Text Analysis They stood at the laboratory table, Harvard freshman Nathaniel Shaler and his professor, who was about to give him his first assignment. It was 1858. The professor was Louis Agassiz, renowned naturalist and opponent of Darwinian views. He opened a specimen jar. A foul odor escaped to worsen the already unpleasant smell of the lab. He removed an odd-looking fish and placed it in the pan. You are to examine this fish and record everything you see, Professor Agassiz said, his Swiss accent adding to the aura of academia. Then he warned that the student was, on no account, to talk to anyone about it or read anything about fishes. When I return, I will see what you have observed. As the professor left, the student looked around the otherwise empty lab, placed his paper and pen on the table, and took a tentative look at the smelly fish. He recorded a few observations, then a dozen, finally twenty. Though always within call, Professor Agassiz concerned himself with Nathaniel no further that day, nor the next, nor for a week. Finally, on the seventh day, he returned for a report, sitting down on the end of the table, puffing his cigar. Well? he asked. After an hours report on the fish from the eager student, he turned to leave again, saying, Thats not right. Mr. Shaler threw himself into the task anew, discarding his old notes. After another week of ten-hour days, he was able to give a report that satisfied his professor. Next Agassiz placed a half peck of bones before him and said, See what you can do with these. What was the point of it all? Observation. Louis Agassiz later said, when asked about his distinguished career as a naturalist, that his greatest contribution was to teach students to observe, to look and really see what was there. Inductive and Deductive Thinking The emphasis on a careful analysis of the available information is critical to the scientific method. Whatever the area of study, it is vital to let the data speak for itself. This approach is inductive, examining the particulars in order to come to conclusions about what you see there and what it means. Deductive thinking, on the other hand, begins with assertions of truth and moves to the particulars that might express such truths. In this first section of our study, we will emphasize the importance of a careful analysis of the text of Scripture for expository sermon preparation. This is the best way to study the biblical text if the preacher is to let the text speak through the sermon. We will discover the structure of the text, note important details in it, and raise questions about what we want to learn further. De´ fin-i´ tion: Deduction and Induction Deduction: Act or process of reasoning from the general to the particular, or from the universal to the individual, or, specifically, from given premises to their necessary conclusions. premise: All gray squirrels climb trees. premise: This animal is a gray squirrel. conclusion: This animal climbs trees. Induction: Act or process of reasoning from a part to a whole, from particulars to generals, or from the individual to the universal. observed: Seventy-five gray squirrels are climbing trees. conclusion: All gray squirrels climb trees. One of the mental tendencies of preachers is a fondness for deductive thinking. We tend to think more in terms of general truths than particular situations. We look at the particulars in our world in terms of what we already think we know. As a result we may approach our biblical study with a head full of preaching ideas looking for a place to touch down. Contrast that with a research scientist who must work inductively. The scientific method requires him to examine every detail before coming to a conclusion about what it means. As a result of this deductive mind-set, preachers may not be as observant as they need to be of the particular factors that affect their preaching. One set of factors affecting our preaching is the complex world of the biblical text. It is too easy to glance casually at the surface appearance of the passage and make a quick evaluation based on our own ideas. Another set of factors important for the preacher has to do with the life particulars of the people we address. Here is human nature on parade. But rather than carefully examining what we see, we may tend to respond deductively and make judgments too quickly, presenting our pat answers before hearing the questions being raised. A debate has been joined in recent decades over inductive versus deductive approaches to sermon structure. The traditional sermon outline tends to be deductive, beginning with general truths and moving from there to particular illustrations and applications. This approach has long been used by preachers who organize their sermons in terms of points and try to persuade the audience as to the validity of those ideas. Those favoring expository preaching try to let the text give them these truths. Others have favored a topical approach in which the preacher outlines his thoughts and seeks out Bible verses to support them. Those calling for inductive preaching say that modern audiences will respond better to preaching that begins with the particular experiences of the hearer and moves from there to the universal truths of the faith. They advocate allowing the audience to experience the search for truth. The preacher explores various experiences and situations and finally offers an answer at the end of the sermon for the questions that were raised. Inductive or deductive movement in a sermon is quite a different matter from an inductive or deductive approach to the text. In this study we will demonstrate that sermons need to move deductively at times and at other times inductively. The issue before us at this point, however, is how we approach the text. The shape of the sermon is not to be determined until we understand the meaning and structure of the text. We will deal with the text inductively and design the sermon to follow text structure. In the three chapters of this section, we will outline three key tasks of the preacher for an inductive study of the biblical text. The three skills in this section are for analyzing the biblical text. We begin with the structural diagram. Then we record our immediate observations. Finally, we write interpretive questions about the text that lead to effective research. Inductive Bible Study What happens when we apply inductive thinking to our study of the text for preaching? Inductive thinking involves both movement and elements. Inductive movement, as we have already seen, is from the particular to the general. Inductive elements are those particulars, as opposed to general and abstract statements of principle. An inductive approach to the study of the text will focus attention on both the movement and the elements. Inductive movement in the analysis of the text means we intend the particulars of the text to lead us to general understandings of its message. We do not bring our ideas to the text to seek support. Rather the movement of thought is from the details of the text to the truths indicated by those details. This movement from the particulars to the generals is inductive. Approaching the text inductively calls for openness to the data in the text. It requires us to suspend judgment about the texts message and let it speak. Of course no preacher comes to a text without any preunderstandings. We already have theological knowledge. We have knowledge of Scripture. We come with our theological traditions informing us as to the basics of Christian doctrine. Since we cannot just unknow all this, we must intentionally set it aside and approach the text with as much openness and objectivity as we can muster. De´ fin-i´ tion: Deductive and Inductive Bible Study Deductive Bible Study: Bringing your own or others ideas to the text in order to find support and verification for them in the text. subject: brought by the preacher aspects: determined by the preacher purpose: confirm the preachers ideas Inductive Bible Study: Carefully examining the text for whatever information it contains on the subject it addresses and seeking to discern the universal principles thus revealed. subject: revealed by the text itself aspects: discovered in the writers treatment of his subject purpose: receive the writers teaching Inductive movement in the ideas of the text analysis requires not only this intention to let the text speak but the methods necessary to receive its message. Since our natural tendency is to assess what the text says by what we already think we know, we need inductive methods to keep us focused on the text in all its particulars. Even if you choose a text because it carries a theme you want to address, inductive methods will still keep you honest in allowing the text to deliver its message so that the sermon can express that same message. An inductive method involves careful and detailed analysis rather than a search of the text for support for your ideas. It involves discovering the texts structure rather than imposing an outline on it. It involves allowing the context to inform your understanding rather than taking the text in isolation. It involves discerning the writers intended meaning rather than using his words for your own intentions. It involves the research necessary to augment your knowledge rather than ignoring the unknowns in the text. Inductive elements in the text are the details that call for your careful attention. Like a scientific investigation, Bible study for preaching focuses on the particulars. It is the small pieces that have the biggest contribution to make. The words of the text are your clues to its message. So you will pay close attention to the word choices of the writer. You will look at the form and function of the words. You will define the words by their use in Scripture as a whole and in their particular context. Expository preaching particularly requires an inductive approach to Bible study for sermon preparation. We will be tempted repeatedly with the sermonizers trap, the tendency to look for a sermon instead of examining the details for the meaning of the text. This results in a surface understanding of the riches of the text. The nature of the Bible itself invites inductive study. It is a book of particulars with the universal truths of the revelation of God presented in specific historical settings. The prophets and preachers and writers of Scripture communicate in particulars. Advantages of Inductive Bible Study Not only is the inductive approach to text study valuable because of the nature of the biblical materials; there are also a number of advantages to the preacher and the congregation. Lets consider seven of the advantages of inductive Bible study. 1. With inductive Bible study you can get to work whether you are particularly inspired or not. Lets face it. Most of us preachers are looking for something to light our fire. We want an insight, a spark of inspiration, an angle on the truth that will get us moving with enthusiasm. We may spend a lot of time looking for something to stimulate us rather than actually studying. The inductive method described here is somewhat mechanical. You can work at your Bible study, inspired or not. I promise you, however, that somewhere along the way the ideas you discover will ignite your enthusiasm. 2. In an inductive approach to Bible study, the preacher is a first-hand user of the primary documents, the Scriptures. A basic principle for effective research is the use of primary documents. Inductive Bible study begins with what the text actually says and involves a careful and systematic examination of it. What someone else thinks it says is given consideration in a later stage, after the preacher has observed what is in the text and systematically raised questions that come to mind about it. 3. As a result of beginning with the text itself, the preacher is less dependent on the interpretations of others. Preachers are often uncertain about their qualifications to interpret the Bible. They are suspicious that the mysteries of the text are known only by that exclusive circle of scholars able to discern its secrets. They do not realize that an inductive method of Bible study will allow them to open its meaning for themselves. The Bible was given to reveal God, not to hide him. As we learn to examine the text carefully ourselves, we will be amazed to find that our favorite commentators often note the same insights we have already discovered. 4. Inductive Bible study also allows the preacher to be more receptive to the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised, When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth (John 16:13 HCSB). Not only did the Holy Spirit inspire the writing of Scripture; he also illumines the reader to understand its meaning. If our sermon preparation methods have us using Scripture merely to support our own ideas, we will frustrate this ministry of illumination. If we examine the text inductively, however, we suspend our own conclusions to let it speak, opening the way for the Spirit to disclose its meaning. 5. The inductive approach to Bible study means we have more enthusiasm for truths we have discovered ourselves. Oletta Wald named her book on inductive Bible study The Joy of Discovery. It is a most appropriate title. Inductive Bible study is a process of discovery. The preacher comes to the Bible with a commitment to let the text speak. A careful examination of every aspect of the passage leads to the discovery of insights never noticed before. We are eager to share those new insights in the sermon. Our enthusiasm is far beyond what we experience retelling some experts interpretation, and the audience can tell the difference. 6. Using an inductive study method makes the preacher more creative in discerning the texts meaning. Your joy in personally discovering insights from the text will get your creative instincts moving. Your mind will race to analogies, metaphors, descriptions, other passages, and contemporary meanings for textual insights. You will find yourself writing as fast as you can to record the explanations, the images, the evidence, and the applications that come to mind. By the time you complete your inductive study, you will have more than enough material for the sermon, and it is the fruit of your own study. 7. Inductive Bible study assures that the preacher is better prepared for every kind of preaching. In this book are directions for preparing a theological outline of the text as the sermon structure. This traditional structure is probably the most familiar way to organize an expository sermon. There are other varieties of sermons that can also be effective. The oldest form is the verse-by-verse interpretation and application, called a homily. You may want to try an inductive or life-situation structure. You may take a narrative approach. Whatever the organization of the sermon, however, an inductive study of your text will better prepare you with content. Selecting a Sermon Text You will choose a particular sermon text for any number of reasons. Whatever your plan, the beginning point is to select a legitimate text unit. You must not begin your selection of verses for a text just anywhere. The original writer wrote his material in units of thought that had beginnings and endings. Your preaching text should follow those divisions of the writers thought. There are several ways of identifying a text unit. One of the most obvious is by the theme or topic that the writer is treating. The theme can be detected by the repetition of certain related ideas or words. As you observe the structural diagram of a text (which will be explained in the next chapter), you will be able to see the main ideas and supporting ideas. Seeing these relationships of ideas also helps in identifying the theme and structural boundaries of the text. There are other shifts that can indicate a move to a new unit. The author may change the grammatical subject, genre, time and location, actor, or verb tense, mood, person, and number. Some authors use words or ideas as bookends at the beginning and end of a unit. Others use certain words or phrases throughout a book to mark the beginnings of units such as addresses (brothers), commands, or connectives. Sometimes a writer will deal with a subject in several units. You can then plan to preach from one unit at a time or from a longer passage. This will depend on the density of the material. Is it mostly propositional assertions? Or does the writer include illustrative and application material with his theological statements? Is it epistle or narrative? Decide by the theological content how many like units to include in your preaching text. Narrative texts are sometimes easy to identify by the recognizable qualities of an episode. There are a beginning, unfolding action and an ending. Even though one episode might merge into another, you can still identify the boundaries of each complete unit. Narratives often begin with time-related connectives like after this, then, the next day, immediately, and so on. A change in location can also indicate a new episode. If you are preaching an expository series, you will want to identify the text units for the whole book and decide in advance how you will calendar your series. This way you will know how many sermons will be involved and how long the series will take. You will also decide how short or long your texts will be on the basis of their theological content. Preaching an expository series through a book of the Bible has a distinct advantage for your study. You are always aware of the context of the passage. The writer is the same. The circumstances of writing may be the same. The characters and themes may be constant. This kind of preaching is basically text driven. You are allowing the Bible to set the agenda and supply the content. This is expository preaching in its truest sense. Planning Inductive Bible Study If you are to take an inductive approach to your text study, you will have to plan it out in step-by-step fashion. The purpose is to let the text speak. Your aim is to understand the intended message of the text writer. That means you are not primarily looking for a sermon. You are analyzing the text to understand it. An effective expository sermon will come only out of that understanding. The aim of your study in this phase is to examine every aspect of the text in order to come to an understanding of the writers meaning. You are like Sherlock Holmes attempting to unravel a mystery. With his double-billed cap, his pipe, and his large magnifying glass, he explores every possible avenue of information. So it is with the expositor. Every bit of information can be helpful. You do not know at first which particular details will turn out to be critical for an understanding of your text. Here we will describe three tasks that will allow you to complete a fruitful inductive analysis of the text: preparing a structural diagram of the text, recording your observations as to what the details in the text reveal, and raising questions that need answers for effective research. These three tasks are vital to an analysis of the biblical text and call for skill on the part of the preacher. They are tied together in a sequence of analysis in which each one is dependent on the previous one. At the close of each chapter will be an exercise to develop that particular skill. Our first task in analyzing the text will be to prepare a structural diagram using the exact wording of the biblical text. This diagram gets on paper what you are not likely to see by reading the text in paragraph and verse format. It provides a graphic display of the text, word for word, to demonstrate the relationships of various ideas in the text and identify how various words and phrases function in the text. Second, we will record our observations from the details in the text. This immediate-observations exercise is done with the structural diagram before you. Much of what you note in the text will be visible in the diagram. You will look for indications in the particulars of the text that point to the writers intended message. Writing these observations down will lay the groundwork for sermon insights you would not otherwise notice. The third task in the text analysis is to discern the questions for research that will fill in the gaps in your knowledge concerning the text. These questions will determine the quality of research you do into the historical, literary, and theological study of the text. With this section is included a form to use for an overview of the text. The QuickLook Text Analysis sheet will allow you to note on one page a summary of information about the text. This form can be completed with the data you discover in your text analysis and theological interpretation of the text. Now that we have considered the value of an inductive approach to the text, we are ready to move on to the structural diagram exercise, the first of our tasks in the inductive study of the biblical text. Study Questions 1. What is the difference between inductive and deductive thinking? 2. Why is objectivity so important in analyzing the biblical text? 3. Distinguish between inductive movement and inductive elements. 4. What are the seven advantages of inductive Bible study? 5. What are three tasks for an inductive Bible study?
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 14:30:16 +0000
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