Inkblotitis

“Deep within the culture and habits of Christians today a practice thrives—a practice

• so potentially destructive that it could go down as one of Satan’s greatest victories,
• so cunningly hidden as to be modeled and passed on by the best of church leaders among us, and
• so subtly subversive that it infects us with the terrifying tendency of turning the ‘word of God’ into the ‘word of me.’”

So begins this book on one of the greatest challenges facing Chris­tians today: how we read our Bibles. Divided into a two-volume set, Inkblotitis: Chris­tianity’s Dan­gerous Disease exposes the hidden ill­ness of “inkblot­itis” in today’s church and proposes a com­mon-sense, con­textual method of read­ing each book of the Bible on its own terms.

Book 1 (The Disintegration of the Bible) reveals the problem: reading the Bible in such small, disconnected pieces that they often function as spiritual or theological “inkblots.” Book 2 (Redis­cov­ering the Books of God) presents the solution or “treatment”: learning to read/hear each verse of scripture as it fits within the shape and purposes of the docu­ment it’s a part of—that is, its own individual Bible book (Matthew, Mark, Romans, etc.).

Spoiler Alert: At the risk of giving away the secret at the very begin­ning, the most important principle, at the heart of this new way of reading the Bible, is simply this: Zoom Out! Learn­ing to zoom out to the book-level context of each Bible book is the key that opens the door to God’s inspired library.

“In this uniquely written book, Dr. Fay launches into the compelling issue of how we abuse the Bible with fractured and subjective interpretations of very small portions of scripture, as if they were ‘inkblots.’ His approach is provocative, many-faceted, and scholarly; his solution, simple yet powerful. Presented in an easy-to-read, conversational style, this is a work that will be welcomed by any serious student of the Bible.”
– Dr. Jack W. Vancil

“Centuries ago, solitary souls patiently produced distinct documents that became what we now call ‘the Bible.’ Now, Dr. Greg Fay has produced an eminently circumspect examina-tion of the ‘dis-inte­gration’ and re-integration of scripture—toward the end that we under-stand and apply the original mes­sage more deeply, more accur­ately. I know no other soul who loves the pur­pose and words of God more than Greg Fay. His voice is one we should hear today—and hear it well—as it illumi­nates the earliest intents of God-breathed scripture.” – Dr. Brian Casey

Greg Fay has a Ph.D. in New Testament from Marquette University; has served as youth or senior minister for churches in Florida, Indiana, Tennessee, Delaware, Iowa, and Missouri; and is the founder and president of EnArts, a non-profit organization dedicated to the renewing of culture through the performing arts.

Contact Greg at dr.gregfay@earthlink.net.

Order a Copy of Inkblotitis

Book 1: 

The Disintegration of the Bible

Introduction
    Introduction
    Orientation
    Claimers and Disclaimers
1. Where’d We Get the Bible Anyway?
2. The Bible Set Free
3. Why It’s Hard to Understand the Bible?
4. The Ways We Read the Bible
5. Diagnosis: Inkblotitis
6. Classic Inkblots

Book 2: 

Rediscovering the Books of God

7. A New Way to Read the Bible
8. Context Rules
9. Ten Rules of Good Bible Reading (1-3)
10. Ten Rules of Good Bible Reading (4-10)
11. Zoomed Out on Philemon
12. Zoomed Out on Mark
13. Conclusion: A Plan for the Church
Epilogue: John 3:16

Here are the “Ten Rules” or guidelines of good Bible study, set forth in Book 2:

Rule #1: Read the whole book, preferably several times.

Rule #2: Understand the verses in relation to the book as a whole.

Rule #3: Discover the structure or “shape” of the text.

Rule #4: Highlight recurring words and ideas.

Rule #5: Appreciate the differences of genre.

Rule #6: Tune in—as much as possible—to the historical setting.

Rule #7: Use commentaries and other study tools with discretion.

Rule #8: Digest your experiences in the word.

Rule #9: Live what you learn.

Rule #10: Do it again.

Amazon.com Description:

What’s the difference between a Rorschach inkblot and a verse from the Bible?

The difference is the view.

In this two-volume set, Dr. Fay exposes one of the greatest challenges facing Christians today: how we read our Bibles. “The vast majority of all modern Bible reading is infected with Rorschach-like inkblotitis,” Dr. Fay argues. Book 1 (The Disintegration of the Bible) reveals the problem: reading the Bible in such small, disconnected pieces that they often function as spiritual or theological “inkblots.” Book 2 (Rediscovering the Books of God) presents the solution or “treatment”: learning to read/hear each verse of scripture as it fits within the shape and purposes of the document it’s a part of—that is, its own individual Bible book (Matthew, Mark, Romans, etc.).

The difference is the view: “The challenge is to stop interrupting God when he’s speaking to us . . .” To help with that, Book 2 includes “Ten Rules of Good Bible Reading”:

1. Read the whole book, preferably several times.
2. View the verses in book-level focus.
3. Discover the shape of the text.
4. Highlight recurring words and ideas.
5. Appreciate the differences of genre.
6. Tune in to the historical setting.
7. Use commentaries and other study tools with discretion.
8. Digest your experiences in the word.
9. Live what you’ve learned.
10. Do it again.

This challenging work not only reveals the dangers of “inkblotitis” (turning verses into inkblots), but boils down the most important concepts of effective Bible reading to a single, usable principle and shows you how to apply it in your own Bible reading. Spoiler Alert: . . . the most important principle, at the heart of this new way of reading the Bible, is simply this: Zoom Out! Learning to zoom out to the book-level context of each Bible book is the key that opens the door to God’s inspired library. The difference is the view.

Order a Copy of Inkblotitis