Extracting Patterns from Scripture

I recently started my Master’s Degree and one of the classes I am taking this quarter is “Introduction to Data Analytics.” It is shaping up to be one of my favorite courses, and I find that some of the concepts in data analytics are helpful for the average Christian studying his or her Bible. One of the goals of data analytics is to extract patterns from a set of data to get actionable insights. This got me thinking: Christians do the same thing by extracting patterns from Scripture and then meditating on how those insights impact their lives.

But what patterns should a Christian look for as they study a Biblical text? A helpful answer comes from one of my recommended readings for my Master’s class: “Data Science” by John D. Kelleher and Brendan Tierney. If you want a high level introduction to data science, I highly recommend it. Early on in the book, the authors give four different types of patterns that data analysts look for in a data set. These four categories of patterns are helpful to keep in mind when extracting patters from scripture.

Clustering- “identifying groups…exhibiting similar behavior”

Association-rule mining- identifies connections

Outlier detection- “identify strange or abnormal events”

Prediction- “identify patterns that help us classify things…it is best to think of prediction patterns as predicting the missing value of an attribute rather than as predicting the future.”

Summary of excerpt from “Data Science” by John D. Kelleher and Brendan Tierney

What the quote means

These four different pattern types are listed in a section of the book which asks “What is Data Science?” The authors answer this question by arguing data science analyzes data to find patterns that are not obvious to then turn into actionable insights for a business. These four different pattern types are given as typical patterns one notices when analyzing a set of data.

“Clustering” is an easy concept to understand. It is simply grouping data points together based on their similarities. The example the authors give is a business (like a grocery) analyzing their customers. “Clustering” might show which customers buy the same things or shop at the same times or behave similarly. Another term the authors give for “clustering” is “customer segmentation.”

“Association-rule mining” is a related pattern, but deals with connections between data points rather than finding large clusters in the data. In our grocery store example, if customers frequently bought eggs when they bought milk, you could conclude that those two items are associated. “Outlier detection” is probably the easiest pattern to recognize: you simply find any strange or abnormal data points. Maybe in your grocery store one customer buys a high percentage of your inventory of one of your products. This customer exhibits abnormal purchasing behavior compared to your other customers.

Finally, “prediction” is a pattern which I had trouble wrapping my mind around at first. Typically, prediction means forecasting a conclusion about the future. But these authors use “prediction” to mean the ability to fill in missing attributes of some data based on other data you have. In the grocery store example, if you have a person who is a 30 year old male and you know that in the past 90% of 30 year old males purchase pretzels when they shop, you could predict that this other 30 year old male would do the same.

Why it is important

Pattern recognition is essential to Biblical exposition.

Rarely do you hear a Pastor speaking about extracting patterns from Scripture, but practically speaking, a lot of expositional tools rely on the Pastor noticing patterns in the text, bringing those patterns to the congregations attention, and then showing how those insights impact their Church member’s lives. In one sense, every single Christian who studies their Bible is a “data analyst.”

Now, Scripture is so much more than a mere data set: it is the living, inerrant, and active word of the sovereign, all-knowing God. But the Bible does contain patterns and some of these patterns are exactly the same as the ones given in “Data Science:”

• There are “clusters” of texts which deal with a single topic. Systematic theologians often use “clustering” to see what the Bible teaches on a certain topic.
• Texts “associate” with other texts. Biblical theologians are often interested in how a phrase used in one section of the Bible is associated with that same phrase used in another section. Additionally, Biblical authors often associate different concepts together, like how faith in Christ produces a changed life.
• There are verses in Scripture which the Biblical authors cause to stand out (i.e. an outlier). Pastors oftentimes look for these “outliers” because they often reveal the main point of the original author. An example of an “outlier” would be the Song of Moses in Exodus after Israel parts the Red Sea. The “Song of Moses” is an outlier because it is a poetic section contained within a narrative.
• Finally, “pattern recognition” makes sure that Scripture interprets Scripture. When you see “God is love” in a text, you also should “Fill in” the idea that “God is just” from other texts in Scripture. Your knowledge of Scripture as a whole enables you to fill in patterns as you study other texts.

At the end of the day, you as a reader of Scripture want to gain insight into who God is and what true reality is from the text. Whether you notice a connection between texts, or whether you remember something you read in a different section of Scripture and use that to fill out a passage you are currently studying, pattern recognition is a vital tool for seeing and understanding the truths given in the Bible. Therefore, if you want to study Scripture better, you must become better at extracting patterns from Scripture.

Takeaways

Today’s takeaways will turn the four different patterns given above into four questions you can ask of a Biblical text:

1. What other passages in Scripture address this same topic?

As an example, if you are studying a text of Scripture which deals with the holiness of God, you should ask where else in Scripture the holiness of God is discussed.

2. Where else in Scripture is this same language used?

This question allows you to trace a theme or an idea throughout Scripture. An example would be the crushing of the serpent from Genesis 3. You might trace this language of God crushing the serpent through the entirety of Scripture to see how the idea develops through time.

3. What stands out in this passage of Scripture? Why? What is the significance?

Oftentimes, if a phrase is repeated over and over again in a passage, that probably means the author is emphasizing something. Repetition is one way Biblical authors create “outliers” in the text, but there are other ways. Look at the passage to find what things stand out and why.

4. What truths from other places in Scripture fill out/clarify/expand on the truths given in this text?

This question is non-negotiable for Pastors who preach expositionally. To “expound” a text, you must fill out and clarify it with other Scripture. The Puritans did this excellently in the way they structured their sermons. An example of this might be when you are teaching the Philippians 3 text “Our citizenship is in heaven.” A text which expands on this idea might be “Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth.” Using the second text to expand on the truths given in the first text is a necessary skill for any teacher or preacher of God’s Word

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