Bible reading trouble

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Joey1976

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I am having trouble reading the Bible. I just don’t get much out of it reading it on my own. It doesn’t keep my attention and what i am reading doesn’t really stick with me. It makes me not want to read the Bible and just stick with reading other Catholic books like books of conversion stories and Scott Hahn books or Benedict Groeschel and other spiritual books which i get a lot more out of and are great. But i know i need to read and understand the Bible. Should I try Bible studies with commentaries such as the Ignatius Bible from Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch? Any other Ideas? I know Steve Ray has a book about the Gospel of John. Any other suggestions? Or anyone ever go through the same trouble?
 
Do you have a reading plan? Did you just start with Genesis and try to plow through?

Are you using any study guides or aides?

Here is a web site with many resources and study aides.

crossroadsinitiative.com/resource_type/15.html

I really recommend the “The Great Adventure: Bible Time Line” by Jeff Cavins. It is an excellent overview of the entire Bible. There are two versions, an expensive 24-part program, and a much more affordable 8 part and 4 part versions, but they are not as detailed.
 
I think it helps to get in a group Bible Study where there is homework - Bible section to be read and questions on it. Usually there will be discussion (of answers) in the group the following week. If there isn’t a group Bible Study and you have to do it on your own, I would still recommend one that has questions (homework). The questions give a purpose (so to speak)for studying, and also serve to engage the mind on the main points. The Ignatius Bible Study is good. The questions (at the back of the book) are good and so is the commentary. There are quite a few good Catholic Bible studies available now.

I needed the regimen of a weekly Bible Study group to “force” me to study on a long term regular basis. I say “force”, but I have loved every study I’ve been in. We’re all different, and you may be more disciplined than I and do fine on your own.

Nita
 
In addition to the excellent advice above, please visit my humble website (linked below) for more ideas.
 
Perhaps you’re reading the ‘wrong’ bible or not looking at it in the proper context?
Some Bibles are easier than others. The NAB may be literal, but it’s agonizing to read in places and I absolutely cannot get myself through it. the NJB (inclusive language or not), on the other hand, is very easy to read, easy to find, has excellent cross referencing and some versions have an abundance of notes. Given the way it was translated there is less need for the notes, but they’re still useful. The RSV-CE isn’t too terrible either.
Note, nothing flows through the genealogies. Sometimes you just have to soldier on or skip that part. Some parts are better than others and it doesn’t hurt to just skip something and move onto something more interesting. It doesn’t have to be torture.
I also recommend thinking about how the story in the Bible relates to the Catholic Church, relating the two while you’re reading it. And following the cross referencing. The sacrifices in the Pentateuch and the colors and rules for the altar etc, Moses coming down from the mountain with halo (imagery similar to saints) after talking with God, David at the tabernacle. There’s so much there that, if you don’t see it in light of the Church, you might just miss it. Later on you get to 1 Maccabees and read about the troubles of the Jewish people with the expanding Roman Empire, and the local battles that they fought. Judith is a short, heroic book. Then there are the prophets. From them you learn that some things never change. People then struggled with similar problems to our own and they often ignored the men of God to their eventual peril.
The Bible is a difficult book because of the way passages are tied together. You don’t always see these things right away and then suddenly it smacks you in the face and you have a AHA! moment. Even the boring detailed parts will have relevance later on.

Anyway, I hope that helped. The other suggestions were good also as they suggest a Bible study which will have a plan for focusing on these interrelations and the historical context. You should also check with the parish for a Bible study.
 
Joey1976 said:
I am having trouble reading the Bible. I just don’t get much out of it reading it on my own. It doesn’t keep my attention and what i am reading doesn’t really stick with me. It makes me not want to read the Bible and just stick with reading other Catholic books like books of conversion stories and Scott Hahn books or Benedict Groeschel and other spiritual books which i get a lot more out of and are great. But i know i need to read and understand the Bible. Should I try Bible studies with commentaries such as the Ignatius Bible from Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch? Any other Ideas? I know Steve Ray has a book about the Gospel of John. Any other suggestions? Or anyone ever go through the same trouble?
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***Hi, Joey!

I’ve had a few acquaintances with similar problems… there was a guy that loved the war stories in Maccabees, Samuel, and Kings, another loved the Pentateuch–always wanting to discover some secret meaning/formula; then there was the Apocalypse only guy; and a young lady that thought that the Old Testament was just for the Jewish people… some people tend to read through the Holy Scriptures as though reading through a novel/action pp back…

Start with this thought, the Holy Scriptures contain the Word of God: His Plan for Salvation. The Bible is the Book about Christ–all those who claim to be Christians cannot but feel oblidged to get to know His Book, intimately. Every single time that people speak about God and Jesus you will feel left out–only because you do not know Him as they do; and, the reason they know Him is because they got involved through study of the Word and sharing of the Word.

I know that when we lack enthusiasm it seems overwhelming: sooo many pages, sooo many confusing words; sooo much to learn/memorize…

When you begin, forget about memorizing–use the Bible as you would a dictionary: resource book. As you get deeper into Scriptures the momerization will come naturally!

Do not think that you must read the whole Bible in “x” amount of time; simply read–and since you are not in competion with anyone you can re-read through a passage/chapter/book as many time as you feel the need!

Try this method for a few weeks:
Start with Genesis 1, Psalms 1, and St. Matthew 1–read a full chapter per day:
Day 1: Genesis 1, Psalm 1, Matthew 1
Day 2: Genesis 2, Psalm 2, Matthew 2…

…as you read through the Bible in this method you will come into convergence where the passage in the Old Testament will be reflected in the New Testament or the Psalms or both–the added feature is that you are reading through the Bible but are not burdened with one single form of text (if you desire to read more than one chapter at a time, I suggest that you maintain the format of OT/Psl/NT).

Remember that you are welcomed to post asking for assistance or to share what you’ve learned or to discuss specific points.

Maran atha!

Angel***
 
Joey1976 said:
I am having trouble reading the Bible. I just don’t get much out of it reading it on my own. It doesn’t keep my attention and what i am reading doesn’t really stick with me. It makes me not want to read the Bible and just stick with reading other Catholic books like books of conversion stories and Scott Hahn books or Benedict Groeschel and other spiritual books which i get a lot more out of and are great. But i know i need to read and understand the Bible. Should I try Bible studies with commentaries such as the Ignatius Bible from Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch? Any other Ideas? I know Steve Ray has a book about the Gospel of John. Any other suggestions? Or anyone ever go through the same trouble?
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It is the opposite with me. Most commentaries and theology books teach me very little, and the Bible continues to teach me a great deal.

You will never learn to benefit spiritually from the Bible if you continue to rely on commentaries and the like.

Try lectio divina:
valyermo.com/ld-art.html
which combines prayer with reading the Bible.
 
Thanks for all the advice. I will look into each and every suggestions. I realize attending Bible studies will help and there are all kinds of aides. But i see people all the time at Starbucks or where ever sitting there and just reading the Bible. They don’t have anything else with them, no aides or guides or a bible study sheet or anything. I just want to be able to do that to and enjoy and get something out of it. I will keep trying. I guess it’s just like anything, the more you try the better you will get. :]
 
It is suggestsed to read just the 14 historical books first, then read them again along with their Supplemental books.

They are:

Genesis (Job - Supplemental)
Exodus (Leviticus - Supplemental)
Numbers (Deuteronomy - Supplemental)
Joshua (Ruth - Supplemental for Joshue and Judges)
Judges
I and II Samuel (Psalms, 1 Chronicles, Proverbs, Song of Solomon - Supplemental)
I and II Kings (II Chronicles, Obadiah, Joel, Amos, Jonah, Hosea, Micah, Isaiah - Supplemental)
Ezra ( Haggai, Zechariah, Esther, Malachi - Supplemental for E and N).
Nehemiah
I Maccabees (II Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach - Supplemental)
Luke (Matthew, Mark, John - Supplemental)
Acts (Paul’s letters, other lettes, Revelation - Supplemental).

You can also buy Scott Hahn’s “Our Father’s Plan” which goes through the Bible’s historical books…
 
Joey1976 said:
I am having trouble reading the Bible. I just don’t get much out of it reading it on my own. It doesn’t keep my attention and what i am reading doesn’t really stick with me. It makes me not want to read the Bible and just stick with reading other Catholic books like books of conversion stories and Scott Hahn books or Benedict Groeschel and other spiritual books which i get a lot more out of and are great. But i know i need to read and understand the Bible. Should I try Bible studies with commentaries such as the Ignatius Bible from Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch? Any other Ideas? I know Steve Ray has a book about the Gospel of John. Any other suggestions? Or anyone ever go through the same trouble?
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Hi Joey, the American Bible Society has put out a Good News, Today’s English Version of the Catholic Bible which is easier to read. Second, why not try listening to the scriptures from tape or cd? there are also, dramatised cd versions too.
 
Chellow said:
It is suggestsed to read just the 14 historical books first, then read them again along with their Supplemental books.

They are:

Genesis (Job - Supplemental)
Exodus (Leviticus - Supplemental)
Numbers (Deuteronomy - Supplemental)
Joshua (Ruth - Supplemental for Joshue and Judges)
Judges
I and II Samuel (Psalms, 1 Chronicles, Proverbs, Song of Solomon - Supplemental)
I and II Kings (II Chronicles, Obadiah, Joel, Amos, Jonah, Hosea, Micah, Isaiah - Supplemental)
Ezra ( Haggai, Zechariah, Esther, Malachi - Supplemental for E and N).
Nehemiah
I Maccabees (II Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach - Supplemental)
Luke (Matthew, Mark, John - Supplemental)
Acts (Paul’s letters, other lettes, Revelation - Supplemental).

You can also buy Scott Hahn’s “Our Father’s Plan” which goes through the Bible’s historical books…
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Good suggestion. Going through these books first helps to give you the “big picture” of salvation history.

I would also ask you what type or writing do you enjoy reading? If you enjoy narratives, read the 14 books above, or even just start with the Gospels. If you like poetry, read the Psalms or Song of Songs. Don’t be afraid to skip around until you find something that engages you. Of course, you don’t want to only use this approach for the rest of your life, but it might be a good way to get things started.

I also agree that participating in a Bible study is a good idea. Even if that is not possible, just find a friend or family member who will hold you accountable to a plan of regular Bible reading. There’s nothing like accountability to keep you on task! 😉
 
Joey,
The most inspirational Bible study I have done is the Jeff Cavins series… I believe that is where the list of 14 narrative books came from. It will inspire you to read the Bible and it will also make it much easier to understand… when you start looking for not just the literal, but the other 3 interpretations (allegorical, moral, and anagogical) it makes much more sense.
  1. Literal Sense: “[T]he meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture” (Catechism, no. 116), the actual event, person, thing described in the biblical text. The literal sense gives rise to the following three “spiritual senses.”
  2. Allegorical Sense: How those things, events, or persons in the literal sense point to Christ and the Paschal Mystery.
  3. Moral Sense: How the literal sense points to the Christian life in the Church.
  4. Anagogical Sense: How the literal sense points to the Christian’s heavenly destiny and the last things.
 
Reading the Bible on your own can be tough. The first thing you should do is to pray to the Holy Spirit and ask for the gift: love of scripture. It is amazing how this can come over you and make you want to devour all you can.
Also get a Bible that makes sense to you. If you are like me than you probably like to read a bible which is written in an easy to understand current language. I have used the NASB but my regular bible is the good news translation for Catholics. It is very easy to read and understand, plus it contains all the books including the deuterocanonicals. The student version is especially helpful and includes many commentaries.
 
Chellow said:
It is suggestsed to read just the 14 historical books first, then read them again along with their Supplemental books.

They are:

Genesis (Job - Supplemental)
Exodus (Leviticus - Supplemental)
Numbers (Deuteronomy - Supplemental)
Joshua (Ruth - Supplemental for Joshue and Judges)
Judges
I and II Samuel (Psalms, 1 Chronicles, Proverbs, Song of Solomon - Supplemental)
I and II Kings (II Chronicles, Obadiah, Joel, Amos, Jonah, Hosea, Micah, Isaiah - Supplemental)
Ezra ( Haggai, Zechariah, Esther, Malachi - Supplemental for E and N).
Nehemiah
I Maccabees (II Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach - Supplemental)
Luke (Matthew, Mark, John - Supplemental)
Acts (Paul’s letters, other lettes, Revelation - Supplemental).

You can also buy Scott Hahn’s “Our Father’s Plan” which goes through the Bible’s historical books…
Click to expand...
Thanks, I have read “A Father who keeps his Promises” By Hahn and did the Bible study that coincides that called From Genesis to Jesus. I have also done Hahn’s bible study abut God’s Covenant Plan for our Salvation. So i have gone over the overall big picture of Salvation history.
Does anyone else recommend another reading plan other than this one. I think a reading plan would help me. Thanks
 
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