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Ask What Kind of Book You’re Reading

Episode Summary

Would you read the Psalms as a science textbook? Fr. Tim says it would be “very weird,” and that is the heart of Rule 2.

Last week’s Rule 1 was that if something is in the Bible, that doesn’t mean God approves of it. This week’s rule is short: “ask what kind of book you’re reading.” Fr. Tim points out that the word “Bible” comes from biblia, and he describes the Bible as a library. Biblia means “books,” so we’re holding a collection of many books, and “the author of each book has an intention and has a kind of genre that it’s supposed to be read through.”

He starts with imagery. Psalm  says, “Let the rivers clap their hands,” and nobody expects to find a river with hands. Is that imagery or camera footage? It’s the same as saying, “My dad, he’s my rock,” when no one answers that their dad is made of granite. Hyperbole works the same way. A headline like “Michigan annihilates Ohio State” doesn’t make anyone ask about genocide, and Fr. Tim says the Book of Joshua is an ancient conquest account that uses a lot of that kind of war language.

Then he goes through books that get misread. Genesis “should not be read like a modern science textbook.” Proverbs is “not 365 contractual guarantees from God” but wisdom, so its line about training children is not a promise about how they’ll turn out. Revelation is full of symbols: the Lamb with seven horns and seven eyes points to Jesus as the innocent victim poured out for us, with horns for power and authority and seven for perfection. His closing line: “The Bible is always true, provided we read it in the context and the author’s intention.” The Catechism says it in its own words. Scripture teaches “firmly, faithfully, and without error” the truth God wanted put into it for our salvation, and a good reader pays attention to what the human authors truly wanted to affirm. Rule 3 is next week, and Fr. Tim promises “a juicy one.”

[00:00:00 –> 00:00:03] It would be very weird if we read Genesis
[00:00:03 –> 00:00:04] as a geometry book.
[00:00:04 –> 00:00:07] would be very weird if we read the Psalms
[00:00:07 –> 00:00:09] as a science textbook.
[00:00:09 –> 00:00:10] how do we
[00:00:10 –> 00:00:14] (Music)
[00:00:14 –> 00:00:25] Father Tim. And today we are going into part two of the rules on how to read the Old Testament. We need rules.
[00:00:25 –> 00:00:36] We need rules and able to read the context of the Bible on how God, the father portrays himself. And so this is such an important thing to be able to do
[00:00:36 –> 00:00:43] So just a review from the last episode rule. Number one is if it’s in the Bible, doesn’t mean God approves it.
[00:00:43 –> 00:01:01] and again, a lot of crazy things happen in the Old Testament. There is murder. There are battles. There are wars. There are annihilations. There are floods. There are a lot of things that, okay, how do I read this? Knowing that I believe in a God that is all good and all loving and all knowing.
[00:01:01 –> 00:01:09] and now in this second episode, we go into rule two, ask what kind of book you’re reading. That’s the rule.
[00:01:09 –> 00:01:13] Bible comes from the word biblia, which means library,
[00:01:13 –> 00:01:20] a lot of different books in the Bible and a lot of different ways of reading those books.
[00:01:20 –> 00:01:28] author of each book has an intention and has a kind of genre that it’s supposed to be read through. So
[00:01:28 –> 00:01:30] how do we read each book?
[00:01:30 –> 00:01:42] It would be very weird if we read Genesis as a geometry book. It would be very weird if we read Leviticus as a historical account.
[00:01:42 –> 00:01:47] would be very weird if we read the Psalms as a science textbook.
[00:01:47 –> 00:01:51] Rule number two, ask what kind of book you’re reading.
[00:01:51 –> 00:01:58] This is really important because, yeah, sometimes we make mistakes on this. We read imagery in the Bible as actual camera footage.
[00:01:58 –> 00:02:04] For example, Psalm 98, it says, “Let the rivers clap their hands.” Okay.
[00:02:04 –> 00:02:10] Is this imagery or is this camera footage? Obviously the rivers, they don’t literally clap their hands.
[00:02:10 –> 00:02:22] another example would be like if I was to say, “Man, my dad, he’s my rock.”
[00:02:23 –> 00:02:30] No one would fail English and say, “What are you talking about? My dad is now made of granite.”
[00:02:30 –> 00:02:36] In all honesty, it’s reading the context, knowing the intention of the author.
[00:02:36 –> 00:02:39] what kind of book am I reading?
[00:02:39 –> 00:02:48] Another mistake that happens when we don’t use this rule is that symbolic and hyperbolic language is read like a news report.
[00:02:48 –> 00:02:50] And that is very dangerous.
[00:02:50 –> 00:02:54] if you see the headlines, Michigan annihilates Ohio State.
[00:02:54 –> 00:02:59] No one would read that and say, “Is Michigan committing genocide?”
[00:03:00 –> 00:03:01] Obviously not.
[00:03:01 –> 00:03:09] A great example of this is the Book of Joshua. The Book of Joshua is read as an ancient conquest account.
[00:03:09 –> 00:03:14] A lot of crazy war stuff and hyperbolic war languages used in that book.
[00:03:14 –> 00:03:20] Hyperbolic language is used all the time in conquest language. That’s a great example.
[00:03:20 –> 00:03:25] So again, question… What kind of book are you reading?
[00:03:25 –> 00:03:28] One of the most common books that is read incorrectly is Genesis.
[00:03:28 –> 00:03:32] The Book of Genesis should not be read like a modern science textbook.
[00:03:32 –> 00:03:38] was written as an ancient creation myth revealing the truths about who God is.
[Editor’s note: In this line, “myth” means an ancient narrative form that conveys truth about God. It does not mean fiction.]
[00:03:38 –> 00:03:44] Another book that is highly misinterpreted and highly read incorrectly is The Book of Proverbs.
[00:03:44 –> 00:03:51] The Book of Proverbs is often read as a book of promises and a book of self-help tools.
[00:03:51 –> 00:03:58] The Book of Proverbs is not 365 contractual guarantees from God. No, it’s wisdom.
[00:03:58 –> 00:04:03] is all about knowing how to act in a certain situation that you’re in.
[00:04:03 –> 00:04:06] does not guarantee anything.
[00:04:06 –> 00:04:12] An example is in The Book of Proverbs, it talks about training children on the way that they should go.
[00:04:12 –> 00:04:14] and if they listen, they will not stray from it.
[00:04:14 –> 00:04:21] This is not a guarantee from God that when you do everything right, your kid will turn out perfectly.
[00:04:21 –> 00:04:25] Again, it’s wisdom. Not a guarantee from God.
[00:04:25 –> 00:04:28] the last book that often gets read wrong is,
[00:04:28 –> 00:04:30] The Book of Revelation.
[00:04:30 –> 00:04:37] read this apocalyptic literature as specific prophecy that’s going to happen in the future.
[00:04:37 –> 00:04:41] Jesus is described as a lamb with seven horns, with seven eyes.
[00:04:41 –> 00:04:46] that Jesus is going to come back as a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes.
[00:04:47 –> 00:05:02] Jesus is a lamb. A lamb who is the symbol of sacrifice. Innocent victim poured out for us. Horns represent power and authority. Seven represents perfection.
[00:05:02 –> 00:05:07] All of this is symbolic apocalyptic literature.
[00:05:07 –> 00:05:09] The Church is reminding us of that.
[00:05:09 –> 00:05:21] so to conclude, the Bible is a bunch of books, and the author has an intention for those books, and is a genre on how we are to read it.
[00:05:21 –> 00:05:29] The Bible is always true, provided we read it in the context and the author’s intention.
[00:05:29 –> 00:05:33] I hope this helps. I hope this calms your heart when reading the Old Testament.
[00:05:33 –> 00:05:42] Make sure to get ready for next week where we go into rule three, which is a juicy one. Love you, praying for you. This is Spirit Juice. Peace.

Watch: Ask What Kind of Book You're Reading

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Watch Fr. Tim’s full answer, part 2 of his four-part series on how to read the Old Testament.

Key Takeaways

  • Rule 2 for reading the Old Testament: ask what kind of book you’re reading.
  • The word “Bible” comes from biblia, meaning “books.” Fr. Tim calls it a library: a collection of many books, each with an author’s intention and a genre.
  • Imagery isn’t camera footage. When Psalm says the rivers clap their hands, it is using poetry, and no one expects literal hands.
  • Hyperbole shouldn’t be read like a news report. Fr. Tim points to the war language in the Book of Joshua as an example of ancient conquest writing.
  • Genesis shouldn’t be read like a modern science textbook, and Proverbs gives wisdom for living, not guarantees. Proverbs is advice about training children, not a promise about how they’ll turn out.
  • Revelation speaks in symbols. The Lamb with seven horns and seven eyes points to Christ’s sacrifice, with horns for power and authority and seven for perfection, as Fr. Tim explains.
  • Scripture teaches truth without error, and reading it well means paying attention to what the human authors wanted to affirm and the literary forms they used.

What This Means for Prayer and Daily Life

Before your next Old Testament reading, pause for a moment and ask what kind of writing you’re about to read. Is it a poem, a collection of wisdom sayings, a conquest account, a creation account, or the symbolic language of Revelation? That one question can change how a passage lands.

If you have children or care about someone who is struggling, take Fr. Tim’s point about Proverbs to heart. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train the young in the way they should go; even when old, they will not swerve from it.” Fr. Tim says Proverbs “does not guarantee anything,” so it can guide you without turning into a contract you hold God to.

When you meet a symbol, ask what it points to. In Revelation, the Lamb points to Christ, the innocent victim who gave his life for us. A Catholic study Bible, the Catechism, or a conversation with your parish priest can help you read the images well.

And let your reading become prayer. The Catechism says that in Sacred Scripture God speaks to us “in a human way”, so he uses poems, proverbs and symbols to reach us. Ask him to help you hear what he wants to say through them.

A simple prayer for this week:
“Lord, your Word is true. Help me read Scripture with a humble heart, and give me the grace to look for what you wanted to reveal through the words of the sacred authors. Amen.”

FAQ Section

The Bible is a collection of many books. The word “Bible” comes from biblia, meaning “books,” and Fr. Tim describes it as a library. Each book has an author with an intention and a genre. The Church asks readers to take into account “the literary genres in use at that time”.

Because poetry speaks in images. Psalm says, “Let the rivers clap their hands, the mountains shout with them for joy,” and no reader expects a river to have hands. The Catechism notes that truth is presented differently in “prophetical and poetical texts” than in historical writing.

Fr. Tim says Genesis “should not be read like a modern science textbook.” The Catechism teaches that the account of the fall in Genesis 3 “uses figurative language, but affirms a primeval event”. A story can use symbolic language and still reveal real truth about God and about us.

No. Fr. Tim describes Proverbs as wisdom about how to act in the situations we face, and says it “does not guarantee anything.” Proverbs is good advice about training children, not a guarantee about how they’ll turn out.

Catholics should read Revelation’s images according to their symbolic meaning, without assuming that symbolism rules out the realities the book proclaims. In Revelation, John sees “a Lamb that seemed to have been slain. He had seven horns and seven eyes.” Fr. Tim explains that the Lamb is a symbol of sacrifice, horns stand for power and authority, and seven stands for perfection. The Lamb points to Jesus, the Lamb of God who gave his life for us.

Yes. The Church teaches that the books of Scripture “firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures”. To read it correctly, we pay attention to what the human authors truly wanted to affirm and to what God wanted to reveal through their words.

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