Dr. Jim Bennett spoke during chapel about barriers to proper understanding in Scripture. He encourages his listeners to think historically because it cultivates humility, strengthens our faith, and sharpens our application. Dr. Bennett states strongly that believers can be extremely confident in Scripture, that it is true, historical, and able to transform.
Scripture Texts
Galatians 4:4; 1 John 1:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:1-6; Romans 11:33-34; Lamentations 3:22-23
Main Points or Ideas
- Thinking historically cultivates humility - Galatians 4:4 says Christ came in "the fullness of time" — the culmination of an unknowable number of related human choices and events stretching back through all of history. Only God, standing outside of time, can see the full "roaring cataract" (C.S. Lewis) of billions of moments that converge at any single point. Job and Habakkuk both pressed God with anguished questions, and both received the same answer: God's ways are too vast and complex to be comprehended by finite minds. Understanding this frees believers from the paralysis of trying to figure God out, replacing bitterness and doubt with the embrace of his promises, his presence, and his faithfulness.
- Thinking historically strengthens faith - The New Testament narrative is built not on mythical lands and legendary settings but on verifiable history: real cities, real names, real journeys. Unlike horoscopes or fortune cookies, Scripture invites scrutiny, and the evidence has consistently confirmed its reliability. If there was no historical Jesus, there is no gospel — and because there was a historical Jesus, the faith rests on solid ground.
- Thinking historically sharpens application - Words are culturally conditioned, and even in the same language meaning shifts across time and generation. Bennett gives examples of how historical and cultural context clarifies difficult passages: the ancient Roman practice of counting the first day as day one resolves the apparent discrepancy between "three days" in the tomb and a Friday crucifixion; understanding the cultural significance of head coverings in the Greco-Roman world opens up Paul's instructions in 1 Corinthians in ways a surface reading cannot. Bennett pauses here and promises a Part 2 to illustrate a third, deeper example still to come.
Conclusion
Thinking historically about the Bible cultivates the humility to trust God with what we cannot understand, the confidence to stake our lives on what Scripture affirms, and the precision to apply it accurately. Bennett closes by pointing toward his second session, where he will demonstrate the practical payoff of this approach with a specific passage.
