Guidelines for Inductive Bible Study

This is an outline for the practice of inductive bible study.  It is intended as a guide for those wishing to participate in inductive bible studies here at NoLessDays.org.  Critiques are appreciated.  This document is a work in progress.

Inductive bible study differs from other approaches to bible study.  The inductive student approaches the bible with the intent to learn what the bible has to say, rather to prove or disprove a particular idea or doctrine.

The inductive steps:

1. Familiarize yourself with the section of the bible to be studied.

2. Note questions that come to mind and share them with the group.  Look for additional questions that can be asked – even extremely simple ones can be surprisingly helpful.

3. Begin to answer the questions. Answers must always be substantiated with scripture.  If possible, answers should be substantiated contextually, but often other portions of scripture are needed.  If this is the case, care must be taken to show reasonable evidence that the "proof" is applicable.  Sometimes external sources are appropriate for historical or factual purposes.  (i.e. a dictionary can be helpful.)  External sources can never be directly used for interpretation.  If another sources ideas are helpful, they must be substantiated with scripture.

4. Drill deeper.  Go back to step 2.  As you answer the simple questions, more complicated questions will begin to emerge, ask and answer these.  Continue to repeat this process until you reach the "Aha!" moment.  All participants should be satisfied that the study is complete before moving on.  Sometimes the entire group save one person can feel like they have exhausted the scripture, but don't give up.  Continue.  Sometimes the most exciting discoveries are the most elusive.

5. Apply.  Consider how your discoveries have impacted you.  Share this with the group as you feel comfortable.

It is very tempting to break these guidelines. Help keep each other accountable. If someone suggests an interesting observation, help them phrase it as a question. And watch out for leading questions or questions that cannot be answered from the scripture. Some examples of bad questions might be:

• Do you think that “I am the way” means that Jesus is a path?

• What do you think Paul meant when he said, “grace and peace to X?”

Better questions would be:

• What did Jesus say he was in verse X.

What did Paul say was for recipient X.

Those of you familiar with the inductive method, please help me fill in the details!  :)