Course - How To Read The Bible Well

This group meets weekly on six Tuesday evenings from May 9th to July 11th 2023 - dates below - in person and online.

Based around the book “How To Read The Bible Well - What It Is, What It Isn’t and How To Love It (Again)” by Steve Burnhope

Why this course?

As Christians, the Bible occupies a central place in our faith. We believe it to be the inspired Word of God. But that only gets us so far — what, exactly, do we mean by that phrase? What does it look like, in practice? How, for example, are we to understand the role of the Holy Spirit as the divine author alongside the role of the human writers?

Some of the Bible seems self-explanatory at face value, but a lot doesn’t, especially when it comes to the Old Testament and how it relates to the New. Is the Bible all ‘timeless’ because of God’s role in it, or is some of it ‘time-bound’ because of people’s roles in it — and how are we to know the difference?

Steve will be getting us thinking about these kinds of questions, along with some other big ones, such as creation in Genesis, Adam and Eve, the Bible and science, and Heaven and Hell.

Course leader

This course will be led by Steve Burnhope, interim Senior Pastor at Sutton Vineyard and formerly Senior Pastor of Aylesbury Vineyard. Steve has a PhD in systematic theology and a Master’s degree in biblical interpretation.

Course dates

6 x Tuesday evenings May to July:

  • May 9, 16, 23

  • June 6, 20

  • July 11

Course location

The first meeting will be in person at Totterdown Methodist Church (Bushy Park, BS4 2EG) on May 9th, gathering for tea/coffee from 7.45pm and starting from 8pm.

Other sessions will be online.

Other details

To get the most out of the course and be able to join in the conversations, participants will need to read the book alongside the course.

Copies are available in hardcover, paperback, and Kindle from Amazon.co.uk

As well as front-led input from Steve, the learning approach will include group discussion (and some small-group breakout sessions) with the opportunity to ask lots of questions!