Many people make a resolution in the New Year to be more intentional, more diligent, more zealous for daily Bible reading. And God bless them in their desire and effort to be deeply in God’s Word! What is their point? Why immerse ourselves deeply in God’s Word? Here is the great news about the Bible:
The Bible is not simply an historical account or a literary masterpiece; it is the witness to Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and it presents the Deus loquens, the God who uses the Bible to speak to us today. God Himself works through the means of His grace today just as He worked through the prophetic and apostolic preaching. Today again the good news is proclaimed by a preacher standing in obedience to the Word, and it is heard by a congregation that is also dependent on this Word. — Ernest Koenker, Worship in Word and Sacrament, p. 25.
January 3rd, 2010 | 7:07 pm | #1
I could not agree more with that quote. I became a Christian almost six years ago after knowing some deeply Christian friends and picking up the Bible and reading. I converted to Orthodoxy almost two years ago, and I still find the Bible to be central to my faith. I have read the New Testament several times through and upon becoming Orthodox, I have used commentaries (Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant). I started reading the Old Testament in 2009, and my hope is to finish it this year. I am constantly amazed by the truth and beauty of Scriptures.
I honestly don’t understand Christians who say the Bible is boring or who don’t really want to know more of the stories. And I do find there are many who would prefer simply to listen to the priest or pastor give a homily or sermon once a week, but that really is not enough. People who do not see the importance of personally studying the Scriptures are missing out on suc treasures.
January 4th, 2010 | 7:34 am | #2
[...] of the Bible Posted on January 4, 2010 by bkingr Paul T. McCain posted this from Ernest Koenker about why reading the Bible is a worthy goal for the new [...]
January 4th, 2010 | 1:34 pm | #3
“…it is the witness to Jesus Christ as the Son of God…”
This is the operative phrase for me. To the shock of some, I’ve often said that the Bible is not the Word of God. That is a title reserved for Jesus Christ, the one and true logos. The Bible, then, is the testament, a witness, to the Word. Is it all semantics? No, because we are to worship this one true Word. We do not, and never should consider, worshipping the Bible (bibliolatry), as inspired as it is.
But I always find it interesting, especially with this past Christmas in mind, how scripture is both divine and human, written with human hands while still essentially God-given. Christ, too, is both human and divine. Not the same, I know, but merely interesting.
January 4th, 2010 | 6:29 pm | #4
I find Koeker’s point very interesting: “Today again the good news is proclaimed by a preacher standing in obedience to the Word, and it is heard by a congregation that is also dependent on this Word.”
The context here is a preacher proclaiming the Word, and a congregation hearing it — not a solitary reader in his or her own room, reading the words of the Bible in silence.
When I became a Christian, going on four years ago, I was quite frankly intimidated by the Bible. During my process of conversion I had approached the New Testament from a historical / evidential perspective, and managed fine; if I had been able to approach the Bible purely from a literary standpoint I would have been fine (I have a doctorate in English literature); however, approaching it with the understanding that this was God’s word, and that it was authoritative, made the project of reading it exceedingly difficult.
In different circumstances, I could see how it would have been very easy to simply not read the Bible.
Fortunately, I had two circumstances in my favor: 1. I am persistent, and 2. my church reads a lot of Scripture. In each Sunday service, we have a Psalm, an OT reading, a NT reading, and a Gospel reading (printed in the bulletin to take home, as well). Getting smaller pieces on a regular basis made Scripture less intimidating.
I’d say that the other big factor in becoming deeply engaged with the Bible has been reading aloud from it, which I do as part of my own prayer life and also as part of my ministry participation. Reading aloud brings home to me the power of the words in a way that reading silently on a page does not.
When I have had the opportunity to read Holy Scripture in front of the whole congregation, I have been aware that my task as reader is to be, effectively, as transparent as possible: presenting the words clearly and with emphasis sufficient for understanding, but without dramatizing the reading and causing myself to intrude upon it. Really I am just a window through which the light of the Word is shining through.
It really is a humbling thing, at least for this lifetime reader, to realize that speaking and hearing the Word is more effective than silently reading it.
January 4th, 2010 | 7:43 pm | #5
Ms. Ordway, thank you for your very perceptive and thoughtful comment. I was musing on this very thing myself today. We take it for granted that Christians have always “read their Bibles.” In fact, for the vast majority of the Church’s history Christians did not “read their Bibles.” Because, most: (a) Could not read and (b) certainly did not possess a copy of the Bible. Nobody did, only the congregations had copies of the Scriptures, in fragmentary ways frankly, for a very long time. Not until the age of the printing press and the modern economy and education did we reach a point where many Christians now have access to a physical copy of the Bible.
Christ our Lord said, “Pray the Lord to send forth workers into his harvest field.” Not: “Pray that God would make copies of the Bible available.” Our Lord is a speaking God and we are a hearing people. That He continues His speaking through the ministers of His Church for the sake of the hearers of His Word is a gift that continues to this time, in all places.
There is much to ponder in Kueker’s remarks. That we have reached a point that there are those who believe Christianity does consist chiefly in an individual reading his/her personal copy of the Bible is a very sad commentary on the state of modern Christianity. It is a concept entirely foreign to the Scriptures themselves, to our Lord Christ and His Apostles and to the vast majority of Christians through the ages.
January 5th, 2010 | 9:17 am | #6
I find Holly’s comment interesting because I attend a church that emphasizes speaking and listening to Holy Scriptures as a community. However, I have not always been such a good aural learner so I am grateful for the invention of the printing press and having the opportunity to read the Bible in the privacy of my own home. (But I still wholeheartedly believe that Scripture must be read within the context of a church community.)
I also find that the more engaged I become with Scripture and the better I know the Bible, the more I can see the work in its entirety. I am quite familiar now with the Gospel stories of Christ’s death on the Cross, having heard and read them several times. What was exciting to me in my personal reading of Amos was that I was able to understand one of his prophecies of Christ’s death without having someone explicitly point it out to me. It is such experiences as that one which really bring home the beauty and truth of Scripture to me.
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