The Socratic Method & the Bible

Socrates cross-examined his contemporaries who claimed to be wise. He used the “Socratic Method” of critical questioning to show that these “authorities” were not nearly as wise as they thought they were. Socrates applied his disposition to question authority to books as well. For him, books were not repositories of truth to be digested but instead records of thinking to be critically engaged. But what about the Bible? If that book is God’s authoritative Word, then it does contain important truths we ought to believe. Still, Socrates was partially right even here. We need to question our interpretations of scripture.

No End to the Reading of Books

My formal education started at Phantom Lake Elementary in Bellevue, Washington. Sometime early in my seven years there, I decided I would read all the books in the library, starting with the very first book on the shelf and working my way one by one from there in Dewey Decimal order. That scheme, like many similar ones in years to come, was short-lived; the initial book lacked sufficient luster to hold my interest, and the project went by the wayside. But my aspiration to be an academic generalist was born that day nonetheless, and I still want to know everything.