Reading the Bible

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DavidJoseph

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Can anyone suggest to me a way to read the whole Bible? I’ve seen material from the Coming Home Network and One Bread, One Body that provide guides for reading the Bible in a year, but it doesn’t seem right for me, especially since I feel pressured to either start over or really double up on readings if I get behind. I’ve heard that a great way is to read a chapter a day until you’ve read all the books of the New Testament. But what about the Old Testament? What would be a good way to manage that? Alternate reading a book of the New Testament with a book of the Old Testament, perhaps (that is, after you finish with a New Testament book, start on an Old Testament book), perhaps? Thanks for your suggestions.
 
D’oh!!! This is the wrong forum! I meant to post this in the Spirituality section! I apologize, y’all!
 
When approaching the whole of Scripture for the first time, there isn’t really any advantage in reading the whole Bible from cover to cover. It’s best to first read key parts of it in a systematic way so that you get the “Big Picture” of salvation history – how the books fit together in a unified whole as a continuous narrative. Then you can go back and read the rest of it with better understanding – to flesh out your understanding of the whole by perhaps studying a specific book or theme. This approach takes more patience, but in the long run, you will benefit immensely. Many people discover this late in their study of Scripture and wish they would have known about it sooner.

One of the best ways I know to do this is through Jeff Cavin’s “Great Adventure” series. It approaches the Bible in just this way. Here is one link to learn more about it:
crossroadsinitiative.com/Jeff_Cavins_Great_Adventure_Catholic_Bible_Timeline_Overview.html

For more information about getting started reading the Bible, please visit my web-page linked below.
 
Have you ever seen those guides to reading the Bible in a year? They’ll have the chapters of each book lined out for each day. I used a copy of one from a protestant Bible, so I had to add in the deuterocanonicals (I think that’s the right word). What I did was read each day’s reading and then I kept a journal, and wrote down what stood out to me, what the chapters meant. It wasn’t anything formal, but it was great for me.
 
Another way to aproach reading the bible is to follow the liturgical year (daily mass readings). Granted, it will take you 2-3 years to get through most of the bible (not all of the bible will be represented in the readings); however, it may be easier for you to do it this way instead of the pressure of reading ‘X’ number of chapters a day. Also, I read from other posters that it lends itself well to use the daily mass readings with Lectio Divina, which is a way to pray using the scriptures (sorry if you knew this already).
 
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DavidJoseph:
Can anyone suggest to me a way to read the whole Bible? I’ve seen material from the Coming Home Network and One Bread, One Body that provide guides for reading the Bible in a year, but it doesn’t seem right for me, especially since I feel pressured to either start over or really double up on readings if I get behind. I’ve heard that a great way is to read a chapter a day until you’ve read all the books of the New Testament. But what about the Old Testament? What would be a good way to manage that? Alternate reading a book of the New Testament with a book of the Old Testament, perhaps (that is, after you finish with a New Testament book, start on an Old Testament book), perhaps? Thanks for your suggestions.
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What is really nice about the Catholic Church is that it has done this work for you. If you go to Mass each Sunday, you will have heard or read the whole Bible in three years. If you go to Mass every day, you will have heard or read the whole bible in one year.

Here is the schedule: usccb.org/nab/

Also HERE is a Catholic home bible study guide that I am presently using myself. It explains the Church’s teachings on how to read the Bible, which is different that the way present day Evangelists do it. I have found it very helpful.

Subrosa
 
I’m following Jeff Cavin’s Great Adventure Bible study through Relevant Radio…there are 24 sessions in all, and you can access Session #7 today (it’ll be unavailable on Monday, though). But it’s not too late to jump in at this point. Session #7 is the second part of Exodus (10 commandments). You’ve missed Genesis from Adam & Eve, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Isaac. I don’t know if they’ll repeat the series in the spring. I know I missed it last year and had been looking for it to repeat. Boy was I relieved when it showed up!

You can visit his Bible Timeline webpage to learn more. He takes the 14 narrative books of the bible, we read them in order of significance…then he tells us which other books are related to which sections of the narratives so you can read the entire bible as one unfolding story.
 
Jeff Cavins and Scott Hahn put together a great Bible Study Audio program that you may want to use to help you along. Like the previous posts said, Jeff shows you how to read the 14 “historical” books and then to follow up with all the supplemental and prophet books, as well as telling where they fit in the timeline.

Scott Hahn then goes into some of the more deeper parts of the bible in his typical fashion. This is a great program!

NotWorthy
 
A good way to start is with the books of the history of salvation.

Genesis
exodus
Leviticus 1-6, 17, 19, 23, 25-27 (the rest is very dry!)
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
1 and 2 Samuel
1 and 2 Kings
Ezra-Nehemiah
1 and 2 Maccabees

That’s what we’re studying this year in the Denver Catholic Biblical School!

It’s a 4-year course, and is wonderful. Browbeat your diocese until they get it!
 
David,

I can only offer my own experience.

At one point I tried reading the Bible straight through from Genesis to Revelation. I think I got to Numbers and that was it.

Well one Lent I decided I was going to ‘read the whole Bible’ again. This time my goal was the following:

OT: 1 Chapter/ Night
Psalms: 1 Psalm/ Night
NT: 1 Chapter/Night.

I don’t want to say it’s the MOST important thing, but there’s a rule that 30 days make a habit. So no matter how tired I was or how late I was up (this was back in the days of college), I made sure to read the above. The first 30 days were definately the hardest cuz there were some nights I just wanted to jump in bed.

But after 30 days, if I ever forgot and jumped in bed, I didn’t feel right and I’d remember I had forgot to read. Kind of like developing the routine of brushing your teeth or removing your contacts.

Well there were some nights that I was just on fire and I’d find myself reading chapter after chapter. Other nights I did my minimal of 1 chapter.

After completing the Psalms, I think then I did a chapter of Proverbs / Night.

I started the first day of Lent (it was my Lenten promise) and finished at the end of next year’s Lent.

GOOD LUCK!
 
This is what worked for me.
I started on the first day of the year and began at page 1. This is the most natural way to read any book. By reading 5 chapters a day you will have read the entire Bible in less than a year.
Keep the practice up untill you die. I promise that you will be given new insights every year and it will be to your advantage to develope such a good habit. You will be amazed at how the Lord will grow you in the faith by this little time spent with his word.

Peace be with you.
 
This was the method I learned as a kid – reading by time, not chapters or pages.

The NAB version on my desk right how has 1883 pages in it. Now these pages are about ½ Bible text and ½ footnotes, study aids, etc.

Let’s say I read one page of text in 2 minutes. This means it will take me just under 63 hours to read the entire book, cover to cover.

So, if I commit 30 minutes each day to read the Bible (I am a reader by nature, and can easily curl up with a book and read for hours…), that should make an average of about 15 pages per day. That will take me through the Bible, cover to cover, almost 3 times in 1 year. Allowing for days when I don’t read – it still will get me through the Bible twice each year. I can do this on my lunch break at work.

Growing up as a non-Catholic Chrisitan, my mom read the Bible through many times each year, she read for at least an hour each day (and only had 66 books).
 
I am reading a chapter per day from Genesis to Revelation.

In Christ,
selvaraj
 
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DavidJoseph:
Can anyone suggest to me a way to read the whole Bible? I’ve seen material from the Coming Home Network and One Bread, One Body that provide guides for reading the Bible in a year, but it doesn’t seem right for me, especially since I feel pressured to either start over or really double up on readings if I get behind. I’ve heard that a great way is to read a chapter a day until you’ve read all the books of the New Testament. But what about the Old Testament? What would be a good way to manage that? Alternate reading a book of the New Testament with a book of the Old Testament, perhaps (that is, after you finish with a New Testament book, start on an Old Testament book), perhaps? Thanks for your suggestions.
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While a blog is not the best format to use, you might be interested in the daily reading plan that I have been posting since the end of March: olotw.blogspot.com

It averages between 95-100 verses per day.
 
With the whole Bible for a full year, here is a list that one could follow: catholicdoors.com/bible/1year.htm

It is very good because it allows one to read the Bible in less than a year, all with the 72 Holy Books of the Bible.
 
There are actually 73 books of the Bible, not 72, Silverwings ;).

(The 66 everyone knows…Protestants, Orthodox and Catholic, plus Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Sirach, Wisdom, and Baruch).
 
I have found helpful material at;

presentationministries.com/

They have, on the right side of their page, titles of several articles on reading the Bible, including different plans for reading the Bible through.
 
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