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Home , Bible translations, King James Version, New Living Translation

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In this chapter

• Three ways to approach 3 • An overview of seven popular Bible

How to Read the Bible

There are as many different ways to read the Bible as there are people to read it. Whether you and the Bible have barely met or are trying to rebuild an old relationship, a fresh perspective can work wonders. Without pretending to exhaust all the possibilities involved in Bible read- ing, this chapter skims some of the options every reader has when approaching or reapproaching this massive, diverse, and frequently misunderstood . 05_0789734192_Ch03.qxd 9/19/05 5:19 PM Page 26

26 ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO THE BIBLE

Three Ways of Looking at the Bible Most people read the Bible in at least one of three ways: ■ As holy scripture ■ As history ■ As

As Holy Scripture In the previous chapter, we discussed various beliefs regarding where Scripture comes from and classified them into three basic categories: ■ Fundamentalism—Holds that God is the author of the Bible. Biblical funda- mentalists believe that the Bible is a holy and divine product and means what it says at face value (except in cases where the metaphorical intent is clear, such as when Jesus tells his parables). ■ Modernism—Holds that the Bible was written by human beings inspired by their relationships with God. Biblical modernists also tend to see the Bible as holy, but believe that context, metaphor, and the limitations of its human authors should be taken into account. ■ Secularism—Holds that the Bible is purely a product of human creativity. Biblical secularists believe that the Bible represents a literary tradition that has a great deal to say about human nature and the history and culture of the ancient Middle East, but they do not believe that God was involved in its origins.

Whether you believe that the Bible is the work of God, the work of human beings, or a combination of the two, it can still be a useful devotional aid. And if you believe that the Bible is a holy book, it has an additional virtue: It brings you closer to God. There are many ways to read Holy Scripture, but everyone who draws religious mean- ing from the Bible does so as part of a group, individually, or through some mix of the two approaches. There are several important advantages to group Bible : It exposes you to the viewpoints of others and gives you a way of expressing and clarifying your own under- standing of the Bible. Group Bible reading is practiced in almost every church, but it receives particular attention in the Roman Church and in most churches. These churches use — that reorganize the Bible into short that function well for church use, either during formal services or during small group prayer. The Jewish tradition also uses a approach; every week, one is given a parsha (“portion”) of the to read and study, preferably in a group setting. 05_0789734192_Ch03.qxd 9/19/05 5:19 PM Page 27

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The most common place to read the Bible as Holy Scripture in a group setting is in a house of worship, although it is not always necessary to join a religious commu- nity to participate in its Bible study programs. When in doubt, it is always a good idea to call and ask. In Judaism, individual Torah study has always note been encouraged. Within , however, For most of its history, individual study of the Bible is a relatively new the Bible has been read phenomenon that came about during the fifteenth aloud—heard rather century and the height of the Protestant than examined. Reading the . Until that time, most people did not Bible aloud or hearing it read own a Bible or read it as they would a book—pri- (as it often is in religious marily because most people were illiterate. (Then services) is a wonderful way to again, at that point in history very few people had connect to this ancient books, either.) approach to Scripture. Individual Bible study can be challenging for those of us who cannot read Hebrew or Greek and do not fully grasp the context of each Bible verse. Fortunately, a good can solve this problem. In Appendix F, “Choosing a Study Bible,” I’ve listed a few of my personal favorites. Online (such as those described in Appendix C, “The Top 25 Bible Websites”) can also be useful, because they allow you to search the entire Bible for a word or phrase with only a few keystrokes.

LECTIO DIVINA The ancient Christian meditation practice of lectio divina, or “sacred reading,” has recently gained newfound popularity (particularly among Roman Catholics). Although lectio divina is best learned with a community of other practitioners, the four basic steps involved are easy to learn:

1. Lectio (reading)—Slow, contemplative reading of a text. (If you’re having trouble choosing one, try one of the passages in Appendix B, “Great Quotations from the Bible.”) Do not spend much time rationally analyzing the text, and do not try to work through it quickly; instead, let your mind linger on the individual words as if you’re listening to someone speak slowly and calmly. For this example, let’s use 1—one of the most depressing chapters in the entire Bible. 2. Meditatio (meditation)—At some point during the process of lectio, one passage should speak to you more than others. Spend time repeating the passage, silently or aloud, letting it sink in. My mind settles on the second half of verse 8: “The eye is not satisfied with seeing, or the ear filled with hearing.” 05_0789734192_Ch03.qxd 9/19/05 5:19 PM Page 28

28 ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO THE BIBLE

3. Oratio (prayer)—With your mind still focused on meditatio, recite the passage over and over. The words become random syllables, voice music, nothing more. But on some level, the idea behind the words is still rattling around in my mind. If the words begin to mean something again, if they register as if another person is speaking them, I recite them more quickly until they become syllables again; if I completely lose focus, I recite the pas- sage more slowly so that the idea can sink in again. 4. Contemplatio (contemplation)—If you feel yourself drifting into a meditative state, let go of all words and silently settle into the experience.

As History Although the Bible was not written to func- tion as a history book in any contemporary Controversy sense of the term, it is the only book of its Even among time to study the Christian movement in people who find depth and the only book to chronicle the his- religious meaning in tory of ancient Israel in any meaningful way. the Bible, there is a Reading the Bible as history can be a com- great deal of disagree- pelling experience, placing you in the mind of ment over whether it is meant to the ancient in a way that few ancient provide an accurate history. texts can. Fundamentalists tend to argue Judges, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, the that every event mentioned in the of Luke, and the Book of Acts are espe- texts happened exactly as described; modernists tend to cially useful for those seeking to study the argue that the Bible was not Bible as history because these books are, in meant to function as a history effect, histories. Judges, Kings, and Chronicles book; and secularists tend to see essentially tell the story of ancient Israel after biblical histories as flawed but the time of Joshua; the Gospel of Luke is the interesting products of their time. most objective and historical of the four ; and the Book of Acts (written by the same author as Luke) tells the story of the early church in a fairly direct way. Few books of the Bible are completely devoid of history, but some are more oriented toward history than others. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, for example, cannot be read as historical narratives, and neither can most of the .

As Literature Whatever anyone might believe about the Bible’s religious value or historicity, few can deny that the Bible is one of the greatest literary anthologies ever produced. The is certainly the pride of the ancient Near East; nowhere else can 05_0789734192_Ch03.qxd 9/19/05 5:19 PM Page 29

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the same level of complex characterization, the same detailed plots, and the same varying literary forms be found. Even the Bible’s harshest critics acknowledge its literary merits. Books particularly well-loved by literary scholars include Exodus, Ruth, Job, Ecclesiastes, the Song of , , the Gospel of Luke, the , and the (Apocalypse) of St. John.

Lost in Translations I still remember that day in Sunday school class. I was about six years old, listening to a middle-aged woman tell Bible stories to us. I don’t remember what it was that week—Adam and Eve, Noah and the Flood, Abraham and Sarah, , and Delilah, Mary and Joseph, or perhaps some of the other long-dead people in brightly colored bathrobes who talked to God—but I distinctly note remember what my teacher asked me: “Do you A great resource for understand the Bible, Tommy?” I paused for a comparing Bible trans- minute. “I think so,” I said a little cautiously, lations side-by-side is watching her face carefully to see whether I got the Unbound Bible at Biola the answer right. “Except for the thee’s and thy’s University (unbound.biola.edu). and ’s,” I said. I’m still working on that. The (KJV) is beautiful and poetic, much like Shakespeare (for good reason—it was written in Shakespeare’s English), and every now and then I want my KJV. But most of the time I would rather read a more contemporary , where thou art you and yours is thine. Choosing an English translation of the Bible is always an interesting experience because an astonishing number of translations are available. The vast majority of them are not listed here, but it’s likely that one of the Bibles on this list will speak to you—or to thee.

The King James Version (1611) The good news: It’s full of beautiful, flowing seventeenth-century English prose. The bad news: It’s full of beautiful, flowing seventeenth-century English prose. The King James Bible is generally regarded as the strongest English literary transla- tion of the Bible, and it still defines the biblical tone of voice for most readers.

The Douay-Rheims Bible (1609) The Douay-Rheims is a Roman Catholic contemporary to the King James Version, translated from the translation of St. rather than directly from the Hebrew and Greek. Because of the consistently Latinate sentence structure, this version has a liturgical sound—almost a chant—to it. 05_0789734192_Ch03.qxd 9/19/05 5:19 PM Page 30

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Sometimes the Latin gets a little tricky, though. Perhaps the most famous of Jerome’s errors was his mistranslation of Exodus 34:35, which is preserved in the Douay-Rheims: “the face of Moses when he came out was horned” (the Hebrew states that Moses’ face shone, not that it had horns).

The New International Version (1984) The best-selling contemporary English Bible, this is widely used in Protestant churches. The language is very warm and approachable.

The Jewish Publication Society Tanakh (1985) This is the most widely used English Jewish Bible translation. It contains no New Testament (it would be a little strange if it did), but the writing style is straightfor- ward and very true to the original Hebrew. The word Tanakh refers to the entire Hebrew Bible and is an acronym for the Torah (Pentateuch), Nevi’im (Prophets), and Kethuvim (Writings).

The New (1989) This smooth, scholarly, gender-neutral translation is owned by the National Council of Churches and is the Bible of choice for mainline Protestant denominations.

The (1990) This new translation is remarkably readable and has been used by Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

The (1996) Patterned on the 1971 Living Bible (a paraphrase of the Bible written for contemporary readers), this translation is extremely readable—even for children—and is widely used as a private devotional translation. 05_0789734192_Ch03.qxd 9/19/05 5:19 PM Page 31

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The Absolute Minimum

■ No two people read the Bible in exactly the same way. If you would like to gain a better understanding of the Bible but don’t enjoy reading it, a differ- ent approach (or a different translation) might be beneficial. ■ The Bible is most often read through the lens of Scripture, history, and literature.

Resources

■ BiblePlan: Helping You Read the Bible—www.bibleplan.org ■ —www.geocities.com/bible_translation ■ The Unbound Bible—unbound.biola.edu ■ Lectio Divina (From the Order of St. Benedict)—www.osb.org/lectio ■ Read the Bible in a Year by Email—www.bibleinayear.org