How Not to Get Lost in the Bible

As our name implies, The Biblical Institute is about biblical Christianity.  God’s word is the center of what we believe, what we teach, how we act, and how we understand our ministry.

One of the great problems is that God’s word is sometimes difficult to understand.  Over the centuries, the science of hermeneutics has arisen to help us understand the Bible better.  This discipline studies how we interpret and apply texts (like the Bible) to our lives. 

(Incidentally: one of the founders of modern hermeneutics was the Croatian reformer, Matija Vlačić Ilirik [Matthias Flacius Illyricus], born in Istria in 1520.)

The Biblical Institute is proud to announce that we are publishing a series of books on basic hermeneutics written by our own Ervin Budiselić.  The series, which will consist of four books, is called “How Not to Get Lost in the Bible”.  The first book in the series, which will be published in Croatian this summer, is titled Kljucne biblijske teme (Key Biblical Themes).



In this first book, Professor Budiselić introduces an idea that other theologians, including N.T. Wright, have explored, namely that we should view the Bible as a single story. Perry Stepp, president of The Biblical Institute, said, 
 

“One of the places where people get confused with the Bible is that they don’t see how the different parts fit together. If you grasp the big story – creation, corruption, covenant, Christ – then it's easier to see how the whole Bible works.”
 

Professor Budiselić says that the Bible is more concerned with God’s WHY than his HOW.  “The Bible is the story of God establishing his reign over everything so he can dwell in harmony with his creation.”  This idea ties the entire Bible together, from creation through Abraham and Moses, to the Lord’s Prayer, to the new heaven and new earth in Revelation.

This book will be a key textbook for classes at The Biblical Institute, starting with a seminar this September.  

“The Bible can be confusing,” said Dr. Stepp, “but nothing helps us grow in following Jesus more than regular, prayerful study of God’s word. This series will provide Bible-believing Christians in the former Yugoslavia with an excellent modern introduction to understanding and applying the Bible to their lives, one of the first published in the Croatian language.”