Knowing & Doing

By C.S. Lewis InstituteReligion & Spirituality Christianity Education Self-Improvement

Knowing & Doing episodes

March 27, 2021 How to Read the Bible Part 2: The Science and Art of Interpretation
So you want to read the Bible, but you’re not sure how to do it well. What does it really mean? How is the Bible understood?” As Bill Kynes addresses these questions in this article, he emphasizes that “[t]o read the Bible rightly, one must submit to the Master, who alone holds the key to meaning. Jesus Christ and His gospel must guide our understanding of the Bible, even as our reading of the Bible will refine our understanding of Jesus and His work.
To read the full article go to https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/How_to_Read_the_Bible_Part2
Recommended Reading;
Robert L. Plummer, 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible (Kregel Academic & Professional, 2010)
In 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible, New Testament Professor Dr. Robert L. Plummer tackles the major questions that persons ask about reading and understanding the Bible.
https://www.christianbook.com/questions-about-interpreting-bible-2nd-edition/robert-plummer/9780825446665/pd/44666X?event=ESRCG
Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Is There a Meaning in This Text?: The Bible, the Reader, and the Morality of Literary Knowledge
The introduction of this burgeoning classic into paperback and the Landmarks in Christian Scholarship collection is much welcomed. Kevin Vanhoozer's Is There Meaning in this Text is the seminal contribution of Evangelical scholarship to the field of Hermeneutics. Vanhoozer lucidly and directly critiques trends in postmodern literary criticism (deconstruction) and thinkers (Ricoeur, Fish), while providing Evangelicals with a critical methodology upon which "texts"--and most especially biblical texts--can be confidently interpreted.
https://www.christianbook.com/meaning-bible-reader-morality-literary-knowledge/kevin-vanhoozer/9780310324690/pd/324690?event=ESRCG
29 min
March 27, 2021 How to Read the Bible, Part 2: The Science and Art of Interpretation
So you want to read the Bible, but you’re not sure how to do it well. What does it really mean? How is the Bible understood?” As Bill Kynes addresses these questions in this article, he emphasizes that “[t]o read the Bible rightly, one must submit to the Master, who alone holds the key to meaning. Jesus Christ and His gospel must guide our understanding of the Bible, even as our reading of the Bible will refine our understanding of Jesus and His work.
To read the full article go to https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/How_to_Read_the_Bible_Part2
Recommended Reading;
Robert L. Plummer, 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible (Kregel Academic & Professional, 2010)
In 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible, New Testament Professor Dr. Robert L. Plummer tackles the major questions that persons ask about reading and understanding the Bible.
https://www.christianbook.com/questions-about-interpreting-bible-2nd-edition/robert-plummer/9780825446665/pd/44666X?event=ESRCG
Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Is There a Meaning in This Text?: The Bible, the Reader, and the Morality of Literary Knowledge
The introduction of this burgeoning classic into paperback and the Landmarks in Christian Scholarship collection is much welcomed. Kevin Vanhoozer's Is There Meaning in this Text is the seminal contribution of Evangelical scholarship to the field of Hermeneutics. Vanhoozer lucidly and directly critiques trends in postmodern literary criticism (deconstruction) and thinkers (Ricoeur, Fish), while providing Evangelicals with a critical methodology upon which "texts"--and most especially biblical texts--can be confidently interpreted.
https://www.christianbook.com/meaning-bible-reader-morality-literary-knowledge/kevin-vanhoozer/9780310324690/pd/324690?event=ESRCG
29 min
March 19, 2021 How to Read the Bible Part 1
Bill Kynes begins a four part series that considers how to read, study, and meditate on the Bible. He begins with a reminder that the Bible’s overall storyline must be the context in which we examine any specific passage.

Show Notes:
To read the full article click here: https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/How_to_Read_the_Bible_Part1

Recommended Reading:
Trent Hunter and Stephen Wellum, Christ from Beginning to End: How the Full Story of Scripture Reveals the Glory of Christ (Zondervan, 2018).
https://www.amazon.com/Christ-Beginning-End-Scripture-Reveals/dp/0310536545
From beginning to end, the Bible reveals the glory of Jesus. But for many Bible readers, it doesn’t seem that simple. We’re often unsure how the Bible’s many stories, characters, events relate together and connect to Jesus. Some are tempted to force the pieces of the Bible together, making superficial jumps to him. Others give up trying to understand the Bible altogether. Christ from Beginning to End is written to help Christians understand better how every part of Scripture fits together to reveal the glory of Christ Jesus. In Part 1, Wellum and Hunter reintroduce us to the Bible — what it is, how it comes to us, and what it’s centrally about. Then, in Part 2, they walk from one side of the Bible’s story to the other, carefully tracing the Bible’s storyline from Genesis to Revelation. As readers see how our triune God’s plan unfolds through his covenants, they will be equipped for a lifetime of seeing Christ’s glory in Scripture. From this book, you’ll learn how to:
• read the Bible according to the three biblical contexts: the immediate context, the context of the unfolding story, and the context of the whole story centered in Christ.
• recognize how different parts of the Bible connect together as part of a unified story.
• embrace the story of the Bible as our own, to live this story out, and to share this story with our neighbors and the nations.

Robert W. Wall and David R. Nienhuis, ed., A Compact Guide to the Whole Bible: Learning to Read Scripture’s Story (Baker Academic, 2015)
https://www.amazon.com/Compact-Guide-Whole-Bible-Scriptures/dp/0801049830
This compact, one-semester introduction to the Bible prepares students to begin reading the biblical text as Christian Scripture, focusing on the meaning of Scripture for the church. The editors and contributors — experienced teachers with expertise in different parts of the Bible — orient students to the whole of Scripture so that they may read the biblical text for themselves. The book first explains what Christians believe about Scripture and gives a bird’s-eye survey of the whole biblical story. Chapters then introduce the story, arrangement, style, and key ideas of each division of the Old and New Testament, helping readers see how the books of the Bible make a coherent whole.

NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible, D.A. Carson, general editor (Zondervan 2018)
https://www.amazon.com/Biblical-Theology-Study-Hardcover-Comfort/dp/0310450403
Biblical Theology allows you to ponder the individual stories and themes of Scripture while observing how they all fit together in God’s grand biblical narrative.
With three articles introducing Biblical theology and 25 articles unpacking key themes of Scripture, the NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible equips you to follow the progressive unfolding of God’s story. Helpful introductions to books and sections of the Bible combined with 20,000 verse-by-verse study notes will guide you to a clearer understanding of every portion of Scripture.
30 min
February 26, 2021 A Multifaceted Gospel for Multifaceted People
Randy Newman shares an excerpt from his recent book Unlikely Converts: Improbable Stories of Faith and What They Teach Us About Evangelism that emphasizes the many ways Scripture talks about the Gospel. It’s not just about forgiveness (although that certainly is central and non-negotiable).

Show Notes:

To read the article: https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/A_Multifaceted_Gospel_for_Multifaceted_People

Recommended Reading
Mere Apologetics: How to Help Seekers & Skeptics Find Faith
By: Alister E. McGrath
In the spirit of C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity, Alister McGrath's Mere Apologetics seeks to equip readers to engage gracefully and intelligently with the challenges facing the faith today while drawing appropriately on the wisdom of the past. Rather than supplying the fine detail of every apologetic issue in order to win arguments, Mere Apologetics teaches a method that appeals not only to the mind but also to the heart and the imagination. This highly accessible, easy-to-read book is perfect for pastors, teachers, students, and lay people who want to speak clearly and lovingly to the issues that confront people of faith today.
https://www.christianbook.com/apologetics-help-seekers-skeptics-find-faith/alister-mcgrath/9780801014161/pd/014161?event=ESRCG
26 min
February 12, 2021 Lewis on Emotion
In this article, Corey Latta addresses how C.S. Lewis wrote about emotion, and shares about what Lewis’s books have meant to him in his life.
22 min
January 29, 2021 Augustine on Heaven and Rewards by Kevin Offner
Two themes that surface in Augustine’s sermons that may be helpful for our discipleship: understanding (1) salvation as primarily a process, a pilgrimage that is completed only in the future at our final destination, heaven, and (2) future rewards as a motivating factor for present godliness.
Show notes: To read the article go to https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/Augustine_on_Heaven_and_Rewards_page1

Recommended Reading:

Gerald Bray, Augustine on the Christian Life: Transformed by the Power of God (Crossway, 2015)
Augustine is widely considered to be the most influential theologian in church history after the apostle Paul. Dramatically converted from a life of licentiousness to one of wholehearted devotion to Christ, the humble North African pastor quickly established himself as a leading figure within the ancient church. In Augustine on the Christian Life, historian Gerald Bray explores the rich spirituality of this extraordinary man, examining his historical context, approach to the Christian life, and work as a preacher and teacher of God’s Word. Drawing on Augustine’s many writings—including his classic spiritual autobiography, the Confessions—Bray demonstrates Augustine’s enduring relevance for Christians today. This book is part of Crossway’s Theologians on the Christian Life series.

https://www.christianbook.com/augustine-christian-life-transformed-power-god/gerald-bray/9781433544941/pd/544941?event=ESRCG
42 min
January 01, 2021 Knowing God Personally
The metaphor of birth provides a helpful way of understanding fuller implications of what it means to know God and to grow in that relationship. Just as a human being is physically born into the world and moves through a developmental cycle from infant to child to adolescent to adult, so a child of God is born spiritually and is called to move through a similar developmental cycle.
To read the full article https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/Knowing_God_Personally_page1
Recommended Reading:
Knowing God by J.I Packer https://www.christianbook.com/knowing-god-j-i-packer/9780830816507/pd/1650X?event=ESRCQ
One of the top 50 books that have shaped evangelicals (Christianity Today, 2006) Platinum Book Award, Evangelical Christian Publishing Association For over 40 years, J. I. Packer’s classic has been an important tool to help Christians around the world discover the wonder, the glory and the joy of knowing God.
28 min
December 16, 2020 C.S. Lewis on Heaven and Hell by Stephen Eyre
Lewis believed that a vigorous supernaturalism was essential to understanding Christianity. Central to Lewis’s supernaturalism was an unapologetic belief in heaven and hell. In this article, Eyre discusses heaven and hell in the writings of C.S Lewis.

Show notes:
For a printed copy of this article go to https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/CS_Lewis_on_Heaven_and_Hell_FullArticle
Recommended Reading:
Wayne Martindale, Beyond the Shadowlands: C.S. Lewis on Heaven and Hell (Crossway, 2005)
https://www.christianbook.com/beyond-shadowlands-lewis-heaven-hell-ebook/wayne-martindale/9781433517099/pd/7278EB?event=ESRCG#CBD-PD-Publisher-Description
29 min

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Join us every two weeks for an audio article from Knowing & Doing, our quarterly teaching magazine, covering a wide variety of articles from nationally recognized leaders in discipleship,…