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Bible reading vs. Bible study ratio

Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by rlvaughn, Jan 18, 2006.

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  1. rlvaughn

    rlvaughn Well-Known Member
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    Some comments I heard on Christian radio got me to thinking. What is a common ratio that Christian's spend reading their Bibles compared to time spent studying their Bibles, helps, and Bible-related books? What is a good ratio?

    I have not given this a lot of thought in exactly this way before. I'm going to think about as I read and study just to compare. My first instinct is that it might be about 50/50 for me.

    I'm not trying to establish a standard, and don't necessarily think it would be the same for everybody -- maybe not even the same for one person at different periods of his/her life. Just curious. What do you do and why?
     
    #1 rlvaughn, Jan 18, 2006
  2. Gold Dragon

    Gold Dragon Well-Known Member

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    For some who are more trained in hermeneutics, reading and studying are the same thing since they cannot read without studying and many of the helps are already in their heads.

    For us mere mortals, it is definitely a ratio that needs improvement. Moreso in quality of time in bible study but also in quantity.
     
    #2 Gold Dragon, Jan 18, 2006
  3. rlvaughn

    rlvaughn Well-Known Member
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    After posting this, I started to think that the reason I've not thought of this in this way is that, in theory, and if Bible study is properly integrated into our entire lifestyle, it probably doesn't even matter -- and that, if true, then Bible reading vs. Bible study is even a false dichotomy.

    But in the real world, I think there is a lot of possibility of Bible reading VS. Bible study -- one or the other -- though one might argue whether such could properly be called that. There are people that read books and chapters of their Bibles, but never give a lot of thought beyond a cursory reading. Others read a verse on salvation here, a verse on baptism there, and never really see how it is a part of the whole. Though reading is reading, pulling a text from here and here is certainly not Bible study.
     
    #3 rlvaughn, Jan 18, 2006
  4. Helen

    Helen <img src =/Helen2.gif>

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    When my oldest son was eleven, he had a morning paper route. Because we lived in an area with hills, I would take the houses on the tops of the hills as that would have added about an hour to his biking time for delivery. So we would both get up about five, pick up the papers from the bottom of the street (we were also on a hill), bring them up to our garage, roll them, band them, and bag them if the day was wet, and then we would each set off, him on his bicycle and me in the car.

    And I would have the radio on. Most of the programs were about fifteen minutes. J. Vernon McGee, Charles Swindoll, Chuck Smith, John MacArthur, and others whose names I forget now. It was because of these men that I actually REALLY started digging into Bible and not just reading it casually.

    So I started with mostly listening to radio in those early mornings. As time went on, that changed (especially when we moved and he dropped his paper route!) to primarily Bible study. I was blessed enough to sit under two excellent ministers at the churches we went to when the kids were growing up, and I can't neglect to mention their influence.

    But the thing which really forced me to dig deep into Bible was when I began working with the teens and then teaching a deaf ladies' Bible study. I tried very hard not to give 'pat' answers when I was asked questions, but to use the Concordances and my own digging, word after word, context after context, to give them answers as accurate as possible. The two pastors were incredibly patient when I would call them with questions, as well.

    During those years I was also reading the Bible aloud to my own family and also in the school I was administering. The entire Bible in two years. Several times.

    So I'm not sure where my Bible 'study' and 'casual readng' split. There was just a VERY lot of Bible and, now being married to Barry, that has certainly continued!
     
    #4 Helen, Jan 19, 2006
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