Anyone try reading the Bible in a year?

[Malia_Belen]

I’ve been studying the Catholic faith and praying but I’m just not sure. I thought it might help if I could read the whole Bible. It’s a daunting task though. Anyone ever done it? How was it? Were you able to finish? Did you do it by yourself or with a partner?

 

[06convert]

Some parts of the Bible aren’t exactly page turners are they?

I haven’t read it in it’s entirety, but I hope to at some point.

There are many reading plans out there that will give you daily or weekly readings that will take you though the entire Bible in 1 years time.

 

[Jotobo]

I have done it. I follow the plans you can get. Sometimes I read a few days worth, some days I missed days. But all in all you get it done.

The best ones are the ones that include an NT, OT, and a Psalm or Proverb each day.

 

[Joe_5859]

Is someone making a New Year’s Resolution?

It’s helpful to have structure. The last thing you want to do is just start with Genesis and start reading. You’ll be fine through Genesis and Exodus, but once you hit Leviticus, you’ll be tempted to abandon the task.

I recommend the Jeff Cavins/Great Adventure approach. Cavins has you first go through 14 of the more narrative books of the Bible in sequence to give you the “big picture” of Salvation history. This can be done in a month, three months, or six months. Then, you go through those books a second time, this time inserting the rest of the books where appropriate as you go.

IMHO, this sort of approach, while potentially more time consuming, is much more beneficial. Better to take more than a year to read through and understand the Scriptures rather than simply trying to check boxes off on a score sheet so one can brag that they read the entire Bible (not that I think this is what you are doing, but, speaking from personal experience, it can be a temptation).

 

[Malia_Belen]

Is someone making a New Year’s Resolution?

It’s helpful to have structure. The last thing you want to do is just start with Genesis and start reading. You’ll be fine through Genesis and Exodus, but once you hit Leviticus, you’ll be tempted to abandon the task.

I recommend the Jeff Cavins/Great Adventure approach. Cavins has you first go through 14 of the more narrative books of the Bible in sequence to give you the “big picture” of Salvation history. This can be done in a month, three months, or six months. Then, you go through those books a second time, this time inserting the rest of the books where appropriate as you go.

IMHO, this sort of approach, while potentially more time consuming, is much more beneficial. Better to take more than a year to read through and understand the Scriptures rather than simply trying to check boxes off on a score sheet so one can brag that they read the entire Bible (not that I think this is what you are doing, but, speaking from personal experience, it can be a temptation).

hehehehe…lol…that could be something to brag about…a secondary motive…but to be honest I’m reading because I’d like to write down the verses as I go that support the Catholic Church… or not. I’m having a hard time discerning between all the things I’ve been hearing about Catholicism and Protestants on both sides… and I think it may be a New Years Resolution : P…I haven’t decided yet.

 

[jmcrae]

I’ve been studying the Catholic faith and praying but I’m just not sure. I thought it might help if I could read the whole Bible. It’s a daunting task though. Anyone ever done it? How was it? Were you able to finish? Did you do it by yourself or with a partner?

I have tried doing this - I just don’t have the self-discipline.

It’s easier to go through the Bible in themes, rather than literally verse by verse. For example, you can pick the theme of Creation, which takes you through parts of Genesis, the Psalms, and parts of the New Testament. Then you can take the theme of Faith, which takes you through other parts of the Bible. The theme of the Sacraments takes you through a lot of stuff that you otherwise might be tempted to skip over.

 

[Cathhsmom]

I’ve been studying the Catholic faith and praying but I’m just not sure. I thought it might help if I could read the whole Bible. It’s a daunting task though. Anyone ever done it? How was it? Were you able to finish? Did you do it by yourself or with a partner?

I have read through the Bible, but didn’t give myself a time frame other than reading a little each day. I would check off the chapter as I went so that I knew where I was. I am one of those that started in Genesis and went to Revelations. I only did that because I had never read it all and just wanted to do it. I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to comprehend it the 1st time, but might be able to get more the 2nd go round. Then I found out that I had not read the Catholic Bible, convert. So, I had to go back and read the books that are left out of the Protestant Bibles. I really liked Wisdom, Sirach, and Tobit.

How about getting a Bible study book instead such as the Navarre Bible which has it broken down by books, ie the Gospel of John, the Catholic Epistles (the universal letters, not St. Paul’s),. Or the Ignatius study ones that do the same thing. Then you can read say a Gospel with the commetary at the bottom from the Catholic perspective and check it out against what you have in your faith traditions Bible. Don’t forget to check out the books that were taken out of your Bible. They are actually really good, and I was surprised when I was reading Sirach because it sounded a lot like something that I had just read in the Letter of James. Lo and behold it was the same and was evens mentioned in the comentary at the bottom of James.

 

[peeteyg]

I read it all in around 4 months. I read the NAB bible which is the catholic version. I had a protestant friend tell me not to become jewish in the processof reading the OT. It gave me a far greater understanding of the stories in the bible. I really looked forward to reading the NT but I got alot out of the OT. As I read I didn’t find anything that was inconsistent with the catholic faith. I am now trying to get to know individual scripture in a quotable way to go toe to toe with my JW and protestant brothers.

 

[Jotobo]

Is someone making a New Year’s Resolution?

It’s helpful to have structure. The last thing you want to do is just start with Genesis and start reading. You’ll be fine through Genesis and Exodus, but once you hit Leviticus, you’ll be tempted to abandon the task.

I recommend the Jeff Cavins/Great Adventure approach. Cavins has you first go through 14 of the more narrative books of the Bible in sequence to give you the “big picture” of Salvation history. This can be done in a month, three months, or six months. Then, you go through those books a second time, this time inserting the rest of the books where appropriate as you go.

IMHO, this sort of approach, while potentially more time consuming, is much more beneficial. Better to take more than a year to read through and understand the Scriptures rather than simply trying to check boxes off on a score sheet so one can brag that they read the entire Bible (not that I think this is what you are doing, but, speaking from personal experience, it can be a temptation).

Im going to check this Cavins thing out. In my RCIA we are following a book/DVD series of his called Catholicism 101 and so far I really enjoy that. He has a great teaching style I can tell.

*****Just checked it out and its a liiiiiiiitle out of my price range, lol

 

[Nec5]

I read it from cover to cover, including the editors’ remarks about history and translation. It took me about three months this past summer. Set a goal. I started at about ten pages a day. I could read more if time permitted and things clicked, but ten pages was the minimum. Sure enough, some days ended with a hundred pages read while other days barely met the ten page minimum. Stick with it.

It is worth reading cover to cover on your own. Doing so dispels many of the common misinterpretations and “taking things out of context” messages that talking heads use on television and in the college classroom. Once you’ve read it, some powerful overarching themes and patterns will jump out at you, and you’ll see how decadent our current culture has become and how it resembles the fallen towns and kingdoms detailed in the Bible. Very illuminating.

Edit: I also read the Catechism from start to finish right after reading the Bible. Again, its important that each individual does this so he/she will really have the confidence to fully engage the materials involved.

 

[corsair]

My sister has read the Bible through, cover to cover, in one year, twice. She still doesn’t get it. Her comment, “whats the point?”

Of course, she can’t understand it either. I tried to explain that it cannot be understood as if reading a novel. Just processing words doesn’t cut it.

I’m slowly working on scripture, as the seasons pass by. Trying to use more resources than just the Bible. I also spend much time contemplating the chapters I read and many times re-reading. I bounce lots of stuff off our priest, too.

 

[nobeerinheaven]

My wife and I have been reading the Bible daily, through one of the 20 minutes a day planned Bibles (this one). It has been a wonderful opportunity for us to get closer to God as a couple, though I think the “Great Adventure” approach mentioned above sounds neat, after having labored through some of the more difficult books in the first run through.

I have to say, as a convert from Reformed Presbyterianism, if you are trying to make up your mind about conversion based on a year long Bible study, I don’t think you are going to be helped much (except, perhaps, in the growing confidence you get that the Bible is thoroughly Catholic). The reason I say this is that it is not difficult to spin the texts of the Bible in many ways, which is why God didn’t leave the interpretation of the Bible to a disparate group of individuals but to the Church. The origin of the 33,000 or so different versions of Christianity today can be traced to that one foundational notion of Luther’s, which is the private interpretation of the Bible. Reading through the Bible may grow your relationship of God, though, and help you see the Catholic perspectives on it - and each of these things may benefit you toward your conversion. However, a simple read through of the Bible alone is not what I would consider to be the best approach in aiding your conversion. I could be wrong though, obviously.

 

[tabsie3210]

May I recommend:

My Daily Catholic Bible: 20-Minute Daily Readings.

It’s put out by Our Sunday Visitor, and it breaks down the Bible into chunks. You get one passage from the Old Testament and one passage from the New Testament, broken into bite-sized bits that you can read for about twenty minutes a day. If you can spare half an hour every day, you can check off which passages you’ve finished, so you can keep track of where you are, and if you fall behind, you can catch up again.

You know, I didn’t have trouble with Leviticus. Read through Exodus and Leviticus and then you follow up with Solomon, and you will see the same events through two different lenses. It’s really quite interesting.

What got me was Sirach. But I’m resolving to try again this year. I started in July or August, so I was sort of starting in the middle. Blah. Try again from the beginning…

 

[mppo237a]

Im going to check this Cavins thing out. In my RCIA we are following a book/DVD series of his called Catholicism 101 and so far I really enjoy that. He has a great teaching style I can tell.

*****Just checked it out and its a liiiiiiiitle out of my price range, lol

 

[mppo237a]

mppo237a:
I know Jeff Cavins The Great Adventure Bible Study is expensive but I can assure you it is worth every penny. I have gone through it twice, learning and using it as a teaching tool. It has been a life changing experience. Check out his website and it has a map that list areas across the US that you can attend a Great Adventure Bible Study. After going through this, if I wasn’t Catholic I would have had to become one. I am a craddle Catholic but now I know the importance of taking it upon myself to further my knowledge of scripture and how that knowledge only brings me closer to knowing and loving God. I love to read my bible and now I understand what I read more than ever before. In just a couple of weeks or so I will have finished reading the bible in a year (or less). When I finish I will start another bible reading schedule of some type. Currently I am using “How to Read The Bible Every Day, A Guide for Catholics” written by Archbishop John F Whealon. It has a One Year, Two Year and Three Year Plan. Great little book and very inexpensive.

 

[Joe_5859]

Im going to check this Cavins thing out. In my RCIA we are following a book/DVD series of his called Catholicism 101 and so far I really enjoy that. He has a great teaching style I can tell.

*****Just checked it out and its a liiiiiiiitle out of my price range, lol

If ordering from them, I would always call directly rather than ordering online. Sometimes they have specials going on that aren’t on their website.

Also, I always recommend convincing your pastor to run the Great Adventure series at your parish. That way, the parish buys the DVDs (or even just rents them from the Diocesan Office). It’s a much cheaper alternative, plus everyone in the parish has the opportunity to do it too. This sort of structure also helps with accountability.

 

[convert999]

I agree that just reading through the whole Bible might not give you enough to make up your mind for Catholicism. I read it through cover to cover more than once as a Protestant and it didn’t change my mind. Part of the problem was that I read a Protestant study Bible which was blatantly biased against Catholic interpretations. What helped me the most was reading Keating’s Catholicism vs. Fundamentalism, which is biblically based. (I hope I got the title exactly right.) God bless you in your search!

 

[Vanny]

One year Bibles are a great way to do this. The readings are broken down into some OT,NT, Psalms and Proverbs. There are Catholic Versions as well.
I’ve read through the Bible about 8 times now-but I agree to start in Genesis and just go through on your own
is very hard. A lot of people attempt this and then quit when they get bogged down in
Leviticus.
I got a one year Bible, and try to read through it every day, (I’ve skipped some years)
It takes me about 15 minutes.

 

[convert999]

I always managed to muscle my way through Leviticus, but Kings I and II were a real challenge!

 

[adowcday]

I’ve read the bible through several times. Reading and understanding the OT is vital for truly understanding the NT. In recent years, I have focused on working with commentaries on individual books of the bible. I generally work through 4-6 books of the bible annually in that way.