The philosophy behind this style of Bible reading is to promote good observation of the text, group participation and self-guided discovery. Each person has the opportunity to discover for themselves what God says. In principle, no-one answers the questions unless they are about something simple, like the meaning of a word. The idea is that the questions motivate investigation on the part of the person who raised them.
This article describes the Swedish Method for studying the Bible. It requires a minimum of resources and preparation, encouraging people to engage with the Scriptures directly.
After reading the passage aloud, the participants of the group go over the passage again, looking out for three things:
- A light bulb: This should be something that ‘shines’ from the passage—whatever impacts most, or draws attention.
- A question mark: Anything that is difficult to understand in the text, or a question the reader would like to ask the writer of the passage or the Lord.
- An arrow: A personal application for the reader’s life.
The group then spends time sharing and dicussing each of these things.
