There have been a variety of Christian views on what a literalist approach to Scripture should look like. Literal can refer to an emphasis on the inerrancy of the Bible; beliefs about the historicity of certain passages; a particular understanding of the fulfillment of prophecy (which would not be literally literal, but symbolic); or the view that a passage should be read in the plainest way possible and that's why it's important to understand genres and original reception. For dispensationalists, literal reading relied on "word chains"—connecting verses through the "links" of word usage and treating keywords like stone the same wherever they were found in the Bible. That approach to the text wouldn't have become popular without the development of concordances.....
The Scofield Reference Bible was a mainstay for millions of Christians steeped in the Bible Reading Method. It was very popular and widely distributed among some Christians. Cyrus I. Scofield, a minister closely associated with Dwight L. Moody, included in his reference Bible extensive footnotes explaining his theology, which relied on an intricate cross-reference and concordance system running down the middle of every page of the Bible. Oxford University Press published Scofield's Bible for the first time in 1909, and it remains in print today. In addition to the on-page helps, Scofield included a 150-plus-page concordance index and instructions to train readers to build word chains. He explained that word chains would "lead the reader from the first clear mention of a great truth to the last." And in case the reader didn't get it, a Scofield summary would solidify the meaning at that last reference.......
In its more sophisticated implementation, reading the Bible with the help of concordances allowed people to experience the unity of Scripture. As another dispensationalist writer in the early 20th century, Isaac Massey Haldeman, explained, "an intelligent and satisfactory study of the Bible" required a concordance to realize that a "unity of design" animated the 66 books. Concordances allowed lay readers to experience Scripture's unity, even as they downplayed or set aside historical context, human authorship, the original languages, linguistic details, and often the actual narrative.
Some conservative Christians, such as Moody's colleague R. A. Torrey, called the Bible Reading Method the "scientific" approach to Scripture. Haldeman described concordances and cross-references as "implements" and "tools" which, if used properly, produced repeatable results.......
It also prepared the ground for a new theological movement, which came to be called "dispensationalism." This developed out of the teachings espoused by the Exclusive Brethren—specifically the Anglo-Irish leader John Nelson Darby. He taught that humanity was divided into three parts: Israel, the church, and the nations. The nations didn't have a covenant with God, but the church and Israel both did, so Scripture needed to be "rightly divided" into the parts that spoke to Israel and the parts that spoke to Christians.......
After several generations of outside scholars chipping away at dispensationalism, and popular dispensationalism like the Left Behind novels undercuttng its credibility, that approach to the Bible has largely fallen out of favor. Dispensationalism is in decline, and the Bible Reading Method is not often taught in seminaries or Christian colleges.
Yet the reading instincts popularized by the Bible Reading Method persist. The practice continues to have a powerful effect on people. It still makes readers feel as if Scripture is opening up, as if they see into the obscurities of the Bible for the first time and there's no need for specialized language or historical training. With a little practice and a concordance, every reader can do it themselves, and they can even claim this is the way to read the Bible literally. https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2022/december/concordance-context-bible-reading-dispensationalism-literal.html
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