Deciding what to read in the Bible

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

mathematoons

New member
When you read the Bible or study it, how do you decide which part you will read, or what topic you will study? There’s so much, it gets hard to decide sometimes.
 
I am considering joining the church, and when i read the Bible I read from an apologetics standpoint. Raised Fundamentalist Protestant, my ENTIRE social network is not going to accept my soon to be conversion (I plan to start RCIA this coming sunday) with joy. Defending the faith is complicated because there is so much that fundamentalism has dropped in 2000 years of church history. I have a lot of catching up to do. 🙂
 
Good topic! One option is to pray to the Holy Spirit Before opening your Bible. In other words let God choose the passage for you.
 
I did this in the months prior to my discovering of the truth (as opposed to the fundamentalist garbage i was fed my whole life) and what I felt i was called to read ended up tying in well to my journey. Exciting how the Holy Spirit moves in our lives!
 
For about 2 years i read the bible everyday and read what ever book inspired me; I read the book of John close to 10 times

My bible is filled with notes

Personally I am a very factual person and did a lot of reasrch of the bible authors, canonization, original language and do on.

I returned to the church from a baptist back ground because of the factual and historical nature of the catholic church
 
mathematoons said:
When you read the Bible or study it, how do you decide which part you will read, or what topic you will study? There’s so much, it gets hard to decide sometimes.
Click to expand...
I love to study Greek words and topics, but I usually recommend that beginners start by doing the daily Mass readings with the practice of Lectio Divina.
 
Adamski said:
For about 2 years i read the bible everyday and read what ever book inspired me; I read the book of John close to 10 times

My bible is filled with notes

Personally I am a very factual person and did a lot of reasrch of the bible authors, canonization, original language and do on.

I returned to the church from a baptist back ground because of the factual and historical nature of the catholic church
Click to expand...
Do you have a suggestion for a Greek translation bible for someone who doesn’t speak Greek, but whats to know the meaning?
 
mathematoons said:
When you read the Bible or study it, how do you decide which part you will read, or what topic you will study? There’s so much, it gets hard to decide sometimes.
Click to expand...
Well - I don’t study the Bible a lot these days…but when I did do some studying - I focused mostly on the Gospels. I figured that if I were to be “Christian” the best thing to do was to get my understanding “straight from the horses mouth” as the old saying goes.

Having done this, and including some of the various letters and Acts… I found that my spiritual life was quite full. Trying to Live out the Commandment to Love is a full time job.

Beyond that - if I hear or read something about the OT I might try looking up the event to put it in some context. But mostly I just try to focus on living in God’s Love.

Peace
James
 
Adamski said:
My bible is filled with notes

Personally I am a very factual person and did a lot of reasrch of the bible authors, canonization, original language and do on.
Click to expand...
HA!! Me too. My Bible has more post-it flags and notes that it seems the factory must be short of them.
I start wherever it fall opens, and go from there. Invariably, a note there leads to another reference point, and then to another, and another and… you get my point.

I , too, am a factual, analytical person. I gotta know the derivation of things; where did it from, who brought it about and why, what was the reasoning, how and why did this or that change. I absolutely love it when they all begin to tie together. I am glad to have this quality, but it also gives me a stiff neck and a headache for all the follow ups…But that’s okay…
 
katholikos12 said:
Do you have a suggestion for a Greek translation bible for someone who doesn’t speak Greek, but wants to know the meaning?
Click to expand...
I do know Greek and Hebrew, but I find blb.org (blue letter Bible) is the easiest I have found to look up the meaning of words. It is a Protestant site, but it has many Bible versions including the RSV and the Vulgate. First, look up a passage. On the left of each verse is six letters. K is for treasury of Scriptural knowledge cross references very good. C is for concordance of Hebrew or Greek which gives the passage in Greek and the words used there with a simple English translation. clicking on the number next to the word brings up a lexicon definition (similar to a dictionary) of the word and all the verses where that word is used. I use it many times a day. V is for versions how the verse is translated in different Bible versions.
Grace and peace,
Bruce
 
Yes to Blue Letter Bible. I have used it regularly for years to get quick access to Greek and Hebrew, and their shades of meaning and usage.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top