Studying the Bible can be a deeply rewarding process, but it can also feel overwhelming due to the length and complexity of the text. Here’s a simple process that you might find helpful:
Pray: Start with a prayer for understanding and wisdom. This sets the tone and prepares your heart and mind for learning.
Select a Passage: If you’re new to the Bible, it’s easiest to start with the New Testament, particularly the Gospels, before moving onto the Old Testament. If you’re a seasoned Bible reader, a topical study might be interesting.
Read: Read the passage slowly and carefully. Consider reading aloud or listening to an audio version. Reading a passage more than once can also be beneficial.
Observe: As you read, note down what stands out. Who are the main characters? What events are taking place? What are the key themes or ideas?
Interpret: Try to understand the meaning of the passage. What is the author trying to communicate? How would the original audience have understood it?
Consult Additional Resources: Use study Bibles, commentaries, or Bible dictionaries for more insights and historical/cultural context. Bible study guides or a trusted spiritual leader can also provide guidance.
Reflect: Think about how the passage applies to your life today. What lessons can you take from it? How can it influence your thoughts, actions, and attitudes?
Journal: Write down your insights, reflections, and any questions that arose during your study. This not only helps you remember what you learned, but allows you to track your spiritual growth over time.
Pray: End your study time with a prayer. You can thank God for His word and ask for help in applying what you have learned.
Share: If possible, discuss what you’ve learned with others. This could be in a Bible study group or with a mentor or friend. They can offer valuable perspectives and insights.
Remember, studying the Bible is not about how quickly you can get through it, but rather about deepening your understanding and relationship with God. Take your time, be consistent, and don’t be discouraged if you don’t understand everything right away.
I’ve been exploring how ChatGPT can help me study the Bible. ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence language model developed by OpenAI. It uses machine learning techniques to generate human-like text based on the input it receives. It’s trained on a diverse range of internet text, but it doesn’t know specific documents or sources used in its training. As a language model, it generates responses to prompts and doesn’t have beliefs, opinions, or consciousness. It’s designed to assist with a wide variety of tasks, such as answering questions, writing essays, tutoring in various subjects, translating languages, simulating characters for video games, and much more. (It wrote this description of itself.)
I asked ChatGPT how to study the Bible and it produced this article. I made only two edits — adding the bit about choosing a topical study and moving “Journal” above the second “Pray” step. I continue to be impressed with what ChatGPT can do. The topic of this particular article is simple, but it wrote it without intermingling negative comments or opinions. It even acknowledged the importance of prayer.
The image at the top of this article was generated by DALL•E 2, another artificial intelligence program developed by OpenAI. While GPT-4, the technology behind ChatGPT, is focused on understanding and generating text, DALL-E is designed to generate images from textual descriptions.
I asked ChatGPT to use its own process to study John chapter 3. This led to a discussion of what it means to be “born again”. Here’s what it told me when I asked it if it was just about “living in a way that reflects spiritual values”: