Savor something delicious, an author interview
Andy Abernethy talks with us about his new book *Savoring Scripture: A Six-Step Guide to Studying the Bible*
Gentle reader,
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Today, I’m delighted to bring you an interview with Dr. Andy Abernethy. Andy spoke with me about his new book Savoring Scripture: A Six-Step Guide to Studying the Bible.
The interview follows:
BFJ: I love the image of the fertile Bible on the cover of the book. How do you think about this image? How do you think about the title’s metaphor of “savoring”?
AA: The wonderful design team at IVP came up with the fertile tree image, and it connects well with the image from Psalm 1 that I mention in Savoring Scripture. The image captures the vitality that comes to one’s life when rooted like a tree in the living waters of God’s word.
The pinnacle of Savoring Scripture (in my opinion) is Step Five—Savor God. This is the moment when you slowly go back through the passage and allow it to be a means for communing with God in prayer, meditation, and contemplation. Although not as catchy, I had proposed a longer title, Savoring God through Scripture, so behind the metaphor “savoring” is really the invitation to relish the opportunity to meet with God through studying the Bible.
BFJ: Why did you write Savoring Scripture?
AA: In my teaching and personal Bible reading, I’ve been on the journey towards a second naiveté—a quest to utilize those essential academic skills in Bible reading, while not separating Bible reading from the ultimate aim of meeting with God and responding to God’s voice. Long story short, God ultimately laid it on my heart to write this book.
BFJ: Give us the short version: what’s the book about?
AA: The book introduces six steps (or vantage points) for Bible reading: (1) a childlike posture, dependent upon the Holy Spirit; (2) finding the flow of a passage; (3) understanding the passage in its original historical and literary contexts; (4) a vision for reading in view of the whole Bible that centers on Jesus; (5) savoring God through practicing lectio divina; (6) responding faithfully to what God is saying through the passage.
BFJ: Share a detail you’re fond of from the book?
AA: I was pumped when Rev. Dr. Charlie Dates agreed to write the foreword.
BFJ: What do people mistakenly assume when they hear about your book?
AA: Some will roll their eyes whenever they see the term “steps” in a title or sub-title. They think of something shallow and gimmicky that promises an easy pathway towards revolution. These “steps” are really just vantage points that have been part of the Bible reading process throughout the centuries. What I say from the beginning is this: “God has given us a Bible that is for the hungry—for those desperate enough to depend on him for provision and who will exert great mental energy or endure seasons of dullness to eventually taste some honey” (xvi).
BFJ: How does the book relate to or come from your experience in ministry and in teaching?
AA: Over the years of teaching biblical interpretation classes, I’ve tried to come up with a game plan or template that my students can replicate for the rest of their lives. I’ve also been mindful that a vision for interpretation must intertwine spiritual formation with the fundamental skills of exegesis and biblical theology. Savoring Scripture is the fruit of these years of teaching.
Andrew Abernethy is professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College where he directs the M.A. in biblical exegesis. He holds the Ph.D. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
BFJ: Are there difficulties in the spiritual life that Savoring Scripture can help to address?
AA: A common refrain among evangelicalish churches is “you need to read the Bible,” yet the church often does very little to equip the flock for this. So, many go through life feeling guilty for not getting much out of reading the Bible, and many give up on reading the Bible in favor of spiritual self-help books. I hope Savoring Scripture can empower many to return to the Scriptures.
Another spiritual difficulty is the gap that grows between students and God when they begin studying the Bible in an academic setting. Savoring Scripture is written for such students and professors, for those desiring to revive their ability to read the Bible spiritually.
BFJ: If you could gift every one of your students with one insight from the book, what would it be?
AA: The goal of Bible reading isn’t simply to understand what it meant in its original contexts; instead, the goal is to meet with the Living God who speaks through the Scriptures.
BFJ: How has your spiritual life and prayer life changed as you’ve matured?
AA: The biggest change has been using a close, careful reading of Scripture as a launching pad into praying with God through the Bible. This started with Psalms, but then I realized this can happen with any passage of Scripture.
BFJ: What would your 10-year-old self say if he learned you’d grow up to write about this stuff?
AA: My parents weren’t born again until I was 11, and, as far as I can remember, I hadn’t ever read the Bible before then. So my 10 year old self would have said: “I thought you’d do something cool like play pro basketball. What happened?”
BFJ: Besides Savoring Scripture, what are your top reading recommendations for folks who want to think more deeply about these matters? Why do you recommend them?
AA: In my opening chapter on posture, I talk about the value of reading in community, particularly with those from different cultural backgrounds. I’d recommend Justo Gonzalez, Santa Biblica: The Bible Through Hispanic Eyes or Esau McCaulley, Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope. I am also continually in awe of Christopher J. H. Wright’s The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative—this book was well ahead of its time in its ability to integrate exegesis, biblical theology, and engagement with the greatest needs of our world today.
BFJ: What’s been the most unexpected response to your book thus far?
AA: I’ve been surprised by how many people have connected with how I address the tendency for our minds to drift while reading Scripture.
Many thanks to Andy for sharing his time and talents with us.
The following is an excerpt on “teachability,” from Savoring Scripture:
We come to Scripture to meet with God. Don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that we approach the Bible as if it were God—that would be idolatry, bibliolatry (worshiping a book rather than the God of the Good Book). Bibliolatry can manifest itself in the innocent guise of wanting to know the Bible. While there is nothing wrong with seeking to study and learn the Bible, bibliolatry surfaces when the quest for knowledge becomes an end in itself.
Jesus confronts some of the most dedicated students of Scripture in ancient Israel. These Jews could have schooled any of us in their knowledge of the Bible. But Jesus was not impressed. He said to them, “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very
Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (Jn 5:39-40).
Scary stuff. It is possible to be the most diligent students of Scripture and still fail Jesus’ exam. You fail if your study of Scripture does not lead you to Jesus. What can help us move beyond bibliolatry to encounter God as we read the Bible? The posture of our heart makes a difference. We need to be teachable. The Bible gives us several vantage points for thinking about teachability. Have you ever thought about our need for God himself to be our teacher? As discussed in the previous chapter, Mary of Bethany models for us a teachable spirit as she sits at the feet of Jesus, hungry for his every word. This posture before God as teacher includes recognizing our need for God to help us know the things of God. We can’t assume that in and of our own efforts we will automatically grasp the Bible.
The psalmist models this. He prays, “Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes” (Ps 119:33 ESV). No doubt the psalmist had studied God’s statutes, but he knew that for them to sink in God would need to teach him. The prophets themselves look forward to a time when God would teach his people (Is 30:20-21; Jer 31:34). Jesus even speaks to his disciples about how the Holy Spirit would teach his disciples (Jn 14:26). As we approach the Bible, then, we need to come with hearts yearning to be taught by God, the Master Teacher himself.
Excerpted from Savoring Scripture by Andrew Abernethy, all rights reserved.
Copyright © 2022 by Andrew Abernethy.
Published by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL.
www.ivpress.com
Grace and peace,
BFJ
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Thank you, Beth, for a chance to sample this book through this post! Thank you, Andy, for a book that represents the truly endless buffet of scripture, that will create round tables around which people can gather to enjoy the buffet and talk about it!