Rule 15 - Using deductive and inductive reasoning

In order to increase our understanding of God's word, we may undertake various parallel studies. These help us to take a topic and then unearth as much as we can about it.

Word Parallels are where we look at one word and examine each mention in the Bible. For example, we take Balaam, where the main teaching is found in Numbers 22-24. We then discover that he is mentioned in 2 Peter 2:15 where it tells us that he loved the wages of wickedness. In Jude 11 he is referred to as being greedy for gain and in Revelation 2: 14 he is said to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.

Idea Parallels are similar but rather than a single word, we look at something wider. Say we want to examine the question of authority and Church leadership. We may initially look for the key word of authority, but we will be spreading our net a little wider.

Doctrinal Parallels involve taking a recognised biblical doctrine and then finding out all we can about it. This may be sin, redemption, justification etc.

What we do in each of the above is that we find as much information as we can, we gather it together and then draw a conclusion. This is known as inductive reasoning.

By contrast, deductive reasoning is where we follow a process of reasoning which leads to a logical conclusion. For example, consider the following, which is in response to whether the boss wants me to go to work in the morning, even though he hasn't specifically asked me to.

Premise one - I have worked for the same company for 7 years. Premise two - I always go to work on Tuesday morning apart from holidays. Premise three - Tomorrow isn't a holiday... Conclusion - My boss wants me to go to work in the morning.

A spiritual example may be found in Mark 12: 26-27, where Jesus himself used deductive reasoning in regards to the question of whether there is life after death.

Premise one - God is the God of the living. Premise two - God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Conclusion - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are alive.

This line of reasoning allows us to reach conclusions concerning topics which aren't specifically mentioned in the Bible i.e. abortion, drugs etc.

Inductive study comes first. We then establish premises (statements which are logical facts) which can help us to reason towards a logical conclusion.