Reading Material

A common trend I've noticed among many genuine, honest-to-God Christians is that if they're not already immersed in their Bible, they want to be but don't know where to start. I'll be frank with you, because if you didn't know already, the Bible is dense. As in, college level literature courses would have trouble looking at the Bible as a whole, and in some cases, in looking at even individual books of the Bible.

One approach to reading the Bible is the devotional. While devotionals are great, and uplifting, and full of all sorts of encouraging wisdom and whatnot, they're not the Bible in its entirety. Generally speaking, you get a taste of the overall themes in the Bible from well-written devotionals, but you are not getting the raw, uncooked version you're looking for. I have trouble with devotionals because someone wrote them off their interpretation of scripture, not always off what a particular passage of scripture says in the context of the culture it came from.

Bear in mind, I say that as a writer of what could pass as a low-end devotional, this blog.

While devotionals and rambling bible blogs have their purpose, they are no substitute for the Word of God.

It's like making sushi. You can't make sushi from Van De Kamps Fish Sticks. It's just not happening. You've got to go to a fresh fish market (or a seafood counter in Farm Fresh) to get what you need to roll your own sushi. The Bible is the same way.

Again, it's a daunting task for a lot of people. In my experience, a lot of people are familiar enough with the New Testament, probably because the gospels are straightforward, Paul's letters are written in understandable language, and Revelation is kind of tacked onto the end so people don't have to trudge through it as often. The Psalms are also pretty well-known, maybe because they're easy to read and nearly every one presents a beautiful reminder of what God is like on a day-to-day basis. Some people like Proverbs because they're short, simple, and easy to read one a day. Also, some people prefer starting their Bible-reading with Proverbs because there's thirty-one chapters to the book, or one a day for an entire month.

Other than most of the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs, most people get lost when reading the bible. Usually, the biggest stumbling blocks are the endless genealogies, the occasional "thou shalt"s and "thou shalt not"s, and the seemingly random incidents of God being angry and wrathful.

Lots of believers are so intimidated by the challenge, they're willing to let church leaders tell them what's in the Bible. Sometimes that's okay, because somebody has to share the good news, but at the same time, that's how so many people get stuck in cults. Plus, Jesus himself warned against it.

So, what tips do I have on how you can get started reading the Bible?

For starters, make time for it. You only need to find ten or fifteen minutes a day to allow God to make a tremendous difference in your life. It doesn't have to be first thing in the morning, but usually earlier is better than later if only to leave you with a feeling of confidence and self-worth throughout the day. Maybe you normally spend ten minutes on Facebook after you eat breakfast in the morning, even though realistically, you've seen all the latest gossip and status updates in the first two.

And if you don't have a bible, it's available for free online. Bible Gateway is a great website with nearly every translation available. It's something to consider, if nothing else.

Another thing, read the bible for what it is. Yes, Christians believe it is the literal Word of God, written by men (and possibly women) who were directly inspired by God, but it's more than that. From a secular point of view, the Bible is as much the literature, history, and law of the culture from whence it came. Because nearly every book of the Bible was written at a different time, and by varying authors, you have to try placing yourself in that culture's shoes--erm--sandals.

Most of the Bible was written in an agricultural society, with shepherds, farmers, fishers, and soldiers being the usual jobs people had. Some of the earlier books like Genesis and Job, came from nomadic societies much like those of the native Americans.

Once you understand the Bible is literary, historical, and occasionally legislative, and if you accept it as being inspired by God, lots of doors open up to understanding everything inside it.

I know at least one of my followers is an English major, so I'm going to explain one technique as a lit major would. Throughout every book of the Bible are many reoccurring ideas or concepts. If you were analyzing some other piece of literature, you would latch onto whatever idea, concept, or object pops up again and again. In Shakespeare's Othello, isn't there some importance to the handkerchief as a symbol of the love between Desdemona and Othello, as well as her apparent betrayal of him? Symbolism and imagery in the Bible can be analyzed the same way.

While I encourage you to look at and understand whatever symbols you find within the context of that particular book of the Bible, often a similar meaning for the same symbol is implied in many other books of the Bible. For example, Moses brought forth water from the rock so the Israelites wouldn't die of thirst, right? Jesus referenced both symbols in that story, once calling himself living water and another time, the rock.

Okay, assuming I haven't scared you away from trying to read the Bible by talking like the English major I am, there's another good way to make the Bible interesting and worthwhile to read. It's as simple as reading a section, and then immediately rereading it slower.

Nothing was put in the Bible without a purpose behind it--that would be true of any written work, not just one with a divine influence and message. There are often many profound details you can discover about a biblical story just by asking why what we might consider insignificant details are included in the story. I mean, does it really matter that Ehud was left handed? Yes, it does actually. Because Ehud was left-handed, he wore his sword on the right, and as such was able to hide it from evil King Eglon's personal guard when he went to see this evil king. If Ehud had been right-handed like most people, he would not have been able to assassinate King Eglon.

The last bit of advice I can suggest is to pray before you read, pray that God will speak to you, and that he will help you discern what might otherwise have been a confusing passage of scripture.