Regardless of Version, How Much Do You Read?

This poll sickened me. I realized that, at this
time of my life, I spend far more time studying
about the Bible and preparing to study the
Bible than I do actually studying the Bible. My
Bible-prep classes take a lot of time, leaving
little to actually do the Bible studying. As a
result, I did not know how to answer your final
question.

 

Question 2 The Lamb's book of life ranks right up there at the top. WP

 

Perhaps it would be good to break-down HOW we read out Bibles...are we trying to find a sermon topic for next Sunday...are we trying to 'hear' the voice of God, His direction, His word for our lives? One method (Benedictine)of Bible reading is called lectio divina. I've tried it, and it is a very spiritual approach to the text...anybody else here heard of/tried lectio?

 

I've heard of it, but Ii don't use it. It seems a bit
contrived. I have my own style of reading that
works.

 

Good questions, Pastor Bob. I make a point to set aside time for Bible reading every day, usually reading and studying one chapter, sometimes two, and then consulting my study Bibles (MacArthur & Nelson) on that chapter to make sure I understood what I read. Sometimes I'll look up tricky verses in other translations, and sometimes I'll reread the chapter in another translation if I'm having a tough time understanding it.

I read through a book at a time, right now I'm reading through Jeremiah. In addition to that, I'm participating in a Bible study on the book of John. I don't time myself on how much time I spend, but I'm guessing that it averages between 30-60 minutes a day (sometimes more) in personal Bible reading and study.

For what it's worth, my translation of choice is NKJV. After comparing it with others and spending time with my concordance and Greek/Hebrew dictionary, I honestly feel it is the best translation available today. Admittedly, that is a layman's opinion since I am not fluent in Greek or Hebrew, but I think it's worth noting that most serious theological study Bibles published today (MacArthur, Nelson, Reformation, Baptist) use the NKJV as their text.

Eric

[ October 22, 2002, 09:12 AM: Message edited by: eric_b ]

 

What is "lectio divina"?

 

I was one of those three.

Regardless of what's written in the Book of Life, it is (according to the KJV) a "Book". I believe God wrote it, and thus I believe God wrote more than one book. There is also the book sealed with seven seals in Rev 5:1. No one could open it, not even "heavenly beings", so I think God wrote this one too. Rev 20:12 also mentions other heavenly "books".

Also, from a different perspective, the Bible is really 66 books, compiled into a single publication. Some may see this as a technicality, but whatever.

 

I only said "no" on the first because the Bible is not one book. It's a compilation of several writings.

 

\o/ Glory to the Lord \o/

\o/ Praise be to Jesus \o/

Pastor Bob 63: "One can argue and debate about which version of God's
Word is best. The bottom line is this: Are we
reading the version we declare as best?"

Yes, maybe we should do some introspection.
Though i don't consider it the best, the NIV
is the most available. I've got a copy on my
computer and a paper copy. I use the NIV most
frequently when i know the verse and want
to get the right wording for posts on Bulletin
Boards. If i know some words there and need
to seach, not knowing the exact location citation,
i prefer a KJV, for i'm more likely to know the
terms used there. I have a link to an on-line
KJV search engine. The link is located at
my church's web sight which my wife and i maintain.

This year i got a paper KJV1769 with Tim LeHay's notes
in it. I've been using this KJV for personal
study and for study for teaching my men's Sunday School
class.

I also have a study going on another bulletin
board of the sidenotes in the KJV1611. So daily
i use my paper KJV1611. The KJV1611 isn't around
anywhere electronically so i end up typing the
KJV1611 verses.

I also got a new FOUR BARRELLED CANON .
That is, four parallel translations of the Bible.
I've found that good for in depth study earlier
in my life and may start studying that more.
It is a bit heavy now for toting off to church.

Jude: "One method (Benedictine)of Bible
reading is called lectio divina. I've tried
it, and it is a very spiritual approach to
the text...anybody else here heard of/tried lectio? "

No. Please tell us more. It does sound familiar,
perhaps i know of it and have forgotten the title?

 

"Canon" with one 'n', it took me a little bit to get that, but that's actually very funny

Eric

 

Thank you, Brother Eric.
Thank God for the dictionary.
I first had it spelled "cannon"

 

Odd how this works, but becoming a moderator in the "Other Religions" forum has brought my reading & studying to sometimes over an hour a day.

Praise the Lord for that, eh ?

 

I was unsure how to answer that question since I believe that individual men actually wrote the books of the Bible, but that God inspired what they wrote. I'm not trying to be picky here; I just found the word "wrote" difficult to interpret. I finally decided that the question was probably intended to mean something like "Do you believe that God only inspired one Book?" and answered "yes."

I've written quite a few surveys and have had to revise them after getting feedback, so I know how difficult it can be to write such questions.

Excellent survey, Pastor Bob. For me, I work as a missionary Bible translator so I often spend several hours a day translating the Bible, which, of course, includes reading the passage to be translated. But I actually read, for myself, less than 10 minutes a day. I do enjoy that reading. My wife and I read the Bible together after we eat breakfast.

Blessings,
Wayne