I find myself in a strange position. I have advocated that our churches spend more time in public reading of Scripture. Now I’ve been involved in several classes practicing what they call lectio divina, although from what I’ve read, lectio divina is a personal activity featuring much mediation and prayer. Anyway, these classes read long passages of scripture, then ask people to comment on words or phrases that jump out at them. One benefit of this is that the newest convert and the longtime student of the Bible are on equal ground; everyone can comment, as it’s all subjective. The problem I see is that we tend to treat the texts very superficially. No thought given to context, no thought given to genre, no thoughts given to the purpose or themes of the book, etc.

What do you think? Is this a good way to let the Bible speak for itself? Or is this akin to the old “What does this verse mean? — It means what it says”? Let me comment that I’m currently in a class with a few longtime Christians and a good number of new Christians. Is there a better way to share in Bible study in such a setting?