What is the Bible? Week 3 (Kenny Camacho)
This week, Kenny talks through a few strategies for reading the Bible deeply.
Deep reading involves working through a text in layers:
- The Literal Layer - this is where you find things like characters, setting, and plot. When we a passage or story in the Bible, we can begin by asking: what are the words, what do they mean, and what do their meanings communicate when we look at them together?
- The Figurative Layer - this is where you find things like symbols, metaphors, and arguments. When you look at a story or passage in this light, you can ask yourself: what big idea or meaning do these words give shape to?
- The Contextual Layer - this is where we note things like authorship, year of origination, and cultural influence. When we look at a passage with attention to these things, we are asking: what conversations gave rise to these words, at this time, in this way?
- The Implicative Layer - this is where we find things like morals, lessons, and challenges. Our goal is to ask, in light of a passage's literal, figurative, and contextual meanings, how should we be different?
Scriptures mentioned in this sermon: