Education or Imitation? Bible Interpretation for Dummies Like You and Me

“Do you ever approach the Bible and think you just aren’t smart enough to truly get it? It can be a temptation to read the Bible and feel like you need an interpreter. ... In his book Education or Imitation?: Bible Interpretation For Dummies Like You and Me, Curtis Allen has some good news for you. You don’t have to be a scholar, have a seminary degree, or even be remotely smart to know God's Word; Allen suggests it’s about imitation not education.

“Curt Allen’s book on interpreting the Bible is wonderfully practical and clear, giving believers basic principles for understanding God’s Word. He rightly emphasizes that every believer can understand the Bible. It isn’t necessary to be a scholar or preacher or to know Greek and Hebrew to grasp the Scriptures. Certainly, we are helped by teachers and scholars, but we can understand the Bible ourselves and need to test whatever others say by the Scriptures. Allen also shows that the Bible is Christ-centered. We are only reading the Bible rightly if we are seeing Jesus Christ, our crucified and risen Lord, in its pages. At the same time, the Bible is not just meant to be understood but to be lived out in our everyday lives. I recommend gladly such an accessible, Christ-centered, and practical book on interpreting the Scriptures.”

“Gritty. Real. Straight. That’s what you’ll find in Curt Allen’s treatment of Bible interpretation, Education or Imitation? And that’s what we need because airy, heady, abstract works on Bible interpretation fail to do the one thing they’re written forteach and inspire us to read, interpret and apply the Bible. If you want it straight, read this book.”