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Read the Bible in Bigger Chunks

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Aaron Armstrong encourages you to read the Bible in bigger chunks. There is a time and place for detailed study of small portions of text. But what we must not do is lose sight of the whole.

Early on as a new Christian, my pastor challenged me to put down any other books and only focus on the Bible until I read the whole thing cover-to-cover. No in-depth study required. Just read, pray, and make notes as I went.

I set to work. I finished 8 or 9 weeks later, reading about 30-45 minutes a day. And I had a great big stack of notes to show for it. Actually, that’s not entirely true: I had a lot more than a stack of notes. I had a greater appreciation for the Bible as a whole.

Most importantly, I didn’t take his challenge, do it once, and never do it again. It’s something I’ve come back to a few times over the years. When my reading maybe feels formulaic, or when I’ve been struggling to read consistently. At the time of this writing, I’m nearing the end of one of these “big chunk” reads—or, actually, listens since I’m using an audio app for it this time.

Check it out!

The Bible is Boring Only to the Uncurious

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Have you heard someone say the Bible is boring? Have you felt that way yourself?

Perhaps you’re not curious enough.

Aaron Armstrong shares his own experience:

Before I was a Christian, I didn’t really know much about the Bible. Which makes sense, since I didn’t read it. But I had a lot of assumptions about it, the same assumptions many non-Christians have about it. I assumed it was endlessly contradictory, outdated, and irrelevant. That nothing it said really mattered to life in the modern world. Most importantly, because I saw the few people I knew whose parents made them go to some kind of class at their church were bored to tears, I assumed the Bible was boring.

Then I read it, and I discovered a book that fascinated me. One that made me ask questions, and has kept me asking questions for nearly 19 years. A book that challenges me to dig a little deeper every time I think I’ve got something figured out.

Armstrong goes on to describe how curiosity about the Bible enables us to expose its bottomless wonders and riches. I appreciate his reflection and commend it to you.

Check it out!

Loving Leviticus

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Aaron Armstrong has a short piece about how he’s “Learning to Love Leviticus.” He’s found a new appreciation for all the ceremonial details in light of the claim of Hebrews that Jesus is better.

Jesus is different—as the spotless sacrifice and the sinless priest, “He doesn’t need to offer sacrifices every day, as high priests do—first for their own sins, then for those of the people. He did this once for all when He offered Himself” (Hebrews 7:27). That’s the real secret of loving Leviticus—recognizing that it is a book full of hope for those redeemed by Christ’s death and resurrection.

Check it out!

The Basic Message of the Bible is Plain to All

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Here is something from Aaron Armstrong to be thankful for:

We shouldn’t act as though the Bible has hidden knowledge that only an elite few can access. That is the way of the mystical guru, who offers esoteric nonsense—absurdities in place of true wisdom. But the message of the Bible—at least in its basic message—is plain to all. Most anyone could come to the text of the Bible and understand the means by which God offers salvation (whether they agree with it or not is another question entirely). They can know the commands of God (whether they obey, again, is another question entirely). They can know there will be judgement, there will be a day when suffering and sadness end, when death is no more and all will be made new. Some elements are confusing, and some, frankly, make little sense to those living in the West today. Even so, there is no need for discouragement: what we can know, we can know.

Check out his full article.

Tweetable Bible?

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Aaron Armstrong posts some helpful thoughts on tweeting the Bible. In a generation when we’re trained to memorize, think about, and teach the Bible in single-verse chunks, a communication tool like Twitter presents some real challenges. Most Bible verses can fit in fewer than 140 characters, but do we use them properly when we remove them from the context their paragraph, chapter, section, or book?

As Armstrong suggests, think before you tweet your Bible.

Check it out!

Your Method Shapes Your Bible Study

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Recently, Aaron Armstrong at Blogging Theologically posted a short series about Bible study entitled “Getting Serious About Your Studies.” He focuses not so much on principles as tools, and you may find his recommendations helpful.

He concludes the series by reflecting on the crucial importance of our approach to the Bible. The results of our study are not arbitrary; our choices for how to read the Bible will affect what we end up seeing in the Bible.

Whether we realize it or not, we do this every time we pick up our Bible—and the rules and principles we hold to drastically affect what we believe the Bible says. For example:

  • Whether you believe pastoral ministry is for men only or is open to women as well stems from the interpretive decisions you make.
  • How you approach the “God-hates-yet-loves-sinners” paradox is heavily influenced by your hermeneutical approach.
  • How you understand the world to have come into being and how this world will end is drastically affected by the principles you use for interpreting the text.

It’s a good warning to give careful though to our methods.

Check it out!