Tag: bible

Posted in Ministry

What did they do before there were Bibles?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

At the beginning of any new year, you’ll see lots of read through the Bible in a year or two plans promoted. Be sure to check out this blog that talks about what to do when you’ve already fallen behind in your resolve to read the Bible.

Here’s my question: how did Christians read their bibles and do their personal devotions before there were bibles you could own and read? Printed bibles have only been around for about 500 years. Before that, there were hand-copied bibles in churches and universities, but virtually no one had one at home. Before that, there was just the Old Testament, and they kept and read those scrolls in the synagogues. Get this: Jesus didn’t even own a Bible!

I’m guessing that the answer is, for the most part, they didn’t. If you were a monk in the middle ages, I guess you could go to the prayer hours (matins, vespers, etc.) and hear the Word read there. Otherwise, the Word was read at mass each week. In the earliest days of the church, you got your teaching live from an apostle who recounted the things they had heard from Jesus and seen Him do. That must have been very cool. And before that, you got your daily dose of the Word from the Word Himself, Jesus. And before that you would have gotten the Word from the prophets, who spoke for God, but hardly anyone listened to them anyway.

I’m not sure where I’m going with all this, but I believe it’s important to remember that the current emphasis on bible reading and study, which really drives a lot of our programs, is a fairly recent one in the history of the church. And since we do have bibles coming out our ears (and electronic devices), we should take advantage of them. There doesn’t seem to be much excuse to not know what’s in the Bible or what God says about something. But I read somewhere that biblical illiteracy is disturbingly high among self-proclaimed Christians. You know what that means: job security for me.

Posted in Life, Ministry

Reading your Bible in 2010

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I am constantly reading through my bible from cover to cover. I began this some seven or eight years ago, reading through a different translation each time. So far I’ve been through the New International Version, God’s Word, English Standard Version, Today’s New International Version, New Living Translation, and am about halfway through the NET Bible from bible.org. It usually takes me more than a year to do this, so I don’t always start on January 1.

Even though this is a good habit, there are pitfalls to reading the bible in this way. Typically, Genesis and about half of Exodus are pretty interesting. As soon as you get into the specs for the tabernacle, though, it gets tedious. Leviticus isn’t much fun, either. Most people usually give up by then. The other problem is that you will spend a long time in the Old Testament before you get to the New. And if you don’t have a good handle on the whole story of scripture and how the books fit together, you can soon get lost in genealogies, laws, and Hebrew poetry.

Are there some good ways to approach reading your bible in 2010? Absolutely.

  • If you’d like to go through it cover to cover, subscribe to Daily Walk. It’s a little guide that helps you know where you’re at and where you’re headed, and you’ll get through the bible in a year.
  • Use the suggested daily readings in The Lutheran Service Book. Old and New Testament are mixed up enough to keep you going. There are lots off other daily bible reading plans you can find online.
  • Alternate between Old and New testament books, using a good study bible or handbook to give you an introduction to each book as you go.

Each day I also read five Psalms and one chapter of Proverbs. I start with the Psalm that corresponds to the day of the month, and add multiples of 30. So today I read Psalm 1, 31, 61. 91. and 121, along with Proverbs 1. Tomorrow will be Psalm 2,32,62, 92, and 122. Psalm 119 (the longie) is only read on the 31st of the month when it occurs. A pretty nice way to read through the bible’s hymnbook often.

I’d be interested in learning about some ways that you’ve read through the bible.