As a linguist I am particularly interested in the course focus on cultivating biblical fluency as opposed to literacy. As stated in the course lesson, “fluency” is what allows us to apply biblical insights to novel situations (and indeed, fluency in language acquisition is what allows us to produce and interpret novel strings of words, it’s really quite extraordinary!). In terms of turning up the volume of biblical authors (and turning down the volume of my own interpretation), I will ask God in prayer for greater insight and direction when reading scripture. Further, I want to be increasingly aware of the hyperlinks in biblical passages, especially between the OT and the NT. This will involve reading and reflecting on a great deal more OT literature than I currently am. I, lastly, have been thinking recently about what it means that God — who obviously could have chosen any stylistics — selected for the Bible to be written in complex ways that require interpretation (as opposed to straightforwardly). I am learning more about this layered nature of the Bible in the Ari Lamm Biblical Mind podcast.
