Bible Verse Memorization

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Can someone recommend a book or website on learning how to memorize bible verses?

Thanks,
Rob
 
I personally don’t recommend memorizing specific verses as the practice removes them from their proper context. It is better, in my view, to be more concerned with getting to know the Divine Author and doctrine. As part of that, familiarize yourself with scripture; after all, it is “inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16). That way you can find the scripture passage with a decent concordance whenever you need to.
 
Here’s a book called Memrize the Faith (or similar: amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1933184175/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/185-5140519-1983131, which describes an ancient method for memorizing and how to use it to memorize a lot of thinhs, and you can also use it to memorize other things.

Sorry, I couldn’t get the link thing to work for me 😦

If you just want to learn the method, it’s often called something like location memorizatiin, and if you look up memorization techniques, then you can probly find it and a couple of others. You really need to practice them, tho.
 
St_Francis said:
Here’s a book called Memrize the Faith (or similar: amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1933184175/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/185-5140519-1983131, which describes an ancient method for memorizing and how to use it to memorize a lot of thinhs, and you can also use it to memorize other things.

Sorry, I couldn’t get the link thing to work for me 😦

If you just want to learn the method, it’s often called something like location memorizatiin, and if you look up memorization techniques, then you can probly find it and a couple of others. You really need to practice them, tho.
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That link was for the mobile site. The following is for the regular site:
amazon.com/gp/product/1933184175?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1

That’s more a step in the right direction. Scripture and the Faith need to be studied together. 😃
 
I know you asked for a book or website, but my advice to you is to turn the verse into a song. Put it into a catchy tune that you’ll remember, or write your own, which is what I do. That is how I memorized the 23rd Psalm for example. I put a recording of it on the net to help others memorize it, too. (You can listen to it by clicking “Psalm 23” on myspace.com/caitysingshymns. I’m not doing this to shamelessly plug, but just as a resource in answer to your question.) If you are musically inclined, this is one of the best ways!

Another way is to just break down a passage bit by bit. Take it 5-10 words at a time, depending on how large the passage. Keep repeating each fragment until you no longer need to look at it/read it and can recite it by memory, then say it every time before you say the following fragment. Repetition is one of the main tools for memorization. Good for you that you want to memorize Scripture, and God bless you! 👍
 
I spent a lot of my Protestant childhood memorizing Bible verses. It would have been much more useful for me to have learned where we got the Bible, a subject which was never mentioned to me. Memorizing verses is good only for proof-texting, which is not the way Scripture is correctly understood. The Bible should be read thematically, holistically. Memorizing verses did me no harm, but it didn’t do me any good and was a waste of time. My :twocents:

Here’s a little book online: Where We Got the Bible: Our Debt to the Catholic Church, by Henry G, Graham

It’s also available from Catholic Answers and Amazon.
 
I learned a lot from scripture songs and just reading/studying the scriptures over the last 40 years…I had a powerful conversion experience at the age of 21 and got into the scriptures pretty faithfully. I am over 60 now and am still amazed at all the scripture that comes to my mind when I’m going through something or encouraging someone else… I’ve had three pretty rough head traumas over the years that affected my memory but I am amazed at all the scripture my mind retains…May the Lord bless and guide you as you get into His word. Nothing wrong with studying and committing His words to memory.
 
DTSMA68 said:
Thanks. I ordered that book from Amazon last night.
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Thank StFrancis. He provided the reference. I just provided an alternate link since his was formatted poorly for my desktop browser.
 
SonCatcher said:
I personally don’t recommend memorizing specific verses as the practice removes them from their proper context. It is better, in my view, to be more concerned with getting to know the Divine Author and doctrine. As part of that, familiarize yourself with scripture; after all, it is “inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16). That way you can find the scripture passage with a decent concordance whenever you need to.
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Yes! 👍
One should also keep in mind that the Biblical books originally were not written with chapter-and-verse divisions. While the method of dividing passages has been helpful in some ways, they also have had the drawback of enabling people to (as you mention) cherry-pick quotes out of context. Sometimes I wonder whether we even need chapters and verses anymore.
 
SonCatcher said:
I personally don’t recommend memorizing specific verses as the practice removes them from their proper context. It is better, in my view, to be more concerned with getting to know the Divine Author and doctrine. As part of that, familiarize yourself with scripture; after all, it is “inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16). That way you can find the scripture passage with a decent concordance whenever you need to.
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Excellent advice. However, I think there are a lot of verses that really stand alone and should be memorized. One of my favorites is Proverbs 3:5-6:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
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Also, in addition to memorizing it is a good idea to learn where in the Bible certain verses are located. That way if someone quotes something that doesn’t seem quite right you can simply turn to it and put it into proper context.
 
Why memorize? You need the teaching, not the word-per-word memorization of the Bible. I myself are at a point that I vaguely know what is said in the New Testament. I can’t recall the exact book or verse, I can google to find out if I need to quote. But I know its there because I remember them from taking in lessons.

I think verse memorization increases legalism and makes people rely on the words rather than the meaning or context of those words.
 
I’ve found memorizing a passage as a comfort and aid in relating to God.

I think it best to memorize a passage rather than a verse.

Her are some:
The Lord’s Prayer
The Magnificat
The Benedictus
The 23rd Psalm.
The prologue of John’s Gospel

I met a fellow who was trying to memorize the New Testament. I would start with 1st John. 🙂
 
Of course it’s better to memorize a passage than a verse, but if you become familiar with the Bible, you will know where the verse comes from and it’s context, thus, avoiding the dreaded danger of "prooftexting’,

When I was in RCIA , the father joked about how probably “no one really reads the Bible, just tosses it on the coffeetable”, then he stated that “a plumber fixes pipes, and a sick person goes to the doctor, and if you want to know what the Bible says, you need to go to the church”.

While what he said may be true, he also seemed to be insinuating that we really don’t need to bother reading the Bible ourselves, or suggesting that we wouldn’t be able to interpret it correctly. Very unfortunate.

It is very beneficial to memorize Bible verses.
 
rebecca123 said:
Of course it’s better to memorize a passage than a verse, but if you become familiar with the Bible, you will know where the verse comes from and it’s context, thus, avoiding the dreaded danger of "prooftexting’,

When I was in RCIA , the father joked about how probably “no one really reads the Bible, just tosses it on the coffeetable”, then he stated that “a plumber fixes pipes, and a sick person goes to the doctor, and if you want to know what the Bible says, you need to go to the church”.

While what he said may be true, he also seemed to be insinuating that we really don’t need to bother reading the Bible ourselves, or suggesting that we wouldn’t be able to interpret it correctly. Very unfortunate.

It is very beneficial to memorize Bible verses.
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Individual Bible reading is relatively new. Most people couldn’t read until the 19th century.
The canon of the Bible was settled at the end of the fourth century in order to determine which writings among many that circulated among the local Catholic Churches during the early Christian centuries should be authorized to be read aloud at the sacred liturgy (Mass). If one attends Mass every Sunday for three years, one will have heard the entire Bible proclaimed. except for the inconsequential information like St. Paul leaving his cloak in Troas.

It is unlikely that Father was discouraging Bible reading by his reported comment. It is very likely that Father meant that one goes to the Catholic Church for correct biblical interpretation. The thousands of Protestant denominations each has its own interpretation of the Bible – usually the New Testament – that varies from every other denomination in at least one doctrine or practice, which proves the fallacy of private interpretation. Since the New Testment consists of 27 of the Catholic Church’s own writings, one can be sure she knows what they mean.

The NT was written by the leaders of the Catholic Church founded by Jesus Christ and must be read in the context of the teaching of the Church to be correctly understood. The NT mirrors the teaching of the Church. Christ founded the Church**; **the Church – guided by the Spirit – wrote the NT and compiled and named the Bible.

Jim Dandy
Ex-Southern Baptist, ex-agnostic, ex-atheist, ecstatic to be Catholic!
 
While I don’t doubt that Father would not dissallow us to “personally” read the Bible, his comments seemed to indicate this is not something important or that he would encourage.

Hearing the readings in Mass is hardly comparable with personally studying and praying over the Scriptures.

The Catholic Church did not “write” the Bible.

Isn’t it great that today most people are literate and can read the Bible, unlike the past.
 
rebecca123 said:
The Catholic Church did not “write” the Bible.

Isn’t it great that today most people are literate and can read the Bible, unlike the past.
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We’ll God was the author via the Holy Spirit but the universal church off all the see’s
was called “catholic” from about the first century…It does differ from what we know of the Roman catholic church and those who align with it today, but they have roots to it.
 
ConstantineTG said:
Why memorize? You need the teaching, not the word-per-word memorization of the Bible. I myself are at a point that I vaguely know what is said in the New Testament. I can’t recall the exact book or verse, I can google to find out if I need to quote. But I know its there because I remember them from taking in lessons.

I think verse memorization increases legalism and makes people rely on the words rather than the meaning or context of those words.
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“Without memorization, there is no education. Words are memorized in order that ideas may be nourished in the mind” (Fr. John Hardon).

When you memorize something, it becomes part of you and helps form who you are. If we are always relying on Google, we know things only partially.
 
I’ve memorized a substantial amount of scripture over the years. I don’t think that there’s any special technique for doing so. I simply choose a passage of scripture that I want to memorize, write it out on 3" x 5" cards and carry the cards with me until the passage is memorized.

Memorization goes hand in hand with lectio divina (biblical meditation). When practicing lectio, monks would often repeat a passage of scriputre throughout the day that struck them during a time of prayer. Similarly, as you read and reflect on God’s word, I recommend writing down any passage that seems particularly important to you and continue to reflect on it during the day. This lets God use the Word to speak to you and shape your life.

Because I prayed the Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours for some time, I memorized a number of the passages from scripture that are used repeatedly, such as the Magnificat, the Nunc Dimittis, and several of the Psalms (95, 100, 1, 23, and several others).

I also try to meditate on and memorize scripture that I will proclaim when lectoring. Even if you don’t memorize the whole thing, the reading will become much more significant to you, and your passion for God’s Word will be conveyed to the congregation.

One piece of advice is to use the same translation of the bible for memorizing that you use for reading. It’s very confusing to deal with the different wordings of the same passage of scripture.

A final word of advice: the goal is not to memorize lots of scripture. The goal is to allow God’s Word to find a home in your mind and heart and to shape your life. How much we read and memorize is far less important than how much we have conformed ourselves to God’s will and God’s Word.
 
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