![]() In Part 2, “Observing and Asking,” the authors discuss the first stage of the inductive method: observation. The other chapters probe other foundational elements, but as the book’s name implies, this inductive element is the linchpin of the method. This inductive method is facilitated by an “inductive spirit” of “radical openness to any conclusion required by the biblical evidence” (18). In short, inductive study starts with observed elements in the text and builds toward conclusions rather than assuming that certain things are true a priori and then forcing the text to conform to these presuppositions. Deductive reasoning, by contrast, relies on presuppositional and absolute premises (22). Chapter 1 discusses the nature of inductive study: the method Bauer and Traina advocate is inductive in that it bases its conclusions on evidential and conditional premises. Part 1, “Theoretical Foundations,” contains ten brief chapters that set forth the conceptual grounding for the method. Inductive Bible Study unfolds in five parts. This sequel to Traina’s classic recasts this tried and true method for the twenty-first century. As Peterson writes in his foreword to Inductive Bible Study, his firsthand exposure to Traina’s method in seminary transformed him and shaped his entire ministry (xi). Inductive Bible Study is an updated and expanded version of Robert Traina’s Methodical Bible Study (1952), the book that popularized the method that has become known as “inductive Bible study.” In its own day, Methodical Bible Study impacted many noted evangelicals, not least Eugene Peterson, translator of The Message. ![]() In the face of this need, Bauer and Traina’s recent Inductive Bible Study is a welcome contribution that will prove useful for professors, pastors, and church leaders alike. Perhaps more than ever, the Church is in need of a Bible study method that the average layperson can practice fruitfully on a daily basis. Biblical illiteracy is on the rise in North America, and even within the Church many view the Bible as a sealed book. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011.Īlthough the digital age and Bible translation have made Scripture more and more available, it seems that the Bible is also less and less understood today. Inductive Bible Study: A Comprehensive Guide to the Practice of Hermeneutics.
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