Reading the Bible with fiancee

[JonW]

Hi folks!

My agnostic fiancee has asked if I would like to read the Bible with her on a daily basis. I’m wondering if some of you can give me some guidance on how best to organize our reading. I want to go through the Old Testament emphasizing the salvation history contained therein, but I also want to always be pointing to the New Testament as the fulfillment of the Word of God. However I also want to maintain the continuity of the story of the New Testament while constantly relating to the Old Testament, etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

God Bless

Jon

 

[spauline]

Hi, JonW,

God Bless you in your desire to bring your fiancee closer to God, and her desire to study the Bible.

I would say, start with the meaning of Genesis, how man was originally in friendship with God, that they lost trust in Him, failed to believe in His Revelation, and took the creation as an end in and of itself.

Point out that Christ is the ultimate healing of these wounds, but also that the whole of the OT history is already a process whereby God is progressively redeeming the world.

It might help her to have a basic grasp of the very general events of the OT, before you hit anything specific. IOW, it is best to have basic grasp of the bigger picture, and then delve deeper into specific ages as needed.

Show her that salvation history is constant alternation between man’s sinful assertion, but then God’s redemptive actions and interventions.

I would also strongly suggest that you study the Theology of the Body, that builds strongly on Genesis and other Scriptures to show forth the beauty of human sexuality in the Divine Plan, especially since you are approaching marriage. If you and her can penetrate the wondrous mystery of human sexual love, it can open up many more doors to faith in other areas.

I pray that God Bless you and your fiancee.

 

[Morningkill]

I would advise to begin with the Gospels - the Gospel of Luke is a very good place to start. If you have a good Bible, you can use the footnotes to refer to places in the OT which are referenced in the NT.

The OT is a very good read, but can be excessively daunting. The Gospels are the central part of the Bible to a Christian, and so I would advise beginning there. You can pick up sections of the salvation history in the OT as you read the NT Gospels.

 

[rwoehmke]

For less than $100 you could get the “Bible Time Line Study.” It has a reading schedule, study questions and a CD or DVD with lectures on each section.It really brings out the relation of the two testaments to each other.

 

[TMC]

I would advise to begin with the Gospels - the Gospel of Luke is a very good place to start. If you have a good Bible, you can use the footnotes to refer to places in the OT which are referenced in the NT.

The OT is a very good read, but can be excessively daunting. The Gospels are the central part of the Bible to a Christian, and so I would advise beginning there. You can pick up sections of the salvation history in the OT as you read the NT Gospels.

This is what I would do, also. You say she is agnostic, but I don’t know where she is at spiritually. Is she familiar with the Bible at all? The OT is great and important, but the Gospels tell such a compelling story, simple and easy to understand, but very deep and rewarding. Its a good place to start, go do all the other stuff, then come back and finish there, too. Of course that may take a while. Have fun with it.

 

[RobNY]

I’m not sure what is best. On the one hand, the Old Testament may seem irrelevant and dauntingly long. On the other hand, Christianity is only truly comprehensible in the context of the Jewish story.

Is she familiar with the OT in sketch, the whole idea of the Jews as God’s chosen people, and God’s promise to create a covenant through Abraham and his descendants? Covenant is a pretty important idea.

Of course, if you’re going to be doing this for a long time, you may have the advantage of doing a gospel, going back to the Old Testament (and thus she’ll be able to read the Old in light of the New), and then going back to the New Testament with the perspective of the Old as revealed by the New.

That was confusing. Read a gospel.

I would also say, it might personally behoove you to understand why the synoptic gospels teach a “high Christology” in case she ever asks you why the gospel of John teaches Christ’s divinity but the other gospels don’t (which isn’t true, but it’s much more subtle).

That’s all I can think of.

Is there any reason why she’s interested in reading the bible with you? It’s always a good thing. You have a very healthy relationship if you can so amiably interact over religious differences

-Rob

 

[juliamajor]

I think you should Pray and meditate and be led By the HS to decide which book is the best to start with.I always start teaching with the OT -but that’s for teaching purposes( you’ll understand more of the NT if you read the OT first- it really reinforces “salvation History”-one continuous line from the beginning of time till it’s end. But If you want to start with a Gospel- Start with John- so much theology ,so much love and so much depth. Use a Bible with notes- that will be helpful and use a translation that both are comfortable with .Ignatius study Guide for John’s Gospel has both the text and notes .hahn does an excellent job in that whole series. God Bless!

 

[Epistemes]

Hey Jon,

Someone has already mentioned a Bible Time Line Study. Jeff Cavins has a pretty good structured Bible Study course called “The Great Adventure.” Here is the link in case you’re interested:

jeffcavins.com/jc/?page_id=440

Sounds daunting, though, doesn’t it? Trust me, at several months worth of study, it will keep you and your fiance busy! But faith shouldn’t be rushed.

Cavins’ study begins with Genesis and concentrates on the covenant made with Adam and Eve then with Abraham. Next, most of Exodus is read, focusing, of course, upon God’s covenant at Sinai. You could easily skip the measurements of the Tabernacle (for now) and all of Leviticus instead moving on to the final journey through the wilderness in Numbers. Skip Deuteronomy. Then in Joshua through 2 Kings, you would uncover the history of Israel through the Babylonian capture.

I would recommend reading selections of the Major Prophets before moving on to 1 and 2 Maccabees.

THEN FINALLY THE GOSPELS!

(For not being Jewish, we Christians are made to spend an awfully lot of time reading the Old Testament! )

Sorry to be so wordy…but you asked…