NOTE: This advice has not only helped me become a better student of the Bible, it converted me from being a self-righteous "Bible thumper" . . .to becoming a more compassionate and understanding student of the Bible. . . Now, it's YOUR turn to put this timeless advice to work for you!

Dear friend, 

 I have to confess. 

 I used to use the Bible as a weapon. 

Always using it to tell people what they should and should not do. Always using it to prove people wrong. 

And I could back it up too. 

Shooting Bible verses at people like bullets.

And because I had mentors who drilled me like a Marine, I had A LOT of ammo. . .

Every now and then I would half-heartedly listen to what other people had to say about the Bible. . .

But I didn't REALLY start to read the Bible with true compassion and understanding until I took one of Michael Jackson's hit songs to heart.

The song? 

 "Man in the Mirror." 

 In that song the "King of Pop" declares: 

  "If you wanna make the world a better place
  take a look at yourself
  and then make a change..." 

 Well. . .

I'm here to tell you that this advice also applies to Bible study!

Taking a look at yourself is one of the very first steps you should take!

I know this from experience.

Because during my very first semester in Divinity School, I was required to complete a very in-depth "soul searching" assignment. . .

And after that assignment. . .I kid you not, my entire approach to the Bible changed. . .

FOREVER.

No exaggeration here.

This assignment set my mind free in more ways than I can count. Ways that I'm still discovering to this very day! It showed me that I had a narrow-minded death grip on the Bible. It completely exposed the "my way or the highway" beliefs I had. But most importantly. . .

Because of this assignment. . .

Before "taking a look at myself" (as Michael Jackson recommended). . .

I could tell you all of the so-called "problems" with Catholics, Anglicans, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodist. . .YOU NAME IT! If it wasn't MY denomination, I could list everything that was "wrong" with it.

But this one assignment absolutely changed my life.

What amazes me to this day about that assignment, was that I did NOT have to do an in-depth study of all those other faith traditions to begin to appreciate their perspectives. . .

Nope.

All I needed to do was some serious SELF-reflection.

Then. . .

Once I had a clearer understanding of who *I* was. . .how *I* read the Bible. . .and how *my* faith tradition approached the Bible, it was like something magical happened. . .

Once I discovered the weak points in my own beliefs, I became a much, MUCH more compassionate and understanding Bible student!

Suddenly, I wasn't trying to police the way everybody else was reading the Bible. . .

And once I stopped trying to point out the faults in other people's faith and started really examining my own relationship to the Bible. . .

It freed my mind to actually HEAR the Bible better. . .AND other people better. And as far as I'm concerned. . .

But get this. The story doesn't end with me. . .

Now it's YOUR turn:

I want YOU to experience the power of the exercise my Divinity School professor had all of us do.

You see. . .

Not too long ago, I spent a couple of days putting together a slightly revised version of the assignment our professor gave us. I consider this assignment to be THE fastest way to completely revolutionize the way you read the Bible. To my knowledge, it is the fastest way to understand where OTHER Bible readers might be coming from and why they approach the Bible the way they do. 

It's called the Starting with the Person in the Mirror Questionnaire.

The Questionnaire is specifically designed to help you:

If all this sounds too good to be true. . .trust me, I completely understand 100%.

You know why?

Because when *I* was first given this assignment in my Hebrew Bible/Old Testament course in Divinity School. . .

In fact. . .

I was actually VERY annoyed that we had to do it in the first place. My thought process at the time went something like this: "I cannot believe she is making us do this. I am NOT paying all of this money to ask myself a bunch of questions and learn about myself. I didn't come here to learn me. . .I CAME HERE TO LEARN ABOUT THE BIBLE!"

I griped and complained to everyone about this assignment.

But once I finally got into it. . .

I was absolutely STUNNED by how much I didn't know my own Bible-reading biases. . .the Bible reading biases of my family. . .AND the Bible-reading biases of the church I grew up in. I had no idea these biases were much older than me. . .but thanks to this assignment, I was able to trace them to their origins.

Not only that. . .

There have been quite a few times when the Bible has been used against me. And thinking back on those times. . .and how horrible it felt to be on the receiving end of a "Bible beating" . . .made me rethink and re-evaluate the way *I* used the Bible as a weapon in the past.

But. . .

There have also been times when the Bible HELPED me make it through a life-altering, personal tragedy. Reflecting on those very difficult times showed me just how much my Bible reading is affected by them. I discovered that these experiences are actually the main reasons I keep reading the Bible!

It took me a while. . .but I finally realized that our professor made us examine ourselves because. . .

Whether we like it or not (. . .and whether we recognize it or not) we ALL have a complex and multilayered relationship to the Bible. AND by unpacking that relationship, we become much better. . .much more aware. . .much more RESPONSIBLE students of the Bible.

That's why I put together the Starting with the Person in the Mirror Questionnaire.

Because I want you to become a more confident, more RESPONSIBLE student of the Bible.

So, with that said. . .

Normally, the only way you'd be able to get access to the Starting with the Person in the Mirror Questionnaire is by purchasing How to Study the Bible 101: The Course, which costs $297.

But I've decided to make the Questionnaire available all by itself.

Now. . .

To be completely honest with you, this was a REALLY tough decision.

Here's why:

It took me MONTHS to carefully put together each and every part of How to Study the Bible 101: The Course. And one of the reasons it took so long to put The Course together was because I wanted to make sure I got the order exactly right.

Basically. . .A LOT of thought went into the order.

I'm the type of person that needs to have all of their ducks in a row. And as a teacher, I see it as my duty to make sure that I teach things in an order that makes sense.

And if you were to join The Course, you wouldn't encounter the Starting with the Person in the Mirror Questionnaire until the THIRD session.

But because I think this Questionnaire is so important (especially at this moment in history), I've decided to disrupt the carefully crafted flow of The Course and let you access the Questionnaire on its own. WITHOUT having to buy the entire Course. . .

Now. . .at this point I'm sure you're wondering. . .

Well, the good news is. . .

The Starting with the Person in the Mirror Questionnaire won't cost you anywhere near the $297 you'd have to pay for The Course.

Not even close to that.

Right now, I'll grant you full access to the Starting with the Person in the Mirror Questionnaire for just $7.

That's it. Just $7.

But here's the thing. . .

That $7 will get you access to 69 CRUCIAL questions you should ask yourself before you start digging into the Bible.

The questions will explore all sorts of things. Such as your childhood experiences with the Bible. . .your current religious/spiritual life. . .your social circles. . .your own personal experiences with the Bible. . .and a number of other things.

Listen. . .

The amount of clarity this type of self-reflection will give you is nearly impossible to put into words. Once you go through this process. . .you will begin to ask more focused questions as you study the Bible. Questions that not only help you, but also help the people closest to you.

I cannot stress how important this type of self-reflection is for Bible study.

The point of the Questionnaire is not to make YOU the center of the universe. The point is to help you understand the part you've played in the larger story of life so far. Because that is absolutely crucial for reading, studying, and interpreting the book that has been used to bring great healing to the world. . .as well as great harm.

So. . .

If you are ready to become a more compassionate. . .more understanding. . .and more responsible student of the world's all-time bestseller.

I invite you to take the first step now.

Peace,

John