Bible Reading Research Articles

Bible reading and human flourishing among U.S. military families

Bible reading and human flourishing among U.S. military families Sung Joon Jang and Byron R. Johnson, inspire us with their research on Bible reading and human flourishing among U.S. military families. Military service can create unique challenges for active and retired members and their families, such as frequent deployments or relocations and family separation. It also brings into their home lives the mental and physical consequences of war after tours of duty and post-combat experiences. Prior research shows that these stressors tend to have lasting, detrimental effects on the well-being of military personnel, veterans, and their families, including mental illness, poor health, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, marital and family problems, suicide, and domestic violence.

The Relevance of the Gospel in Post-Apartheid South Africa: A Dialogue with Albert Nolan

Albert Nolan’s book, God in South Africa: The Challenge of the Gospel (first published in 1988), provides insights for both academic and general reading, making it an interesting book to read. Almost three decades have lapsed since the book was first published. Numerous Bible reading establishments (including theological institutions, seminaries and Bible colleges) have emerged, and new theological approaches to expounding biblical themes are coming to the fore. Post-apartheid South Africa has undergone various transformative phases, which the book did not address. A democratic dispensation was obtained in 1994, with Nelson Mandela becoming the first president to be elected by the majority of South African citizens. Post-apartheid South African societies have had high expectations at the dawn of this new dispensation. These expectations emerged from two fronts: (1) The praxis of justice and delivery of services by the ruling party and (2) the role of the Church and the function of the Gospel in developing and transforming societies. This study aimed to elucidate Albert Nolan’s book in detail and blend its contents with the lived realities obtained in the new dispensation in South Africa. The focus of the investigation was to set an agenda for the Church and the teaching of the Gospel to realign towards addressing socioeconomic particularities affecting the majority of South Africans daily. The study utilised Secondary Data Analysis (SDA) as a methodological approach.

The Effect of the Members’ Religious Activity and the Church’s Clergy on Church Growth by the Example of Estonian Protestant Churches

Abstract The article aims to examine religious activity in Christian churches. In order to achieve this goal, religious activity is defined through religious practices such as church attendance, prayer, and Bible reading. The data used in the article are taken from a survey of growing churches (hereafter referred to as KK2020, n=350), in which nine Estonian growing churches participated. The main comparative base is the sociological survey on religion “On Life, Faith and Religious Life” (EUU2020, n=1000), conducted in Estonia. As a result of the analysis, the article presents an overview of religious activity indicators for growing churches, ordinary churches, and the adult Estonian population and compares growing churches of different denominations. Based on the results, it can be hypothesized that religious activity of church members and minister has positive influence on church growth.

Increased Bible Reading, Religious Beliefs, and Prosociality During College

Increased Bible Reading, Religious Beliefs, and Prosociality During College

Women’s Empowerment as a Christian Strategy for Poverty Alleviation in Africa

This article argues that women’s empowerment and gender promotion are among the key strategies for poverty alleviation in Africa. This paper uses Rwanda as a case study to demonstrate the role women can play in poverty alleviation. The main argument made is that the church in Africa has embraced and condoned the African patriarchal systems and has taken part in women’s oppression which contribute to poverty in African societies. The failure to empower women limits their contribution to leadership and economic transformation in church and society. The methodology used in this paper is a hybrid between Critical correlation and Pastoral circle through consultative meetings, focus group discussions, and structured interviews. The research approach used is qualitative. The findings of the investigation show that the church has some theological principles and practices that mar the image and the dignity of women and hinder their complete emancipation and their full participation in poverty alleviation. The paper advocates for churches’ review of its theology and patriarchal church leadership and biblical reading which undermine women and to opt for intentional empowerment of women and gender promotion as strategies for poverty alleviation.

Keteguhan Iman Dalam Era Tantangan Dari Perspektif Teologis Kristen

Firmness in faith is a human way of facing difficulties or challenges. Firmness of faith in difficult times is a concept from the perspective of Christian theology which focuses on the perseverance of individuals or Christian communities to maintain faith in the teachings of Christ amidst changing times. In this context, remaining strong in the faith requires a deep knowledge of Biblical truth, a commitment to following Christ's teachings, and a willingness to face trials and challenges that may arise. Through prayer, Bible reading, fellowship with fellow believers, and active participation in church, every Christian can strengthen their faith. The importance of unshakable faith in the perspective of Christian theology lies in its role as a solid spiritual foundation amidst current changes and temptations. By maintaining a strong faith, Christians can strengthen their relationship with God, find peace and strength in their faith, and become influential witnesses in society. Witnessing the strength of faith also inspires and strengthens the faith of fellow Christians and builds a strong community in faith and love for Christ. Therefore, from the perspective of Christian theology, strengthening faith in difficult times is not just an individual's effort to maintain faith, but also being a witness to Christ in the midst of an ever-changing world.

The Current State of Bible Reading among First-Year Philosophy Students at the St. Alphonsus Theologate

Hãy đọc, lắng nghe, suy gẫm và cầu nguyện với Lời Chúa chúng ta sẽ được Lời Chúa uốn nắn, khuôn đúc, biến chúng ta thành công cụ ngoan ngoãn tới mức trở thành lời chứng sống động của Chúa trước mặt mọi người. Thật vậy Kinh Thánh là nơi ưu tuyển cho việc gặp gỡ giữa Thiên Chúa và con người. Abraham J. heschel viết :“Thánh Kinh không chỉ nói đến việc con người đi tìm Thiên Chúa, nhưng cũng mô tả việc Thiên Chúa theo đuổi con người” (Dio all ricerca dell’uomo, Roma 1983, Tr 156). Đó là lý do tại sao Thánh Kinh có thể đụng chạm tới sợi dây sâu thẳm nhất nơi hữu thể của ta để đi vào tận ngõ ngách bí ẩn nhất của đời ta. Trong những giây phút chúng ta thinh lặng chắc chắn Lời Chúa không những đem lại cho chúng ta sự bình an trong tâm hồn mà còn soi dẫn chúng ta đến nguồn ơn Cứu Độ của Ngài. Abstract By reading, listening to, meditating on, and praying with the Word of God, we will be molded and shaped by it, becoming obedient instruments to the point of becoming living witnesses of God before all people. Indeed, Scripture is the privileged place for the encounter between God and man. Abraham J. Heschel writes: "The Bible does not only speak of man's search for God, but also describes God's pursuit of man" (reference omitted). That is why Scripture can touch the deepest chords of our being and penetrate the most mysterious recesses of our lives. In those moments when we are silent, the Word of God surely brings us peace of soul and also leads us to the source of His salvation.

Classical Pentecostals’ literalist reading of the Bible: Challenges and solutions

The study’s setting is South African classical Pentecostals’ use of hermeneutics that became aligned with conservative Evangelicals’ fundamentalist practices since the 1940s. It addresses the lack within Pentecostal scholarship to relate some Pentecostal excesses and related abuses, such as the prosperity message, to the movements’ common literalist-biblicist hermeneutics Bible reading practices. It argues that an alternative hermeneutic to their hermeneutics true to the movement’s original ethos can protect them from such excesses. The study utilises a comparative literature analysis without any empirical research methods. The article developed a scholarly founded Pentecostal hermeneutical model by emphasising three propria: that the Holy Spirit is central in reading the Bible, the influence of an eschatological perspective to establish interpretation practices, and the faith community as normative for interpretation reflects the unique Pentecostal ethos. To be sound as Pentecostal hermeneutics, its charismatic experiences become exemplary for interpretation practices regulated by the faith community.Contribution: The research contributes to the current Pentecostal discussion about the diversity of hermeneutical practices within the movement and the challenges and dangers some of these practices hold for the reputation and prestige of the movement.

Before the Court and in the Press: Newspaper Coverage of Creationism and School Prayer Movements' Legal Framing

During the last century, social movement organizations have mobilized around what role religion should play in school. These struggles have focused on teaching creationism and evolution in the science classroom and the appropriateness of school prayer and Bible reading in public schools. Court cases like Scopes and Engel are infamous in American history, while others are much less well-known. This project explores media coverage of social movements that do not engage in typical protest activity and instead choose to operate in more institutional contexts. This paper will begin by presenting the coverage patterns of each movement across the twentieth century, illustrating how the media's focus is primarily influenced by movements either initiating legal action, being compelled to appear in court, or reacting to judicial proceedings. Next, it will present a typology of coverage that these legal-based movements received. A movement's legal framing is carried in and through the media, and sometimes, the framing is all that is reflected in media attention, making this type of reporting so attractive to movement organizations. The legal constraints over framing and legitimate actors account for some of the media exposure, which was likely to be equitable in tone and quantity to both the creationism and school prayer movements. To understand media coverage of social movements, scholars must begin to account for the cycles and patterns of coverage likely to occur when a movement ends up in court.

Cultural Interpretation as a Theological Task in Northeast India

Recently, there have been attempts to develop contextual (tribal) Bible reading. While giving priority to these efforts, there appears to be neglect for the cultural interpretation of tribal communities in Northeast India. In light of this reality, as an exegete, I would argue that there is a need to learn to interpret culture to relevantly interpret and translate the text in each context/society. As a case in point of cultural interpretation, an attempt will be made to read the presence and emergence of the Tangkhul confessing community as a text analogue and also as a point of reference for reading-interpreting culture.

Parallelizing Bible texts: Developing the database of the Unified Bible Reader online application

The Unified Bible Reader (UBR), developed by the Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary, aims to facilitate the parallel reading of various Bible versions, including original language editions and antique as well as modern translations. This paper outlines the creation of a parallelized database of Bible texts through a four-step process: digitization, data cleaning, integration, and parallelization. The paper discusses the inherent challenges of the digitization phase which involves the conversion of non-digital texts to digital format, primarily using optical character recognition (OCR) technology. Data cleaning focuses on correcting OCR errors and resolving format inconsistencies. Integration, that is, importing text into a unified database, addresses issues with rare cases of text division. Parallelization involves aligning textual units across different versions, accounting for variations in verse numbering and verse boundaries. The development of software tools enabled semi-automatic and manual alignment. The application may serve as a basis for more refined text splitting and the addition of annotations to support advanced textual analysis and translation comparisons. The UBR project marks a significant step towards comprehensive, accessible parallel Bible reading and analysis.

Exploring Digital Technology Adoption among Brazilian Evangelicals: A Survey and Research Agenda

The influence of faith on users’ adoption and use of digital technologies is a relevant aspect explored in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). In the Brazilian context, a religious segment that has experienced significant growth in recent years is the evangelical community. Understanding how evangelical members have adopted and utilized digital technologies, including their experiences during religious practices such as evangelical services, is of fundamental importance. In this work, we present an exploratory study conducted in Brazil, aiming to characterize the use of digital technologies among evangelicals. We conducted a survey through a questionnaire from 107 participants from all regions of Brazil. The results revealed that digital technologies are crucial in engaging religious services and facilitating Bible reading. However, they also highlighted challenges related to spiritual experiences arising from using these technologies. Furthermore, the research identified a series of questions and promising areas for future investigations in the field of HCI and its intersection with religion. This study contributes to the understanding of the complex interaction between technology and faith and enriches discussions about the use of digital technologies in the evangelical religious context. Additionally, by presenting a detailed research agenda, we identify topics deserving deeper investigation, such as technology-mediated spiritual experiences and the cultural implications of technological adoption in religious settings. The combination of these results and the proposed research agenda provides valuable insights for researchers, HCI professionals, and members of religious communities interested in comprehending and enhancing the intersection between technology and faith.

Biblijos skaitiniai iš Jono Bretkūno Postilės ir jo Naujojo Testamento Lozoriaus Zengštoko Evangelijose bei Epistolose (1612)

The article examines the second edition of Baltramiejus Vilentas’s Euangelias bei Epistolas (VEE, 1579), which Lozorius Zengštokas published under a similar title in 1612 (ZEE, 1612). Both editions consist of Bible readings arranged throughout the liturgical year. The aim of the study was to identify the sources of the readings added by Zengštokas and to assess the strategy of textual appropriation. The steps towards this goal were the following: (1) an overview of Zengštokas’s activities; (2) an assessment of the reasons for the publication of ZEE; (3) identification of the readings added to Zengštokas’s edition; (4) identification of their sources by means of comparative analysis, and (5) an assessment of the strategy of text appropriation on the basis of the intertextuality method. Zengštokas prepared a second edition of Vilentas’s book for several reasons: (1) the first edition had run out of print; (2) Jonas Bretkūnas’s Postilla (BP, 1591) contained too few biblical readings, especially epistolary ones, and therefore could not fully replace Vilentas’s book; (3) there was a shortage of readings for Sundays that were interspersed between the feast days during some years.

Rejoicing in God’s World and Delighting in Humankind: Proverbs 8.1–11, 22–23, 30–35: Address to the Opening Convocation of the 2023–24 Academic Year at Yale Divinity School

Yale Divinity School begins the academic year with an ‘Opening Convocation’, a service of thanksgiving and dedication which includes a short speech, drawing on a bible reading, normally given by a member of the faculty.

Assessing the Link Between Bible Reading and Flourishing Among Military Families: Preliminary Findings

This study examines whether participating in a Bible reading program for military families (called “Hero Squad”) is positively related to overall human flourishing among children, family units, and parents/caregivers. Previous research shows salutary associations between multiple dimensions of religiosity (including reading sacred texts) and different aspects of flourishing (e.g., physical health, psychological well-being, character and virtue, social connections and support), so it was hypothesized that program participation would promote flourishing over time. Two waves of survey data were collected on a sample of 175 U.S. military families in 2021 and 2022, and differences between pretest and posttest surveys were analyzed. As hypothesized, improvements in indicators of flourishing were observed over time. These findings contribute to published work on religious participation by showing that Bible reading may promote overall mental, physical, and social well-being. Implications and limitations of these preliminary findings are discussed.

Confronting Loneliness with Devotion

Abstract Today, the practice of religion is strongly influenced by digitalisation, in not only everyday life but also liminal situations such as dying. Apps, social networks, and virtual church services offer believers opportunities for participation when their mobility is impaired due to ageing and severe illness. This short-term ethnography explores Bible (e-)reading and (religious) encounters in a palliative care unit of a Swiss hospital, drawing on in-depth interviews, participant observation, and documentary photography. Using the case of a devout Protestant, who was chosen as a case study from a sample of 12 terminally ill patients, I will investigate 1) the existential issues involved in the dying process, 2) how Bible (e-)reading alleviates these issues, and 3) the networks and encounters with which the practice is connected. The results show that anticipation of death in conjunction with personality and social issues bestow a complex emotional tone on the Christian’s end-of-life journey. Bible reading, performed both through mobile mediation and face-to-face with companions, is an avenue through which to gain strength and hope in this difficult situation. Another important finding is that the devotional practice involves an exchange of gifts, which transposes the practice into a moral economy of compassion and care.

‘And You Shall Know That I am the Lord’: The Wanderer and the Book of Ezekiel

AbstractThe ruined-city motif in the Old English poem The Wanderer (lines 73–87) has long been read as a reflex of traditional Germanic diction, and as a symbol of material transience. In line with more recent biblical readings of the poem, this paper identifies a number of analogues and possible sources for both the excidio urbis image and other images of transience, in the biblical Book of Ezekiel. Among these correspondences between The Wanderer and the prophetic biblical narrative are references to scavenging animals, traditionally read as Germanic ‘beasts of battle’ when encountered in the Old English elegies. Reading this passage alongside Gregory the Great’s Homilies on Ezekiel further illuminates how the poem’s structure and changing use of tense corresponds with contemporary thought on the revelatory processes of prophecy. It is here proposed that the Old English poet has chosen to use images and devices which resonate with both biblical and traditional vernacular poetic diction.

The Messianic Secret and the Significance of Preaching in Gabriele Biondo, Otto Brunfels, and Celio Secondo Curione

Abstract The “messianic secret” in the New Testament refers to instances where Christ instructed his followers to keep silent about his identity. While contemporary studies on the messianic secret have predominantly employed the historico-critical method, the Early Modern Period witnessed diverse interpretations that focused on edification and moralization. These interpretations emphasized the concealed Messiah’s identity, the act of revelation, and the duty to transmit the divine message as inseparable aspects of the Christian faith. The primary objective of this study is to explore the development of messianic secret interpretations in the first half of the sixteenth century. The study aims to address key questions such as: How were Jesus’s injunctions to silence interpreted? How did these interpretations shape biblical readings, preaching practices, and the evangelical mission? Did they impact the definition of the Church? Through a comparative analysis, this study examines the interpretations of three relatively contemporary authors – Gabriele Biondo, Otto Brunfels, and Celio Secondo Curione. It argues for the interconnectedness between biblical exegesis, preaching, the audience, theological concepts like predestination, holy remnant, and salvation, as well as the organization of the Church. Ultimately, this research demonstrates that diverse interpretations of Jesus’s actions and the messianic secret were rooted in changes in exegetical methods, the definition of the Church, and the understanding of the salvific message conveyed by Christ.

서 평] 영어 성경 번역을 위한 문법적 읽기에 대한 제고

In order to translate the English Bible, Firstly, needs to know how to read the English Bible. It is necessary to look at how the book was structured for grammatical understanding as the basis for reading, the first process of translation. In this respect, the English Bible Reading Project can be seen as a good textbook to enhance the understanding of the English Bible of general learners and believers. However, there was a regret that the explanation was not possible without utilizing the unique style of the Bible because grammar was important.

MENANAMKAN HIDUP DENGAN IMAN SEJAK DINI MELALUI BACA ALKITAB DI YAYASAN PANTI ASUHAN DAMAI SEJAHTERA BATAM

This paper aims to provide an understanding and application of the role of Bible reading activities that should be a habit that is applied by every believer. Because the Bible is God himself, the Word of God written and inspired by his prophets as one of God's means of speaking to His people. The Bible has a very good impact on human life, especially believers, namely correcting wrong behavior, which deviates from the deeds that God wants His people to do and also specifically in the growth of the faith of believers themselves. If God's people do not listen to God's voice, especially in reading the Bible, how will there be a growth of faith in believers. Therefore this is the thing that ST3B students are concerned about in raising this theme in Community Service activities. And this habit should be done from an early age. This activity was carried out at the Damai Sejahtera Orphanage Foundation, which is located at the Tembesi Center, Batu Aji, Batam. The method used by students is to re-teach or re-educate about the importance of reading the Bible every day for every child, especially children in the Damai Sejahtera Orphanage Foundation