Where to start reading the bible?

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I want to read the bible for all its purposes. I joined the Church Holy Saturday in 2018 . But I don’t know where to start reading can anyone help?
 
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Start with Mark. Read it like a book then read it slower the second time. Then Matthew or Luke,
Then read Genesis. Go back and forth between the new and Old Testament . The New Testament is hidden in the old and the Old Testament is revealed in the New. I am sure if you google you can find a formal program to study the Bible. Do a little each day.
 
Just spend 15, 20 or even 30 minutes a day reading. I started from the first page and continued to read some everyday. Does your parish have a bible study group? Or maybe, another parish close by does, which you could join?
 
🎺🎇 Welcome to the family of God @Catholic361 and 🙋 welcome to CAF - Delighted you have answered the call of Jesus to embrace the Catholic faith.
My own opinion is to start with the Gospels and keep going up to Revelation…then head onto the Old Testament. But have no idea what a biblical scholar would suggest. I wonder what Dr. Scott Hahn would suggest? St. Paul Center May the Holy Spirit guide you 😇
 
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Catholic361 said:
I want to read the bible for all its purposes. I joined the Church Holy Saturday in 2018 . But I don’t know where to start reading can anyone help?
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I’d start with the daily readings of the Mass
PatK63 said:
The New Testament is hidden in the old and the Old Testament is revealed in the New
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Very true. The grouping of the daily readings help reveal this, especially on particular feast days, solemnities, & memorials.

After reading the daily readings you can go on YouTube & watch daily Mass for the homily where that priest offers insight & commentary on the reading.
 
I’ve read it a number of ways is cover to cover, randomly choosing different books or if a reading or scripture at mass spoke to me that day that’s what I went back and read. When I asked my Deacon for his thoughts on the best way to approach reading the the entire Bible he gave me the following book. Each day has a passage from the Old testament, New Testament, A Psalm, and one or two Proverbs. The Deuterocanonical books are arranged in 365 daily reading in the last section of the book.

 
I would suggest the Institute of Catholic Culture. It’s a great resource (and free). Many archived video talks on so many topics by top theologians, professors, priest, deacons, bishops. The list goes on and on.

As far as reading the Bible, the Institute of Catholic Culture also has a weekly Bible study called the Sunday Gospel reflection (both Byzantine lectionary and Roman rite):


It’s not a homily but an actual study of the Scriptures read at the Liturgy. The Scriptures must be understood in the context of the Liturgical cycle. For lex orandi lex credendi, the rule of prayer is the rule of belief.

ZP
 
Catholic361 said:
I want to read the bible for all its purposes. I joined the Church Holy Saturday in 2018 . But I don’t know where to start reading can anyone help?
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What I highly recommend is reading a short guide on how the OT is connected to the NT and how prophecy unfolds and leads to Jesus and the founding of the Church.

@po18guy recommended a very good guide that basically walks you through the key parts of the Bible. The book is an easy read and Dr. Bergsma does an excellent job of tying everything together. He also wrote another book which is very similar, called New Testament Basics for Catholics if you want more in depth information about the NT.

Another really good book is called Walking with God. This is one of my favorites, as it also walks you through Salvation history and really makes the Bible come alive.

Naturally you can always just pickup the Bible and start reading it, but these books will tell you how all these key figures and places are tied together and how they fulfilled their roles in Scripture.

Definitely worth reading.
 
Catholic361 said:
I want to read the bible for all its purposes. I joined the Church Holy Saturday in 2018 . But I don’t know where to start reading can anyone help?
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Start with the Gospels …

This way you’ll be able to Understand the rest of the NT as well as the OT - in the Light of Jesus…

I recommend PRAYERFULLY starting with Matthew… and be patient with the Begats… 🙂

And If you run into a ? … Ask the Author
 
Gospels. I’d say Matthew. For the Epistles James, John or Peter. These can read like mini Gospels. And since they are shorter than Paul’s Romans or Corinthians and some others they are a good entry into the Epistles.

Old Testament. Genesis. Some of the more familiar stories such as Job, Ruth or Jonah. For the wisdom books Ecclesiastes and the first nine chapters of Wisdom. For the prophets Zechariah and Malachi. These are closer to the time of Jesus and anticipate his coming, as do all the prophets. They are much shorter than the major prophets so are a good entry.
 
As well, you can sign up for the daily mass readings. That way, you develop the good habit of regular scripture reading, and reading that coincides with and prepares you for the mass.

This may very well enkindle in you the further desire to read outside of the mass. Some of the older Catholic bibles had reading suggestions to cover an entire year. As Pope Francis urged us, get a pocket New Testament - this one is excellent - and carry it with you.
 
Why not begin where all books start?
That is what I did which I am not saying it’s the correct way.
But if one reads it like one would first read a novel the 1st time one goes from beginning to end. Then subsequently one re-reads passages, books, verses, etc.
I still find from time to time a new “surprise” something that I had read that had not clicked immediately. Sometimes the “surprise” came decades after the initial reading. This is way so many people say the the Bible is “alive” and contains the breath of GOD.
GOD bless!
 
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If you want something with a story line, try out the Gospel of John. If you’re someone who prefers something with logic and reasoning, start with the book of Romans.
 
JerryZ said:
Why not begin where all books start?
That is what I did which I am not saying it’s the correct way.
But if one reads it like one would first read a novel the 1st time one goes from beginning to end. Then subsequently one re-reads passages, books, verses, etc.
I still find from time to time a new “surprise” something that I had read that had not clicked immediately. Sometimes the “surprise” came decades after the initial reading. This is way so many people say the the Bible is “alive” and contains the breath of GOD.
GOD bless!
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Yes! All books and letters should be read as they were intended to be read.

One starts at the beginning … and continues through to their end.

This way - one Cannot Lose Context - which were that the case, impedes Understanding.

Matthew. Onwards. Prayerfully
 
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I started like most from the begging.

Our local Priest has asked that we try reading from the back to the front. I’ve not tried that but apparently when you do it in reverse it makes much sense.
 
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