New King James Wide Margin Reference Bible NKJV Leather
Check out that recently ended auction. It's pretty good for a bonded leather Bible---it reminds me of an Oxford KJV interleaved that went for $500. I remember squinting at the somewhat shadowy picture of it, and wondering vaguely why someone would pay that much money for a Bible with some blank paper in it. It looked nice, but not $500 nice, at least, in my opinion.
OK, so was this NKJV Bible really worth $318? The short answer is no. A bonded leather wide margin Bible, insert your favorite translation (except of course, the TNIV, which causes Rick Mansfield much grief) is worth around $35 to $40. Add genuine leather cover, and you're looking at the very least fifty, and the price just climbs from there.
The long answer, and one that I think is interesting, is that there were four different people, all willing to pay over $100 dollars to own a wide margin Bible in their favorite/preferred translation. 3 of those bidders went over $200.
Now, it must be added that this Bible is out of print, or, as booksellers put it, OOP. Thomas Nelson didn't slap a retail of three hundred dollars on this Bible. 2000 pages of text with fat margins to scribble in, even with a fako-bako leather cover just isn't worth it. But...it was, to several people.
I think that there's a interesting tension between the fact that Thomas Nelson stopped printing the Bible, presumably because of low sales, and the fact that several people are willing to pay that much over the original price tag (which, unfortunately, I do not know)
Showing posts with label Bible/s. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bible/s. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Pigma Micron---Perfect Bible/Moleskine Pen
Isn't it perfectly hideous and marvelous at the same time? I picked up a Pigma Micron yesterday, size 03, and have been perfectly thrilled with it. I've used it in my fire engine red TNIV, and despite the fact that the paper is very thin (to keep the Bible under an inch thick) there has been NO bleed through. Yes, there's 'ghosting'--you can see it on the other side, but no ugly blotches, or anything. I expect it would be even better with higher quality paper.
It writes very smoothly, giving you the sensation of writing with an ordinary gel or Pilot pen (I call them "inky pens" although that is perfectly idiotic, considering that every pen is inky) without any of those sudden, uncomfortable scratchy feelings, or blots on your finger-tips. Although, since this gives me a delightfully self satisfied feeling (the ink blots) I may pick up my spluttery Pilot once in awhile.
It looks exactly like the type of pen that will last FOREVER. I certainly hope that it shall. (It writes very well in a Moleskine, by the way, it's pure, smooth, ecstasy.)
Saturday, April 7, 2007
One Buck Short--or, Buying God
Three times today, someone was just one buck short.
I put back the packet of pens, too impatient to take the time to pick up the extra dollar that I needed.
I tapped my foot as I waited to purchase my one pen, and watched the man ahead of me deal ot a handfull of wrinkled tens and fives.
"Just one more," said the cashier pleasantly.
He put down a wrinkled one.
My friend came from the store, frustration written over her face. She held an unpaid bill in one hand.
"You dropped a dollar when I gave you that envelope to hold," she said "Give me a dollar."
I pulled a crushed dollar from my pocket, and handed it over.
Naturally, fiendish person that I am, I had to cannabalize a series of concidences to make an interesting blog post, but at least I admit my guilt.
I picked up a brilliantly red TNIV today, and my pen was a Pigma Micron, sacred pen, at least according to many people. It is a beautiful Bible, and it will certainly shine among the dignified navys, burgundies, powdered blues, dull gold and browns of my Bible collection. However, as I rummaged about for my Borders card, I questioned myself.
Was I searching for some Holy Grail Bible, some magically perfect volume---was I buying a Bible, or buying God? Or, buying my way to God? Buying some experience---"as the Borders register rings, a deep God experience from heaven springs?"
I don't just buy God through Bibles. Sometimes, I buy God through Bible study. When I turn over the pages of my wide margin Bible, and the colourful notations speak of my smug, self-serving Bible study, I fairly scream to myself "Wow! You've really bought God this time---look at that hard work!"
It's much easier for me to buy God than to speak with God. Because then, he's a person, and I'm too impatient to deal with people.
But I have a problem. I have to buy God every day. If I didn't...I'd come up short. I'd lose everything that I'd been working for. My god feeling, my self-righteousness. I'm pretty sure that's what Philippians 3 is about. I'm not quite as plain as Paul is, it's hard for me to grasp what it's about when I figure out that my self-righteousness doesn't mean anything. So, I come to God, and say this:
"Father, I know that I can't earn you. But I still try. In fact, I feel self-righteous when I tell you all of this. I feel smug that I realize that I'm hopeless. I feel smug that I admit my smugness. It pretty much ends up being a big advert for me, me, me. I'm sorry. Forgive. Help me. Really, really help me. Thanks for listening to lame prayers."
Faith is believing that.
I put back the packet of pens, too impatient to take the time to pick up the extra dollar that I needed.
I tapped my foot as I waited to purchase my one pen, and watched the man ahead of me deal ot a handfull of wrinkled tens and fives.
"Just one more," said the cashier pleasantly.
He put down a wrinkled one.
My friend came from the store, frustration written over her face. She held an unpaid bill in one hand.
"You dropped a dollar when I gave you that envelope to hold," she said "Give me a dollar."
I pulled a crushed dollar from my pocket, and handed it over.
Naturally, fiendish person that I am, I had to cannabalize a series of concidences to make an interesting blog post, but at least I admit my guilt.
I picked up a brilliantly red TNIV today, and my pen was a Pigma Micron, sacred pen, at least according to many people. It is a beautiful Bible, and it will certainly shine among the dignified navys, burgundies, powdered blues, dull gold and browns of my Bible collection. However, as I rummaged about for my Borders card, I questioned myself.
Was I searching for some Holy Grail Bible, some magically perfect volume---was I buying a Bible, or buying God? Or, buying my way to God? Buying some experience---"as the Borders register rings, a deep God experience from heaven springs?"
I don't just buy God through Bibles. Sometimes, I buy God through Bible study. When I turn over the pages of my wide margin Bible, and the colourful notations speak of my smug, self-serving Bible study, I fairly scream to myself "Wow! You've really bought God this time---look at that hard work!"
It's much easier for me to buy God than to speak with God. Because then, he's a person, and I'm too impatient to deal with people.
But I have a problem. I have to buy God every day. If I didn't...I'd come up short. I'd lose everything that I'd been working for. My god feeling, my self-righteousness. I'm pretty sure that's what Philippians 3 is about. I'm not quite as plain as Paul is, it's hard for me to grasp what it's about when I figure out that my self-righteousness doesn't mean anything. So, I come to God, and say this:
"Father, I know that I can't earn you. But I still try. In fact, I feel self-righteous when I tell you all of this. I feel smug that I realize that I'm hopeless. I feel smug that I admit my smugness. It pretty much ends up being a big advert for me, me, me. I'm sorry. Forgive. Help me. Really, really help me. Thanks for listening to lame prayers."
Faith is believing that.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Nope, Mark Driscoll
Mark Driscoll, in discussing the ESV...
The ESV upholds the complementarian nature of gender in Scripture.Unbeknownst to the average Bible-reading Christian, there is a great debate raging in academic circles about the language of gender and how it relates to biblical translation.
It must be pointed out that, in its more insidious forms, the push for gender-neutral language is in fact a push against Scripture. For example, Scripture states that God made us “male and female” (for example, Genesis 1:27). Consequently, in God’s created order, there is both equality between men and women (because both are His image-bearers) and distinction (because men and women have differing roles). This position is called complementarianism and teaches that men and women, though equal, are also different in some ways and therefore function best together in a complementary way, like a right hand and left hand
Actually, Mark, complementarianism--what a stupid word! And I mean in an artistic sense, that is a very ugly word, like egalitarianism, which is saved by the fact that is actually means what the word suggests--- says that for some reason, even though the left hand can do exactly what the right hand can do, we should forbid the left hand from doing it.
Mark, you're a bit like the Catholic nuns who didn't allow my left handed father to write with his left hand, because it was "unnatural." Complementarianism does NOT teach that men and women are different---it simply forces them to conform to their definition of different. And, if you happen to be a female who fits better into their male position, than you, like a left hand, are forbidden to do what you can do. NOT because you are different, because you're actually not that different from their definition of male. But because you are the Left Hand. Only, and simply, because you are the Left Hand.
This should be admitted. You see, because everyone acknowledges that women can be effective leaders. What is debated is whether they SHOULD be effective leaders, of men as well as other women. Bad example. Especially when you have ambidextrous people who use their hands...equally...oh dirty word!
The ESV upholds the complementarian nature of gender in Scripture.Unbeknownst to the average Bible-reading Christian, there is a great debate raging in academic circles about the language of gender and how it relates to biblical translation.
It must be pointed out that, in its more insidious forms, the push for gender-neutral language is in fact a push against Scripture. For example, Scripture states that God made us “male and female” (for example, Genesis 1:27). Consequently, in God’s created order, there is both equality between men and women (because both are His image-bearers) and distinction (because men and women have differing roles). This position is called complementarianism and teaches that men and women, though equal, are also different in some ways and therefore function best together in a complementary way, like a right hand and left hand
Actually, Mark, complementarianism--what a stupid word! And I mean in an artistic sense, that is a very ugly word, like egalitarianism, which is saved by the fact that is actually means what the word suggests--- says that for some reason, even though the left hand can do exactly what the right hand can do, we should forbid the left hand from doing it.
Mark, you're a bit like the Catholic nuns who didn't allow my left handed father to write with his left hand, because it was "unnatural." Complementarianism does NOT teach that men and women are different---it simply forces them to conform to their definition of different. And, if you happen to be a female who fits better into their male position, than you, like a left hand, are forbidden to do what you can do. NOT because you are different, because you're actually not that different from their definition of male. But because you are the Left Hand. Only, and simply, because you are the Left Hand.
This should be admitted. You see, because everyone acknowledges that women can be effective leaders. What is debated is whether they SHOULD be effective leaders, of men as well as other women. Bad example. Especially when you have ambidextrous people who use their hands...equally...oh dirty word!
Why the ESV Bible Will/Won't Succeed.
By succeed I mean that it is consistently used by a significant number of people...a Bible that's taken for granted the same way that a KJV or an NIV is.
Why the ESV Bible Will Succeed
1. Because the ESV has managed, by hook or crook, to connect with many critical people.
Critical people are pastors, authors, bloggers. Bloggers love the ESV. Bloggers LOVE the ESV. And if they don't, their dissenting posts rahing for the TNIV, NASB, whatever, simply fade into blogdom oblivion...unless, of course, someone says that the TNIV could be better than the ESV. Then, stand back!
2. The ESV blog.
This is very, very smart. This is the future of how people will get all of their news. Their generous habit of mentioning those who blog about their Bible has to help.
3. Those funky, crazy, hip covers.
The Journaling Bible, in my mind, personifies Crossways' grasp on what people like, what looks pleasing and snazzy to the modern eye. They just draw attention.
4. Its position, real or imagined, as an alternative to Mother-God translations of the Bible. Its position, true or untrue, as an alternative to brain-softening "dynamic equivalent" versions. The way that it's posed as the youthful, cool young child of the outdated, archaic NASB...but it still comes with all the classic words and phrases.
5. The fact that it is a good translation, in many aspects.
I have no trouble using a myriad of versions, but I find that the ESV manages to help carry the flow of a Biblical passage. The ands, buts, therefores---it helps to mantain a connectedness that I haven't really found in "easier" translations, which tend to break the Bible into smaller bites.
Why the ESV Bible Will Not Succeed
1. Crossway.
I'm really sorry, but when people who love your translation are begging you to sell it to another publisher because you're doing such a shoddy job, you need to sit up. Crappy bindings, lousy paper, lousy layout, the ridiculously small print in the Journaling Bible---people want to love their Bible for years, not have it collapse after one. That, as I've heard, is not uncommon.
2. Its opposition, real or imaginary, against the TNIV.
Look, brag about your translation all you want, but when one of your most prominent translators (WayneGrudemcoughcough) is on an all out campaign to destroy another Bible, you're going to get mixed up in it. Modern people are going to think that you're stupid when your biggest concern is that some nuance of essential maleness is lost when you say "people" instead of "men." They don't give a damn, and you come off sounding like a fuddy-duddy.
3. ESV, the Red-Headed Stepchild of the Bookstore
I think that it was on Dan Edelen's blog ceruleansanctum.wordpress.com, that the ESV first got this title. I have to agree. In all of the bookstores that I have visited, the only ESV that I see are some Tru-Tone thinlines, hidden in boring black and silver boxes, an ugly Battlezone Bible, or some beat up paperbacks. The only exception is the imposing Reformation Bible, which, by its very title, possess a limited market. Meanwhile, every other version has cheaper, more visible, and just MORE on the shelf.
4. The fact that it's a literal translation
People want to give their children something that they can understand. People want to be sure that the Bible they're sharing with a non-church person will make sense to them. The fact that the ESV retains classic terms, such as propitation, are great for the churchese speaking Christian. Not for those who just want to know what the hell this book is trying to say.
5. The fact that it's not used in many study Bibles
Right now, there's the Reformation study Bible. And the children's Bible, which looks very nice. Meanwhile, we have NO
ESV Open Bible
ESV Life Application
ESV Thompson Chain
ESV Women's Bible
ESV Men's Bible
ESV Teen's Bible (other than the 3Story)
ESV Study Bible(which I understand is coming soon)
ESV by Cambridge publishers
Lots of great covers, but they're all basically text editions.
So there you have it. Five reason why the ESV will, or will not succeed. Anyone have more suggestions?
Why the ESV Bible Will Succeed
1. Because the ESV has managed, by hook or crook, to connect with many critical people.
Critical people are pastors, authors, bloggers. Bloggers love the ESV. Bloggers LOVE the ESV. And if they don't, their dissenting posts rahing for the TNIV, NASB, whatever, simply fade into blogdom oblivion...unless, of course, someone says that the TNIV could be better than the ESV. Then, stand back!
2. The ESV blog.
This is very, very smart. This is the future of how people will get all of their news. Their generous habit of mentioning those who blog about their Bible has to help.
3. Those funky, crazy, hip covers.
The Journaling Bible, in my mind, personifies Crossways' grasp on what people like, what looks pleasing and snazzy to the modern eye. They just draw attention.
4. Its position, real or imagined, as an alternative to Mother-God translations of the Bible. Its position, true or untrue, as an alternative to brain-softening "dynamic equivalent" versions. The way that it's posed as the youthful, cool young child of the outdated, archaic NASB...but it still comes with all the classic words and phrases.
5. The fact that it is a good translation, in many aspects.
I have no trouble using a myriad of versions, but I find that the ESV manages to help carry the flow of a Biblical passage. The ands, buts, therefores---it helps to mantain a connectedness that I haven't really found in "easier" translations, which tend to break the Bible into smaller bites.
Why the ESV Bible Will Not Succeed
1. Crossway.
I'm really sorry, but when people who love your translation are begging you to sell it to another publisher because you're doing such a shoddy job, you need to sit up. Crappy bindings, lousy paper, lousy layout, the ridiculously small print in the Journaling Bible---people want to love their Bible for years, not have it collapse after one. That, as I've heard, is not uncommon.
2. Its opposition, real or imaginary, against the TNIV.
Look, brag about your translation all you want, but when one of your most prominent translators (WayneGrudemcoughcough) is on an all out campaign to destroy another Bible, you're going to get mixed up in it. Modern people are going to think that you're stupid when your biggest concern is that some nuance of essential maleness is lost when you say "people" instead of "men." They don't give a damn, and you come off sounding like a fuddy-duddy.
3. ESV, the Red-Headed Stepchild of the Bookstore
I think that it was on Dan Edelen's blog ceruleansanctum.wordpress.com, that the ESV first got this title. I have to agree. In all of the bookstores that I have visited, the only ESV that I see are some Tru-Tone thinlines, hidden in boring black and silver boxes, an ugly Battlezone Bible, or some beat up paperbacks. The only exception is the imposing Reformation Bible, which, by its very title, possess a limited market. Meanwhile, every other version has cheaper, more visible, and just MORE on the shelf.
4. The fact that it's a literal translation
People want to give their children something that they can understand. People want to be sure that the Bible they're sharing with a non-church person will make sense to them. The fact that the ESV retains classic terms, such as propitation, are great for the churchese speaking Christian. Not for those who just want to know what the hell this book is trying to say.
5. The fact that it's not used in many study Bibles
Right now, there's the Reformation study Bible. And the children's Bible, which looks very nice. Meanwhile, we have NO
ESV Open Bible
ESV Life Application
ESV Thompson Chain
ESV Women's Bible
ESV Men's Bible
ESV Teen's Bible (other than the 3Story)
ESV Study Bible(which I understand is coming soon)
ESV by Cambridge publishers
Lots of great covers, but they're all basically text editions.
So there you have it. Five reason why the ESV will, or will not succeed. Anyone have more suggestions?
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
A Call To KJV People!
Actually, this is a call to anyone who possesses some knowledge about Bibles. A friend is looking around for a new Bible---apparently the binding on her Bible is falling apart. She's had it for some years, and although she'll probably lay it away, swathed in silken cloth and tender memories, she needs something more sturdy to pound at church.
Requirements.
1. King James Version (no, it doesn't have to be the 1611)
2. It has to "look like a Bible." None of those pink/purple/neon/metal hybrids. She prefers black, or a dignified navy.
I'd throw in these
3. Sturdy binding
4. Clear, legible type
5. If possible, a decent cross-reference system. I like the Jewel-reference verse thing, I believe that Holman does that.
I refuse to buy on of those plasticy, el-cheapo, yellow paged "Gift & Award" Bibles. Who'd give someone such a shoddy piece of work? Oh, and don't make it too expensive. (Grinning here, because my list of requirements is too long already)
Does anyone have a decent, quality Bible that they've used or heard recommended?
Requirements.
1. King James Version (no, it doesn't have to be the 1611)
2. It has to "look like a Bible." None of those pink/purple/neon/metal hybrids. She prefers black, or a dignified navy.
I'd throw in these
3. Sturdy binding
4. Clear, legible type
5. If possible, a decent cross-reference system. I like the Jewel-reference verse thing, I believe that Holman does that.
I refuse to buy on of those plasticy, el-cheapo, yellow paged "Gift & Award" Bibles. Who'd give someone such a shoddy piece of work? Oh, and don't make it too expensive. (Grinning here, because my list of requirements is too long already)
Does anyone have a decent, quality Bible that they've used or heard recommended?
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Too Many Freaking Bibles
I've barely even started. And I already have this many bibles, about two were bought new, and the rest picked up used.
1. God's Story ESV
2. Single column side reference '77 NASB
3. Make It Count CEV
4. Good News for Modern Man (the hardcover gold version, with the sweet pictures inside?)
5. Waterlogged pocket KJV that needs to hit the trash
6. Youthwalk Devotional Bible NIV
7. Blue cowhide NIV (v. nice)
8. Duo-tone NIV
There's just this deep instinct that leads me to mindlessly purchase Bibles. I still need
1. The Living Bible
2. NKJV
3. NCV
4. TNIV (I'm using the ESV, but would love to see these two side by side in one edition. It would just be priceless, after people have been mindlessly pitting the two against each other. I don't give a damn if they do use man, and nothing has been lost when they say people, God is not angry, I promise)
5. Decent copy of the KJV
6. Updated NASB
7. ASV (Picked up an actual original, 1901, dried, leathery, crumbling, sold it for $45, woot)
8. RV
9. RSV
10. NRSV
11. HCSB
12. Geneva
13. Tyndale
14. Bishop
15. The rest that I've forgotten right now.
1. God's Story ESV
2. Single column side reference '77 NASB
3. Make It Count CEV
4. Good News for Modern Man (the hardcover gold version, with the sweet pictures inside?)
5. Waterlogged pocket KJV that needs to hit the trash
6. Youthwalk Devotional Bible NIV
7. Blue cowhide NIV (v. nice)
8. Duo-tone NIV
There's just this deep instinct that leads me to mindlessly purchase Bibles. I still need
1. The Living Bible
2. NKJV
3. NCV
4. TNIV (I'm using the ESV, but would love to see these two side by side in one edition. It would just be priceless, after people have been mindlessly pitting the two against each other. I don't give a damn if they do use man, and nothing has been lost when they say people, God is not angry, I promise)
5. Decent copy of the KJV
6. Updated NASB
7. ASV (Picked up an actual original, 1901, dried, leathery, crumbling, sold it for $45, woot)
8. RV
9. RSV
10. NRSV
11. HCSB
12. Geneva
13. Tyndale
14. Bishop
15. The rest that I've forgotten right now.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Brief Note: God's Story ESV
I noticed something weird about my hardcover copy of the ESV "God's Story" Bible. It is supposed to have three ribbon markers.
I have no ribbon markers.
I'm enjoying reading and memorizing from the English Standard Version (and reading all the various news about it---pro and 'agin' it) but this discrepancy is disturbing. I picked it up at our local Borders last month.
Weird.
I have no ribbon markers.
I'm enjoying reading and memorizing from the English Standard Version (and reading all the various news about it---pro and 'agin' it) but this discrepancy is disturbing. I picked it up at our local Borders last month.
Weird.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Unique, Traveling Bible
OK, so I have billions of ideas every day. I think this one is cool. (That, by the way, is the lucious ESV Classic Reference Cordovan Bible. Schlurp.
Take a Bible, preferably one that will be tough, with easy to read font size, and something that you can write in without qualms or the notations showing really badly on the other side of the page. Wide margin could be nice.
There’s this one Bible coming out this month that I think would be perfect for me---hardback, wide margin ESV. It’s that, or this elegant cordovan edition that could really last.
Pick a book that you’ve been studying, or feel that you have some insight on. Then, with painstaking care, make relevant notes/notations throughout the text that will aid understanding. No high-lighters allowed. You could insert an article that sheds light on that book, or that simply encouraged you in Bible study. Naturally, some books are very large, so this would have to be flexible.
When this is done, you find someone agreeable, and pass the Bible on to them. They do the same. They pass the Bible on to someone else, and so on and so on. Hopefully, by the time it comes back to you, your traveling Bible has unique and helpful notes and notations that are fresh and new. This could really spark some interesting conversations with the people who have taken the time to do this.
Naturally, the particulars of this idea have not been worked out. That will take time and careful consideration---in short, it will be work. Still, I think there could be potential in it.
Any ideas?
Monday, March 5, 2007
Bible Study for the Jaded
This post comes from vast (ha) experience and watching other people get fired up over a project---only to slowly, but surely, lose any ground that they've gained. A good sermon can leave many people eager to jump into Bible study feet first. They've read the books, bought the highlighters, the coloured pencils, the study Bible, the wide margin Bible, the "through the Bible in one year" Bible, they've dragged out the commentaries, downloaded the software. They are ready to go.
And yet in a few weeks, they're back to their usual snatching method of reading the Bible. They snatch a Proverb, snag a Psalm, or simply reread their favorite books and leave alone anything else.
Then, they read a book about Bible study. Wow, they think, I did it all wrong. With this new method, I can really dig into the Bible!
A few weeks later, their Bible is full of colored pencil markings (thank you, Kay Arthur) and they can't even pick it up anymore. Their failure stares them in the face.
Frustrated, angry, they hear another sermon, read another book, attend a seminar.
"Now, I really am going to study the Bible!"
A few weeks later....
They are jaded. They've tried the Bible study for the smart, they've tried the never-fail methods, they've promised that this time, they'll stick with it.
Many books tacitly acknowledge this by assuring you that "It's not that hard" "Anyone can do this" "Read a chapter a day, anyone can do that!" "Read a verse a day, anyone can do that!" "Hundreds of people, including the Apostle Paul, used this method---and you can, too!"
Well, I'm going to turn all this on its head.
1. Bible study is hard. It takes work. If you want to learn the Bible, it will take work. If you come to the Bible expecting to scoop gold off the ground, you're going to get discouraged very quickly.
2. Don't read a chapter a day. Don't read a verse a day. Sit down and read an entire book. Instead of doing something that anyone can do, do something that people rarely do: read the Bible the way it was meant to be read. This applies especially to epistles.
3. Stop look at your Bible as a repository of commands and promises. Yes, they are there. But you'd actually benefit more from circling all the verbs with your coloured pencil (thank you, Kay Arthur)
4. Pick a book that you don't like. For instance, I've always liked the gospel of Luke. He's my type of guy. Details, details, and he's just writes beautifully. But I'm not studying Luke. I'm studying John. Distance yourself from your faves. Don't worry---they'll still be there, waiting for you.
5. If you want to read through the Bible in one year, don't start in Genesis. If you've tried and failed before, you have probably already read Genesis more times than you can remember. If you are like me, it takes time for you to grasp the "gist" of a book, so don't alternate or mix NT and OT readings. You lose the overall perspective. Pick a book, and stick with it.
6. Avoid the Psalms like a holy plague. You've read them enough. Starving yourself of Psalms will give you a new appreciation for them. Here's an idea, mix your Psalm reading with a book of contemporary poetry. Compare them to other ancient poetry. Quit dragging the Psalms into your world and superimposing them onto your culture.
7. Avoid Proverbs like the holy plague. See above.
8. Kiss your schedule goodbye. That's right. Give yourself time to dwell on one book. Jesus doesn't hate you if you don't read your Bible through in one year. In fact, he doesn't love you more if you do.
9. Read a book backwards, preferably in one sitting. Read the Bible backwards. Both force you to get a grasp on what's really going on.
10. Whatever you do, stick with it. I don't want this post to be one of many that you read and become more jaded when you fail. It's better to feel totally unexcited and bored and to consistently do XYZ than to get very excited, sharpen your coloured pencils (thank you, Kay Arthur) and stop. If you can only study the Bible once a week, fine. Just make sure that you do it once a week.
And that's it. If you can only find one thing that suits your personality, than keep going. Don't neglect your ability, just because you can't out-scribble Kay Arthur. Be a boring---and consistent---plodder.
All sarcasm towards Kay Arthur and the Inductive Study method are purely the results of someone who could never sharpen a pencil without breaking the tip. Kay, core of my heart, forgive me.
And yet in a few weeks, they're back to their usual snatching method of reading the Bible. They snatch a Proverb, snag a Psalm, or simply reread their favorite books and leave alone anything else.
Then, they read a book about Bible study. Wow, they think, I did it all wrong. With this new method, I can really dig into the Bible!
A few weeks later, their Bible is full of colored pencil markings (thank you, Kay Arthur) and they can't even pick it up anymore. Their failure stares them in the face.
Frustrated, angry, they hear another sermon, read another book, attend a seminar.
"Now, I really am going to study the Bible!"
A few weeks later....
They are jaded. They've tried the Bible study for the smart, they've tried the never-fail methods, they've promised that this time, they'll stick with it.
Many books tacitly acknowledge this by assuring you that "It's not that hard" "Anyone can do this" "Read a chapter a day, anyone can do that!" "Read a verse a day, anyone can do that!" "Hundreds of people, including the Apostle Paul, used this method---and you can, too!"
Well, I'm going to turn all this on its head.
1. Bible study is hard. It takes work. If you want to learn the Bible, it will take work. If you come to the Bible expecting to scoop gold off the ground, you're going to get discouraged very quickly.
2. Don't read a chapter a day. Don't read a verse a day. Sit down and read an entire book. Instead of doing something that anyone can do, do something that people rarely do: read the Bible the way it was meant to be read. This applies especially to epistles.
3. Stop look at your Bible as a repository of commands and promises. Yes, they are there. But you'd actually benefit more from circling all the verbs with your coloured pencil (thank you, Kay Arthur)
4. Pick a book that you don't like. For instance, I've always liked the gospel of Luke. He's my type of guy. Details, details, and he's just writes beautifully. But I'm not studying Luke. I'm studying John. Distance yourself from your faves. Don't worry---they'll still be there, waiting for you.
5. If you want to read through the Bible in one year, don't start in Genesis. If you've tried and failed before, you have probably already read Genesis more times than you can remember. If you are like me, it takes time for you to grasp the "gist" of a book, so don't alternate or mix NT and OT readings. You lose the overall perspective. Pick a book, and stick with it.
6. Avoid the Psalms like a holy plague. You've read them enough. Starving yourself of Psalms will give you a new appreciation for them. Here's an idea, mix your Psalm reading with a book of contemporary poetry. Compare them to other ancient poetry. Quit dragging the Psalms into your world and superimposing them onto your culture.
7. Avoid Proverbs like the holy plague. See above.
8. Kiss your schedule goodbye. That's right. Give yourself time to dwell on one book. Jesus doesn't hate you if you don't read your Bible through in one year. In fact, he doesn't love you more if you do.
9. Read a book backwards, preferably in one sitting. Read the Bible backwards. Both force you to get a grasp on what's really going on.
10. Whatever you do, stick with it. I don't want this post to be one of many that you read and become more jaded when you fail. It's better to feel totally unexcited and bored and to consistently do XYZ than to get very excited, sharpen your coloured pencils (thank you, Kay Arthur) and stop. If you can only study the Bible once a week, fine. Just make sure that you do it once a week.
And that's it. If you can only find one thing that suits your personality, than keep going. Don't neglect your ability, just because you can't out-scribble Kay Arthur. Be a boring---and consistent---plodder.
All sarcasm towards Kay Arthur and the Inductive Study method are purely the results of someone who could never sharpen a pencil without breaking the tip. Kay, core of my heart, forgive me.
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