Finding it difficult to start reading the Bible

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Kanuckistani

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It’s not that I can’t understand the words (I’m literate and can read fine), it’s just that I don’t have the “will” to read and I need some inspiration. Any advice, inspirational words or literature would help me greatly.

Thanks 🙂
Kanuck
 
The best advice I EVER received about reading the bible is, “Don’t start at page 1.”
So, don’t start on page 1. 😃
Seriously, think about what you’re trying to learn and go to the part of the bible that will best show you. Or you can do a study, many of which I’ve done, did the study one book at a time. My first was Daniel, which was the perfect place for me to start - it pulled me right in with a lot of “aha” moments and made me want to come back for more.
You could always ask your priest for a suggestion on how to proceed through the bible too.
 
“Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ” - Saint Jerome

It just so happens that he is the first man to translate the various scriptures into a single language, which lead to the bible, as a concept, being made practical.

Start with the Gospels, if you want to know Christ via the scriptures. Two short chapters per day (more or less) will get you through the four Gospels in time for Pentecost, at which time you might begin reading the Acts of the Apostles.

Or, you can read the daily readings that accompany the mass (subscribe here online).
 
Do not start with the Holy Bible.

Open up the Catechism and read that. You will notice all the footnotes they refer to for the teachings therein. When you find a part of the Catechism that interests you, look up the associated Scriptural passage(s) and see where the teaching in the Catechism comes from.

Try reading works of the saints. They will refer to Holy Scripture in their writings and you will be able to cross reference what they are writing of.
 
What you can also do, close your eyes and open the book at any page. Then see where you’ve ended up, read a little, then flip to another random page. Believe me, you’ll be surprised at where you’ll open it.

If that’s not your fancy, you could start in the New Testament. The Gospels can be read quite easily, you could start there?

If actually getting motivation to read the Bible - any of it - is your problem, start with books by the Saints. Most of them have 10 or more verses qutoed from the Sacred Scriptures. Also, you could get the damaticised audio Bible.
 
I made the commitment to start reading my study Bible everyday during Lent of last year. I was trying to start the habit of reading it regularly. It worked!

If you can find some way to commit to it you might just ingrain a habit for the long term.

It has really opened my eyes.

You also might consider Lectio Divina and focus less on how much you read and focus more on reading small amounts prayerfully and listening to what God is telling you. The idea about starting with the Catechism is great as well. I did that and it definitely helped to wet my appetite for Sacred Scripture.

A CD Bible or even Study Bible series that could just listen to while you are driving around town can work wonders. I have a few and they have helped me tremendously. Google Brant Pitre for some excellent choices.

Peace,
 
LoyalViews said:
What you can also do, close your eyes and open the book at any page. Then see where you’ve ended up, read a little, then flip to another random page. Believe me, you’ll be surprised at where you’ll open it.
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:eek::confused: Um, no, because the Bible is a unit, and it needs to be read in context. Cults love to cherry-pick verses and distort them.

Kanuck, once you’ve read the Bible through at least once, then, you can “nibble” here and there when you don’t have enough time or energy to read a whole book.

Anyway, my recommendation would be to read the first 6-8 chapters of Genesis (what can be more interesting than the beginning of the world?!?), then the Gospel of John, then Romans, then Acts. Read 5 Psalms a day by starting with the number of the day you’re on, and then adding 30 each time (so, for example, today is the 16th: read Ps. 16, 46, 76, 106 and 136). Psalms are fabulous. Also, if you’re interested in the foundations of civilization, read Deuteronomy and Leviticus: those are really meaty (and an antidote to all of today’s sewage!). By all means avoid starting with stuff like Joshua, Chronicles, Judges, because you will fall asleep. Zzzzzzzzzz…
 
hizown said:
:eek::confused: Um, no, because the Bible is a unit, and it needs to be read in context. Cults love to cherry-pick verses and distort them.
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Well that never really crossed my mind :confused:

There’s nothing wrong about what I suggested. I doubt the OP will start a cult from it, because if he did flip randomly to a page and found a passage which sounded kooky on it’s own, I think reading a bit before that and a bit after it would clear it up since you’d then be reading it in the proper context. Most bibles these days have each passage titled, so it’s hard to read out of context.

But whenever I don’t know what a passage means, I’ll just ask a Priest to give me the Church’s interpretation, which is the only right one.
 
LoyalViews said:
Well that never really crossed my mind :confused:

There’s nothing wrong about what I suggested. I doubt the OP will start a cult from it, because if he did flip randomly to a page and found a passage which sounded kooky on it’s own, I think reading a bit before that and a bit after it would clear it up since you’d then be reading it in the proper context. Most bibles these days have each passage titled, so it’s hard to read out of context.

But whenever I don’t know what a passage means, I’ll just ask a Priest to give me the Church’s interpretation, which is the only right one.
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It is not cherry-picking that gets us in trouble. It is the private interpretation of those cherry-picked verses. Each of us has a favorite verse, and that, by definition, is cherry-picking. Yet, if one views even single verses in context and under the guidance of Mother Church, they will still be fine. Although scripture remains a seamless garment, I also like random verses, as the Holy Spirit leads to some amazing answers to the day’s troubles. 👍
 
Start with Acts.

Then go back and read the Gospel of John first.

Then go and read the book of Daniel.

Then go and read Galatians.

By then you will be hooked and want to know more.

😃

May He guide you in your quest!

In Him.
 
po18guy said:
It is not cherry-picking that gets us in trouble. It is the private interpretation of those cherry-picked verses. Each of us has a favorite verse, and that, by definition, is cherry-picking. Yet, if one views even single verses in context and under the guidance of Mother Church, they will still be fine. Although scripture remains a seamless garment, I also like random verses, as the Holy Spirit leads to some amazing answers to the day’s troubles. 👍
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That’s why I’ll always ask a Priest when I don’t understand a passage, because only the Church has the authority to interpret Sacred Scripture 😃
 
hizown said:
:eek::confused: Um, no, because the Bible is a unit, and it needs to be read in context. Cults love to cherry-pick verses and distort them.
… Zzzzzzzzzz…
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Well this was a favourite practice of St. Francis.

He would often just open the bible randomly, after prayer, and do whatever it was the bible told him.

After opening the bible randomly at

“If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor” (Matthew 19:21);

“Take nothing for the way” (Mark 6:8);

“If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24);

Francis declared “This will be the rule of life which we and all those who will join us shall follow.”
 
Reading the bible can seem like a daunting task, especially if you are just starting out. *Its like going to the gym to exercise. . *You tell yourself you will do it tommorrow; but tommorrow never comes. *The problem is motivation. *If we start going to the gym and create that good habit we will start to see good results and these good results will motivate us to keep going. *But when we are trying to start out we tend to think about the pain and effort and not about the good results. *And this stifles our motivation.

Rarely, does anything that is worth accomplishing not require some effort on our part. *Thus, we have to have the end result in mind. *What do we want to accomplish from doing this? *When we focus on the goal instead of the pain the motivation becomes easier. *If we focus on the hard work and suffering and lose sight of the goal our motivation dwindles.

Let’s face it no matter how you read the bible it is not a quick thing. *So it is important to have realistic goals. *You are not going to become a scripture scholar overnight. *You need to pace yourself and allow yourself time to meditate on it, to allow it to absorb.

When you approach the bible you are not just approaching a book, but you are approaching God’s inspired word in writing. *There are many treasures awaiting you there. *It is a place where God can speak to your soul if you are allow him to. Pray to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to help you to read the bible and speak to you through it.

Another thing, if you get the chance to take Jeff Cavins bible study called ‘The Great Adventure’ do so. *It is well worth it. *And, talk about motivation if you do it with others. *Because you discuss it in small groups. *The questions and discussions motivate you more.
 
triumphguy said:
Well this was a favourite practice of St. Francis.

He would often just open the bible randomly, after prayer, and do whatever it was the bible told him.
."
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There is actually a joke about this. One day a guy flipped open the bible and it said “Then Judas went out and hung himself.”. So he flipped the bible to another page and it said, “Go and do likewise.”

Bible flipping may have its place but you don’t learn the story of the bible from bible flipping. Who would read ‘Gone with the wind’ by flipping to random pages? You might learn bits and pieces but you won’t learn the story. That is why the Great Adventure series bible series is so good since it takes you through the storyline of the bible from Genesis to Luke skipping the non-story books so that you get a sense of the big picture without getting bogged down in details.
 
fisherman_carl said:
There is actually a joke about this. One day a guy flipped open the bible and it said “Then Judas went out and hung himself.”. So he flipped the bible to another page and it said, “Go and do likewise.”
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About 8 years ago my wife moved from Brasil to the USA in Louisiana. Right after she arrived, there was a hurricane. She decided to get out her Bible and read a bit to comfort herself. She opened a page at random and ended up in the story about the flood in the Old Testament. :eek:

She decided put the Bible away and call her cousin back home instead… 😃
 
Well, if you have interest in topics, find a topical index (I found one for $5 at a store) and pick a topic – marriage or food or whatever – and read all of those verses. Get the context too, but that way it’s something that interests you about the Bible. Find out what God says faith is. Or what Love is. rather different than what we think it is.
 
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