The Author and His Book

Discovery Series: How Can I Know God Through His Book

Author : Martin R. De Haan II



An author often reveals himself in what he writes. He will sometimes put himself into his characters, talk through their speeches, and pour his feelings into their emotions. Ideas and issues that are important to him will find their way into the pages of his books. Ideas and issues that are important to him will find their way into the pages of his books.

One of the intriguing aspects  of the study of literature, therefore, learning about an author through his writings. For example, we can learn much about the blind poet Milton through his sonnets and through Paradise Lost. And the study of the dark and twisted stories of Edgar Allan Poe take us deeply into his twisted mind and tormented heart.

Sometimes the writer will come right out and tell the reader what he is like and what he believes. The few people who took seriously Adolf Hilter's Mein Kampf for example, recognized his ego, his love of power, and the intensity of his hatred for the Jews.

What an author says reflects who that author is.

Usually, however, an author does not reveal his thinking  and his character directly. His works must be read carefully and analyzed before the reader can begin to understand him. We must study his characters, scrutinize his places and incidents, and review his themes before we can know makes him tick.

Think a moment about James Fenimore Cooper,  the early American writer who wrote such thrilling stories as The Deerslayer, The Pilot, and The Last Of The Mohicans. Reading these stories would give you a sense of Cooper's admiration for the pioneering spirit of the early settlers and his respect for the shrewdness and skill of the American Indian. You should also begin to feel his love for the spirit and adventure and his conviction that faith is virtually important if one is to overcome the fears and uncertainties of life.

"But," you ask, "how is all of this going to help me? What does it have to do with God and the study of the Bible?" Simply this: While one of the interests of literature is to get  to know an author through what he has written, it should be the main interest of all Bible study. The Bible is God's book. Although it was written by men like Moses and Luke and Paul, it is the self-revelation of God. He is the Author behind the authors. And what He says reflects who He is.

While one of the values of literature is to help you get to know the author through what he has written, it should be the main purpose of all Bible Study.

 To know God, therefore, we have to read His book. We have to learn to see Him on every page, above every event, in every place and circumstance, and overseeing the choice if every person who makes his way into the sacred pages of biblical history.

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