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14 reviews for:
Living by the Book: The Art and Science of Reading the Bible
Howard G. Hendricks, William D. Hendricks
4.12 AVERAGE
14 reviews for:
Living by the Book: The Art and Science of Reading the Bible
Howard G. Hendricks, William D. Hendricks
4.12 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
Three months later and I've finally finished Living By the Book: The Art and Science of Reading the Bible. It was a long and strenuous road with me reading and re-reading passages, pulling out my Bible and commentaries, journaling, highlighting, and running through post-its like they're free. And I cannot wait to do it again. I plan to read Living By the Book... yearly because it's full of helpful information, it's easy to read, and I think it is a life changing body of work. I'm an old Christian, been in the church for 19 years. But, I have never studied the Bible and I've never done it consistently. When that fact hit me like a ton of bricks, I was extremely ashamed! Following Christ for nearly 20 years and all I have is, "God is good all the time and all the time God is good." I couldn't tell you a parable, give you a character study, or even explain to you why I think the Bible is relevant today. I decide to change that for myself in 2025, so I bought this book. My Bible study has already improved and I'm excited about being who God called me to be through the study of His word.
If you're a new Christian or inexperienced like me, I highly recommend this book. I don't know how you can truly study and learn the Word of God without it
If you're a new Christian or inexperienced like me, I highly recommend this book. I don't know how you can truly study and learn the Word of God without it
Great resource for studying and teaching the Bible! It is very practical and easy to understand. It gives lots of study tips and the author is encouraging as he instructs. I especially liked the chapters on application as that is an area I find challenging. Later in the book he stated he was the chaplain for the Dallas Cowboys back in the Tom Landry days and I thought that was very cool. Then he used a football analogy and I loved that. :) I highly recommend this book to go deeper in your Bible study.
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
If there is ever someone who complains that they hate inductive study, or can't get into it/can't get anything out of it --- there is another way to study outlined in this book that gets to the same result.
Hendricks says that there are 3 steps to understanding Bible passages: Observation, Interpretation, and Application.
He begins with observation=
His chapters on this initial step center around two lists that he developed. The first has to do with our attitude and outlook as we approach reading a biblical text; he says:
"Read thoughtfully
read repeatedly
read patiently
read selectively
read prayerfully
read imaginatively
read meditatively
read purposefully
read acquisitively
read telescopically" (p. 75)
Then he defines and describes each of these attitudes. It's a good section, especially for those who don't fancy themselves "readers" - he wants to show how to approach a reading so as to suck the most out of it possible.
He then adds one final list and describes it - a list of clues. This list shows which things we may need to pay attention to in a given text:
"Things that are emphasized
things that are repeated
things that are related
things that are alike
things that are unlike
things that are true to life" (p. 141)
The second step to studying a passage of Scripture is to interpret it. In this section, he begins by talking about hazards to avoid when it comes to interpreting, and then talks a little bit about genres of literature. Then he gives his LIST for interpreting! haha. (he loves lists)
"Content
Context
Comparison
Culture
Consultation" (p.221)
For content, he means asking the who? what? when? where? how? questions. Context means looking at the passage before and after yours. Comparison means looking at cross-references or other similar/relevant passages. Culture means understanding the history. And consultation means using outside references such as a commentary or the like.
Finally, Hendricks talks about how to find the application for a paticular passage. He suggests asking the following 9 questions=
"1. Is there an example for me to follow?
2. Is there a sin to avoid?
3. Is there a promise to claim?
4. Is there a prayer to repeat?
5. Is there a command to obey?
6. Is there a condition to meet?
7. Is there a verse to memorize?
8. Is there an error to mark?
9. Is there a challenge to face?" (p. 308)
Hendricks says that there are 3 steps to understanding Bible passages: Observation, Interpretation, and Application.
He begins with observation=
His chapters on this initial step center around two lists that he developed. The first has to do with our attitude and outlook as we approach reading a biblical text; he says:
"Read thoughtfully
read repeatedly
read patiently
read selectively
read prayerfully
read imaginatively
read meditatively
read purposefully
read acquisitively
read telescopically" (p. 75)
Then he defines and describes each of these attitudes. It's a good section, especially for those who don't fancy themselves "readers" - he wants to show how to approach a reading so as to suck the most out of it possible.
He then adds one final list and describes it - a list of clues. This list shows which things we may need to pay attention to in a given text:
"Things that are emphasized
things that are repeated
things that are related
things that are alike
things that are unlike
things that are true to life" (p. 141)
The second step to studying a passage of Scripture is to interpret it. In this section, he begins by talking about hazards to avoid when it comes to interpreting, and then talks a little bit about genres of literature. Then he gives his LIST for interpreting! haha. (he loves lists)
"Content
Context
Comparison
Culture
Consultation" (p.221)
For content, he means asking the who? what? when? where? how? questions. Context means looking at the passage before and after yours. Comparison means looking at cross-references or other similar/relevant passages. Culture means understanding the history. And consultation means using outside references such as a commentary or the like.
Finally, Hendricks talks about how to find the application for a paticular passage. He suggests asking the following 9 questions=
"1. Is there an example for me to follow?
2. Is there a sin to avoid?
3. Is there a promise to claim?
4. Is there a prayer to repeat?
5. Is there a command to obey?
6. Is there a condition to meet?
7. Is there a verse to memorize?
8. Is there an error to mark?
9. Is there a challenge to face?" (p. 308)
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Howard and William Hendricks’ Living by the Book instructs the reader how to study the Bible. It does this by walking through a three-step process: observation, interpretation, application.
The book explains each step in detail and is written for beginners, even discussing basic topics such as how to find Bible passages in a physical Bible. Various exercises are given throughout to help the reader practice what is instructed in the book, which largely focuses on practical instructions. Introductions to secondary tools such as concordances and Bible dictionaries are also included, making Hendricks’ guidance quite comprehensive at a high level, even including (but not explaining) block diagrams.
Those things said, more experienced readers will likely find the book long-winded at points, but may benefit from Living by the Book’s extremely practical approach. The two shortcomings of this book are its lack of depth on certain subjects, invariably a byproduct of its beginner-friendliness and broadness, and its evident dispensational perspective, which should be unsurprising for anyone even remotely familiar with Dallas Theological Seminary. The latter of these is most evident when the book recommends resources, including recommending the Ryrie Study Bible and Scofield Reference Bible on page 36 when discussing what to look for in a Bible and the Appendix, which recommends these resources again and finally mentions but doesn’t explain dispensationalism when the Scofield Reference Bible is mentioned. Evidently, I disagree with the authors on these recommendations. I had additional minor disagreements with the book, including taking a slightly different stance toward paraphrases (exemplified by the usage of The Cotton Patch Translation), but these were ultimately minor.
With some caveats, Living by the Book can provide profitable instruction toward new believers with respect to Bible study. Mature believers will be better served looking to other resources that provide more depth on complex topics. This is a good resource for a broad overview of Bible Study, but it’s broadness and dispensational leanings reduce the work’s appeal and usefulness.
The book explains each step in detail and is written for beginners, even discussing basic topics such as how to find Bible passages in a physical Bible. Various exercises are given throughout to help the reader practice what is instructed in the book, which largely focuses on practical instructions. Introductions to secondary tools such as concordances and Bible dictionaries are also included, making Hendricks’ guidance quite comprehensive at a high level, even including (but not explaining) block diagrams.
Those things said, more experienced readers will likely find the book long-winded at points, but may benefit from Living by the Book’s extremely practical approach. The two shortcomings of this book are its lack of depth on certain subjects, invariably a byproduct of its beginner-friendliness and broadness, and its evident dispensational perspective, which should be unsurprising for anyone even remotely familiar with Dallas Theological Seminary. The latter of these is most evident when the book recommends resources, including recommending the Ryrie Study Bible and Scofield Reference Bible on page 36 when discussing what to look for in a Bible and the Appendix, which recommends these resources again and finally mentions but doesn’t explain dispensationalism when the Scofield Reference Bible is mentioned. Evidently, I disagree with the authors on these recommendations. I had additional minor disagreements with the book, including taking a slightly different stance toward paraphrases (exemplified by the usage of The Cotton Patch Translation), but these were ultimately minor.
With some caveats, Living by the Book can provide profitable instruction toward new believers with respect to Bible study. Mature believers will be better served looking to other resources that provide more depth on complex topics. This is a good resource for a broad overview of Bible Study, but it’s broadness and dispensational leanings reduce the work’s appeal and usefulness.
challenging
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
informative
slow-paced
This is one of the most practical books I've read all year. It would be hard to read it for the first time and leave unaffected or unchanged. I've left it refreshed, properly convicted, and well equipped to more effectively study Scripture. I think this book will be well worth your time if you choose to pick it up.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.