep, not just read shallowly.
There is not just one way of studying the Bible. There is an infinite variety of approaches. One approach is to make a study of the Bible characters. What do they teach us? How did they act? How can we avoid the pitfalls they encountered?
Let us see, for example, what the Bible says about Rebekah. She is introduced in Genesis 24:15-20. Verse 16 reads: "And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up." Here we hear about Rebekah 's natural charm. Verse 18: "And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink." Here we hear about Rebekah's spontaneity. She "hasted" to help. She was not wavering and halting. No. Spontaneously she chose to do good. Verse 19: "And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking." Note her generosity. She does more than is asked of her. Verse 20: "And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels." See her continuous desire to help. She "ran again" and fetched water.
In verse 67 of the same chapter we read: "And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death." Clearly Rebekah was a loving support for Isaac, comforting and solacing him.
Having read these verses, we begin to feel we know Rebekah. She is no longer just a name; we begin to understand the qualities she expressed, and we feel we have won a good friend. Her spontaneity, affection, helpfulness, and responsiveness have endeared her to us. In other verses other qualities are brought out.
In studying the biblical people we not only gain friends but learn lessons. We learn about the qualities of thought that should be expressed and the qualities that should be rejected. So the few verses characterizing Rebekah teach us to express generosity, naturalness, and love. However, in her later urging of Jacob to cheat his brother Esau we have a state of thought that is to be rejected. Thus a study of Abraham, John, Elijah, and others not only leads to a greater appreciation of their work but helps us judge the quality of our own thought.
Along with our study of passages relative to the life of a particular Bible character, we can make good use of the Glossary Mrs. Eddy provides in Science and Health. "Glossary" comes from a Greek word meaning "tongue" or "language" and describes a dictionary of special terms. What we have here, then, is a very special sort of Bible dictionary. Here Mrs. Eddy spiritually interprets names and terms found in the Bible, showing what they mean in the light of divine revelation.
About "Abraham" she begins: "Fidelity; faith in the divine Life and in the eternal Principle of being." Science and Health, p. 579; If we don't see this fidelity and faith expressed in Abraham's life, we can study with the help of a Bible concordance all the passages in the Bible where Abraham is mentioned. The meanings given in the Glossary are not abstract inventions. They were revealed to Mrs. Eddy through her deep and consecrated study of the Bible. So a good place to start may be to study the biblical people in the light of the Glossary.
What do you look for when you read the Bible? Ideas, not words. Words are like vehicles transporting ideas, and it's the ideas that we are interested in.
In Genesis 24:53 we read of the gifts sent by Abraham for Rebekah: "And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah." While few among us may be in a position to give presents of silver and gold, we can think of these most precious objects as symbols—standing, for example, for gratitude, affection, devotion, loyalty. And while we today present gifts of a different sort, we can remember that even these are only symbols and that the highest and purest present we can always bring to every place and person is our expression of Christly consciousness. Thus we don't let words become stumbling blocks on our way to a better understanding of the Bible.
How much of biblical history should we know? While a study of the Bible inevitably gives the student an understanding of the general background, we do not all need to become professional historians. The historical facts will always occupy a secondary position; finding the spiritual sense of a passage is the all-important task. However, a knowledge of the historical background can give us food for thought.
In Amos 1:3 we read, "Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron." Here the prophet reports that Damascus had conquered Gilead but had not been content with the conquest. The soldiers had proceeded to devastate the land, dragging over the bodies of the conquered foe the heavy iron threshing sledges. This is the historical background.
What is condemned? The deed. But the deed was provoked by a brutal thought. So what really is condemned is the state of thought that shows itself in inhumanity and barbarous acts. Thus Christian Science helps us to separate error from person. It enables us to see that we must not condemn the nation as such. The people of Damascus had let themselves become willing tools of this inhuman thought or suggestion.
When we have understood the passage so far, the next step is to see how its message applies to our lives. Each of us has at one time or another been in a battle— a battle of words perhaps, a battle of hatred. Afterward, often, instead of pouring the oil of compassion into the wounds, we may be tempted to condemn others or ourselves—tear down our neighbors or repeat continually, "How stupid I was." Doing this, we only tear open the wounds, aggravate the suffering, and become guilty of the same transgression that Damascus was accused of. The lesson we can learn from Amos is to avoid doing what Damascus did, and instead bring compassion and love to the afflicted, whether this is our own self or someone else.
So we use historical fact as one of many tools enabling us to obtain the spiritual sense of a passage.
How should one study a book of the Bible? It is probably advisable to study each book separately, verse by verse, chapter by chapter. Understand first what the verse is saying literally. Then look for the ideas and obtain the spiritual sense of the passage. During the day apply what you have studied and ponder it deeply until it has become part of you and you really feel you have made it your own. The ideas you have obtained will deepen in their meaning over the years. And as you begin to penetrate more deeply into the world of ideas presented in the Bible, you will begin to see that they are like threads in a tapestry— varied, colorful, blending—forming one harmonious whole.
At times one may want to study specific words or concepts. Take the word "garment," for example, and see what the Bible has to say about it. Joseph was equipped with a "coat of many colours." Jesus had a seamless robe. The book of Isaiah speaks of the garment of praise. Elisha took up the mantle of Elijah. A woman who came for healing touched the hem of Jesus' garment. Blind Bartimaeus cast away his garment. The Preacher exhorts us to let our garments be always white. Ezekiel tells us that the righteous man will cover the naked with a garment.
A garment is what we are clothed with. And just as a garment protects us against the storm, the cold, and the rain, so the garment of righteousness and holiness, the garment of Rightness and God-centered wholeness of thought, will protect us from the onslaughts of materialism. We also know that garments need to be taken care of; otherwise the moths will start to destroy the fabric. So we have to avoid the moths of self-pity, anger, resentment, and not let them touch our garment of understanding.
There may be other words or ideas we want to study: light, birthright, holiness, sacrifice, purity, and many others. Such study enables us to penetrate deeply into the realm of ideas found in the Bible and apply them in our daily life.
The Psalmist characterized the serious Bible student when he said, "His delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night." Ps. 1:2; And what Mrs. Eddy says about healing in general also applies to this healing study: "There is nothing difficult nor toilsome in this task, when the way is pointed out; but self-denial, sincerity, Christianity, and persistence alone win the prize, as they usually do in every department of life." Science and Health, p. 462.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God;
for he hath clothed me
with the garments of salvation,
he hath covered me
with the robe of righteousness ....
For as the earth bringeth forth her bud,
and as the garden causeth
the things that are sown in it to spring forth;
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring forth before all the nations.
Isaiah 61:10,11
