Your Opinion? How Many Have Read the Entire Bible?

[lak611]

I have read the entire Bible about 6 times so far, and I’m working on 7 times now, which I will complete this year. I have read the RSV-CE, ecumenical RSV, KJV w/Apocrypha, Douay-Rheims, NASB, and NAB. I’m reading the NEB w/Apocrypha now. I own other translations but have not read them all the way through yet. Yes, I have even read Leviticus and Numbers.

 

[Priscilla_Ann]

I have read the entire bible. I couldn’t begin to guess how many other people have read the entire bible. It is the #1 bestselling book of all time, but that doesn’t mean people have actually read the entire book.

 

[Hellisreal]

I have read the entire Bible about 6 times so far, and I’m working on 7 times now, which I will complete this year. I have read the RSV-CE, ecumenical RSV, KJV w/Apocrypha, Douay-Rheims, NASB, and NAB. I’m reading the NEB w/Apocrypha now. I own other translations but have not read them all the way through yet. Yes, I have even read Leviticus and Numbers.

I knew you would be here lak611!



Maybe if this was posted in Sacred Scripture …

Mirdath knows the bible very well also!

 

[notself]

I read the entire Bible. It is one of the major reasons I am no longer a Christian.

 

[lak611]

I knew you would be here lak611!

I look for the Bible related threads even if they are not in the Sacred Scripture forum.

Maybe if this was posted in Sacred Scripture …

Mirdath knows the bible very well also!

Maybe he will be lurking and find this thread.

 

[rayne89]

I have read the entire Bible.

 

[Nevarlander]

I’d say one in a thousand, maybe. About one-sixth of the world’s population is Christians, I’d guess maybe half of them are nominally Christian but don’t practice or much care, a lot of people can’t read, a lot of people aren’t encouraged to read the Bible… I know I haven’t read the whole thing. Maybe half of it. I don’t want to just sit down and read it because I don’t think I’d understand a lot of it and I’d go all “Huh? What? How do I square *that *with what I’m taught at church?” I’d need someone to read it with me.

 

[Nevarlander]

Mirdath knows the bible very well also!

That’s because Mirdath is the most sensible non-Christian on CAF and knows that you have to know what your interlocutors think, not just what you think they think.

 

[Eric_Hyom]

Greetings and peace be with you all,

I used to think that hearing the readings at mass was all the scriptures I needed to know, but I have started to read the Bible over the last two years and think differently now. I am struggling to understand why some mass readings miss out a few verses that seem troubling, and some mass readings only tell a part of a story.

I feel you can get a different perception by reading the Bible in the order it is written, some of the OT. is very troubling in the way it says the Lord commands the Israelites to kill every man, woman, child and animal in a town. It is difficult to find any meaning in Chronicles and Numbers, and they are a yawn for most of us, I guess they had a greater meaning for people of that era.

The Bible has enough inspiring passages to keep us searching for several lifetimes

In the spirit of growing together in Christ

Eric

 

[KarenNC]

Leviticus and Numbers are the real doozies, aren’t they. I’d say no-one really needs to read Numbers at all.

The fact that it is considered canon and therefore the divinely inspired Word of God in the Catholic Church (and other Christian denominations as well as in Judaism, at minimum) is not sufficient reason to think it is worth reading?

You miss the description of what it means to be a Nazrite (which is important to the story of Samson later in Judges 13)–Numbers 6:1-21

The priestly blessing (which is very popular redone as an Irish blessing) Numbers 6: 24-27
24 " ’ “The LORD bless you
and keep you;
25 the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
26 the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace.” ’
27 “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

God sets fire to the camp of the Israelites because they complained about hardship, then when they complained that the manna was boring, He said He would send so much meat they would eat it until it came out their nostrils and they were sick to death of it. He sent quail then struck the people with a plague for complaining and being ungrateful (Numbers 11).

He gives Miriam leprosy for being jealous of God speaking to Moses and not her (though interestingly Aaron, who also complained, wasn’t struck) Numbers 12

In Numbers 14, you get God cursing the Israelites that none of the ones then alive will see the promised land except for Caleb and Joshua because they were ungrateful complainers.

Numbers 16 you get God causing an earthquake to swallow up alive Korah and all his household and the housesholds of his followers as well as consuming 250 men with fire because they said everyone was just as fit as Moses to present offerings to God, that the whole community is holy, then sends a plague to kill another 14,700 who dared to complain about the first ones being killed (seems like this would be important in Catholic vs. Protestant theology).

Numbers 20 Moses strikes the rock instead of speaking to it to bring forth water and gets banned from the promised land because God said speak to it (this is different from the version in Exodus 17:5-7 where Moses is actually specifically told by God to strike the rock)

Numbers 21 has the story of the bronze snake, after God sent snakes to bite the people and kill them because they complained, Moses intervened and God told him to put a bronze snake on a staff so those that looked on it would live.

Starting in Numbers 22 you get the story of Balaam and his donkey

See some of the things you miss by not reading Numbers?

 

[KarenNC]

I feel you can get a different perception by reading the Bible in the order it is written, some of the OT. is very troubling in the way it says the Lord commands the Israelites to kill every man, woman, child and animal in a town. It is difficult to find any meaning in Chronicles and Numbers, and they are a yawn for most of us, I guess they had a greater meaning for people of that era.

Interestingly, the Jewish Scriptures have a different ordering to the books of the Old Testament than Christians do, which, as you said, gives a different perception. There’s a fascinating (at least to me) lecture available free online by Dr. Amy-Jill Levine, a professor of New Testament at Vanderbilt who is also a Conservative Jew, on reassessing Jewish and Christian relations that touches on this
uctv.tv/series/index.asp?longtime=longtime&sort=title&summary=&number=10. Well worth watching.

 

[Daniel_Marsh]

How much of the Bible is read or covered in church services?

 

[Cat]

No idea how many have read it. But when I asked this same question on an evangelical Protestant Board a few years ago, I was amazed that only a few people could say that they had read the Bible through. Most hadn’t even read the New Testament through. I’d say out of hundred posters, only 2 had read it through. So I could take a wild guess and say about 2% of Christians in the U.S. have read the whole Bible. And considering how many people in the world are still illiterate, I would say even less worldwide.

It takes about 75-80 hours to read the Bible through. That’s not much time. I say stop making excuses and just sit down and read the thing already! It’s not going to kill you. If you’re like me, you’ve spent that much time watching sports (March Madness!!) on TV, or reading novels or scrapbooking.

As Jack T. Chick says, “What will you do when you get to heaven and meet Habakkuk? Will you say, ‘Gee, Mr. Habakkuk, I didn’t read your book. I didn’t even know it was in the Bible’!”

See, Jack T. Chick has his good points!

I’ve read the Bible through many times, including the Catholic Bible. Big deal. Reading isn’t the same as understanding or applying. I don’t consider myself “special” or “more spiritual” because I’ve read it so many times.

But I WILL say that it helped me immensely when I started investigating the Catholic Church a few years ago. So many passages of Scripture in the OLD TESTAMENT made sense to me when I studied Catholicism! It was the BIBLE that convinced me that the Catholic Church was the Church that Jesus founded. But I wouldn’t have come to this conclusion if I had never read the Bible.

And my read-throughs gave me a great general working knowledge of names, places, and historical events in the history of the Jews, which is, after all, the history of Our Lord’s people. I was certainly no expert after just reading the Bible through. But I had a working knowledge, and that’s better than no knowledge. (There are some people who’ve never heard of Jael and Sisera!)

Here’s a suggestion. Several times, our youth group (back in our evangelical church) did a “Read It Through” fundraiser, or “Bible Marathon.” They each took a half-hour shift (some kids took more than one shift), stood in the pulpit (this is acceptable practice in evangelical churches) and read until their time was up. Then the next teenager would step up and take his/her turn. They did this non-stop for long weekend, and by Sunday evening, they had finished the entire Bible.

It was really cool. People were welcome to sit in the sanctuary and listen to the reading, and many did so. I went down early in the morning (this was back in the “baby” days, when I was getting up all night anyway!), and it was humbling to hear a teenager reading the ancient words.

I would strongly suggest this as an activity for your Catholic youth group. It will bless your church and those kids!

And try the same kind of “Bible Marathon” with a friend or friends. When I was 16, my best friend and I read the Bible through one summer. We just started reading out loud, taking turns chapter by chapter (I can’t remember which one of us got stuck reading Psalm 119!). We read and read and READ for 60 hours (we read fast, especially during those boring “begat” chapters!), and finally finished it. It was so cool, and all our relatives, especially the elderly relatives, kept cheering us on all the way through our “marathon.” We had a good time doing it this way.

You wouldn’t have to read it all at once, but maybe spend several hours each weekend reading it aloud with your friend(s) and eventually you will finish it. And you’ll be glad you did!

Another suggestion is to get the Bible on tape (I’m not sure if the Catholic version is available) and listen to it during your morning commute, or even better, during your exercise workout or walk. My husband did this, and it works really well, too.

 

[lak611]

How much of the Bible is read or covered in church services?

That probably depends on the church. For instance, Catholics use a 3 year cycle for the Sunday readings and a 2 year cycle for the daily readings in most parishes. However, in the traditional parishes, the same readings are read every year, so less of the Bible is actually covered. I’m sure other people who are Protestant or Orthodox will be able to explain how much of the Bible is read in their services.

 

[Apryl]

I’m curious… In your opinion…

Of the 7 Billion people in the world…What percentage have read the entire Bible?

Of the 1 Billion Catholics, what percentage have read the entire Bible?

I think that a lot more Catholics have read the entire Bible than even think about it. I would say probably 30% … for the 7 Billion People in the world, considering that not every one is Chistian,

I’ll just answer it this way: Of the NON-Catholic CHRISTIANS, I would guess than about 10% have read the entire bible.

Now, reading the Bible, comprehending the Bible, and remembering what you’ve read are three different things.

 

[lak611]

I think that a lot more Catholics have read the entire Bible than even think about it. I would say probably 30% … for the 7 Billion People in the world, considering that not every one is Chistian,

I’ll just answer it this way: Of the NON-Catholic CHRISTIANS, I would guess than about 10% have read the entire bible.

Now, reading the Bible, comprehending the Bible, and remembering what you’ve read are three different things.

I would venture to say that 30% is drastically too high of an estimate for Catholics.

 

[BibleSteve]

I’ve read the Bible through many times, including the Catholic Bible. Big deal. Reading isn’t the same as understanding or applying. I don’t consider myself “special” or “more spiritual” because I’ve read it so many times.

Yes, I agree with your point. It’s ultimately about understanding and then applying.

My observation is that although 95%+ of Christians haven’t read the entire Bible for themselves, many will dogmatically insist their beliefs are correct over other groups.

These 95%+ of Christians will publically pass judgment on other religions and their beliefs, even though they haven’t really studied the Bible themselves.

So, I believe the very first question you should ask anyone who is criticizing another religion is whether they’ve read the Bible themselves. If so, how many times?

If a person hasn’t read the Bible themselves, multiple times, they shouldn’t render an opinion.

To do so is simply to repeat what someone else has told them to believe. And often time, that “authority” hasn’t even read the Bible themselves.

 

[Catholic_Dude]

I’ve read the OT about 5 times, the NT about 10 times, and the Apocrypha once.

I’m bewildered with my opinion that 95% of mankind hasn’t read God’s Word even once.

Steve

To start off I have read the whole Bible before, as well as gone over major sections/books multiple times. The fact of the matter is it is a tough thing to do, it takes time and energy.

You shouldn’t be “bewildered” considering the mass majority of mankind has factors such as the following hindering them: not reached a sufficient literacy level, not had access to a Bible, more importantly not had the time and energy.

Finally, the simple fact is reading the entire (or even any of it) Bible is not a requirement to get into Heaven.

The fact that it is considered canon and therefore the divinely inspired Word of God in the Catholic Church (and other Christian denominations as well as in Judaism, at minimum) is not sufficient reason to think it is worth reading?

You miss the description of what it means to be a Nazrite (which is important to the story of Samson later in Judges 13)–Numbers 6:1-21

The priestly blessing (which is very popular redone as an Irish blessing) Numbers 6: 24-27
24 " ’ “The LORD bless you
and keep you;
25 the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
26 the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace.” ’
27 “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

God sets fire to the camp of the Israelites because they complained about hardship… (Numbers 11).

He gives Miriam leprosy for being jealous of God speaking to Moses… Numbers 12

In Numbers 14, you get God cursing the Israelites that none of the ones then alive will see the promised land…

Numbers 16 you get God causing an earthquake to swallow up alive Korah and all his household …

Numbers 20 Moses strikes the rock instead of speaking to it to bring forth water …

Numbers 21 has the story of the bronze snake, …

Starting in Numbers 22 you get the story of Balaam and his donkey

See some of the things you miss by not reading Numbers?

You make a very good point. I consider places like Num 6:24ff a lost treasure for the most part, in fact I totally agree that Numbers overall is actually one of the better and most fascinating books.

 

[Catholic_Dude]

Yes, I agree with your point. It’s ultimately about understanding and then applying.

My observation is that although 95%+ of Christians haven’t read the entire Bible for themselves, many will dogmatically insist their beliefs are correct over other groups.

These 95%+ of Christians will publically pass judgment on other religions and their beliefs, even though they haven’t really studied the Bible themselves.

So, I believe the very first question you should ask anyone who is criticizing another religion is whether they’ve read the Bible themselves. If so, how many times?

If a person hasn’t read the Bible themselves, multiple times, they shouldn’t render an opinion.

To do so is simply to repeat what someone else has told them to believe. And often time, that “authority” hasn’t even read the Bible themselves.

But doesnt it cut both ways? How many JWs have read the whole Bible…should those that havnt not be out preaching, according to your logic/standards? That is a double standard if anything.

While it is a fair question to ask if they have read the whole Bible, ultimately that doesnt determine anything if they are and have been reading it wrong the whole time.

 

[Catholic_Dude]

Not to go off topic, but to demonstrate my point regarding reading the Bible wrong, from what I have read on the JW webpage they say Jesus “was raised from the dead as an immortal spirit person” which I take to mean He didnt have a physical body (and the “proof texts” they provide dont cite passages like Luke 24:39 ).

Im serious about the off topic thing, I dont want to derail this thread so if anyone is interested this specific issue should be a new thread.