Arcing the Bible Verse by Verse

In light of my discussion of the twisty details of the Bible, I want to take some time and look at a website that has helped me see both the small details and the overall picture of the Bible in my studies: Biblearc. I began using it when I taught 2 Corinthians in Ireland, and it was a major help. In fact, I don’t know what I would have done without it.

I first learned about BibleArc in a Biblical Hermeneutics class at CCBCY. My friend Lindsay Kennedy taught two classes on using BibleArc for studying the Bible. Lindsay told us that, as with anything, over time BibleArcing would become easier as we grew more familiar with it, but, initially, it would be difficult to use. And he was right. I tried to use it when I first taught 2C at CCBCY, but I didn’t have the time so I ditched it.

Bad move.

It wasn’t until I was teaching my first 2C class in Ireland that I realized my need to learn BibleArc. After teaching on Corinth’s history and culture, I finished the class with 2 Corinthians 1.1-7. Somewhere in the midst of verse 5, sharing in Christ’s suffering, I was lost. Twice. It was clear that I needed to learn how to use BibleArc before my next class.

What is BibleArc?

Basically, because I can’t find how it all began, I’m stealing* (again) my next few sentences from Lindsay Kennedy, who’s written about BibleArc before (and here too). Bible arcing was developed by Daniel Fuller, is recommended by Pastor John Piper (34 page pamphlet here) and Scholar/Pastor Thomas Schreiner and is used by many others. According to the website, “Arcing helps you to discern, display and discuss the flow of thought in the biblical text.”

Though commentaries are important, one can easily get lost in all the detail. When I taught 2C and when I prepare for a sermon, I use BibleArc before I use any other resources. With it I can grasp the main idea(s) of what the Scripture says, and I don’t spend much time on “lesser” matters.

One major plus about BibleArc is that a subscription only costs $4 a month. So for the price of a coffee you have an excellent resource to help you figure out the main idea of a passage. Not only do you see the main idea, but you can see how each sentence and their ideas (called “proposition”) relate to one another and how they make sense.

In my upcoming review I hope that what you will see will be enough to convince you to go to the website, try it all out, and begin to use BibleArc to study and discover the Bible’s riches. BibleArc has been a yuge help to me, and I fully endorse it.

*Don’t despair. I based my first 2 Corinthians syllabus off of Lindsay’s Philippians/Colossians syllabus… right down to the same spelling mistake.