Unpacking difficult Bible passages with Scott Womble

In this episode Skyler interviews Dr. Scott Womble on why the Bible is so difficult and hard to understand. Scott is the Vice President of Academics & Professor of Bible & Ministry at Saint Louis Christian College where he has been teaching Bible interpretation for over 20 years. In this episode Scott shares with us why the Bible is not nearly as difficult as we make it and a few tricks of the trade to interpreting the Bible well.

Links
Scott Womble
Double Slit experience
Entanglement
How to Read the Bible for all it's Worth (Beginners)
Grasping God's Word (Advanced)

Notes:
Why the Bible important?

1. It is the basis for life and faith in Christ. 
2. It shows us the Story of Salvation. 
3. It explains what God's will is for your life.

Is the Bible hard to understand?

1. It is easier to understand than we think.
2. It is hard when ignore its literary context.
3. Read the Bible like you would a newspaper. Different sections require different rules of interpretations (headlines, comics, advertisements, obituaries, etc.). The Bible is a large book with different literary genres (narrative, law, prophetic, poetic, etc.). 

The Central Message of the Bible

1. God created everything.
2. God revealed himself (the Bible).
3. There's a Sin problem (God is holy and humans are sinful).
4. God's love overcame the Sin problem (Jesus came to die for sin and was resurrected).
5. Follow Jesus and live in eternity with God.

Dos and Don'ts for Reading the Bible

1. Learn the context of the passage (Context is king): Layers of context:
   1. Immediate: the paragraph
   2. Surrounding: several chapters
   3. The book: what is the book about
   4.  the Bible: what is the message of the bible
2. Christian: Read bigger portions of Scripture (e.g., read the New Testament in a Month)
3. Non-Christian: Start by reading the Gospel of John.