Context, perception, and real understanding of the bible

This is the encouragement quote from yesterday's e-mail:

"There has probably never been a time in human history when the Word of God has been more accessible yet more unread." We're living in a time of superficial Christianity on the part of many people, and the postmodern culture has invited persons to be on a spiritual quest of their own devising rather than to follow the path of biblical Christianity. Millions and millions of people have only some vague concept about the Bible. They know it's about God, and some know it's about Christ, but beyond that, they have no real understanding of what the Bible is and how they are to obey it and know it."

- Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

The last part of the quote definitely resonates with me. I didn't really know ANYTHING about the Bible until this challenge. I knew there was the Old Testament and the New Testament. I knew they were made up of books, chapters, and verses. I knew there were some Psalms or something in there, too. I knew the very, very basics.

I always come back to the fact that I was not confirmed and maybe this magical Bible knowledge would have been imparted on me during confirmation classes, but I have a feeling there is more to it. There is not an emphasis on the Bible as a whole as much as there is an emphasis on the parts.

People quote individual verses or a few passages. Our weekly lessons are parts of chapters, but sometimes parts are edited out or edited together! We know the stories of the bible (David & Goliath comes to mind as well as Noah, Adam & Eve, and Joseph and his Technicolor Dreamcoat!), but we have no context for them. And no perception of their importance within the rest of the bible.

Context, perception, and real understanding of the bible are all things that I am gaining from this experience! It is glorious.

Weekly Check-up

I'm on track. Actually, I'm better than on track. I haven't even started reading for today yet and I'm already half done!

Okay, here's the back story. Last week, I got behind (again). I figured I could easily get caught up while we were at Mike's parents' house for the long weekend. Well, I did get mostly caught up, but not quite. So, Mike volunteered to drive home (even though it was my turn to drive) so I could get completely up-to-date with my reading. What a sweetheart! And who knew that reading the bible would be so easy while listening to soundtracks from the Muppet movies. Haha. I did read at about half-pace due to not wanting to get car sick, but I only had a few pages left by the time we got home.

I settled in to finish up during the evening, and when my time for reading was almost up, I checked my progress... and realized I read AHEAD by 6 pages! Oops! I guess there is something to be said about the book of Judges! So for tonight, I only have 6 pages to read - all in Ruth, I think.... maybe I'll even catch myself reading ahead again!

This challenge has really made me realize a 2 things:
1) It is possible to get caught up reading the bible! Some passages are a chore, but some are so fascinating, they just fly by!
2) If a modern-day editor got a hold of the bible, there would be some serious editing done. :-P The repetitiveness is really starting to annoy my minimalistic side. I am trying to see the reasons behind the repetition!

Thoughts from Day 9 (Leviticus)

Few days of reading had me questioning as much as I questioned Day 9 - a large portion of Leviticus. God gives Moses A TON of laws for the people to follow. I am not kidding - there are A TON! I knew about some of these laws before - after all 10 of them are the commandments that we all know - but some of them are bizarre, seemingly unimportant, or over-important! Two that were about a page apart caught my attention:

Lev 18:22 "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable."

Lev 19:19 "Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material."

According to these passages, being a gay man is a sin. So is wearing a nice poly-cotton blend.

Let me just say: WHAT?!?!!!?!?!?!

I have so many questions about this and no answers, so I'll just list them:

Why are God's instructions so exacting?

As Christians, do these still count as sins today?

Should I be confessing my love for poly-cotton blends when I list my sins?

Are these laws as important as the 10 commandments? Is there a such thing as an unimportant law in Gods eyes?

I know that Lev 18:22 has been quoted a LOT lately as an argument against gay marriage, but is it still relevant? Or are we quoting something that has been usurped by the power of Christ?

It is frustrating to have more questions than answers, but dwelling on these questions is what has made the experience of reading the bible thoroughly so interesting.

10 days down, 80 to go!

This week I got behind by ONE day. Let me tell you, it was harder to catch up than I thought. But I pledged time on Sunday to finish or ELSE*. And I did! I even read a little bit ahead because I was so wrapped up in Numbers. I made some notes about the readings from over the weekend and I hope to do a post tonight or tomorrow based on them.

Mostly I am just glad I am finished with Leviticus. That was a difficult book.


*or ELSE I was not to do anything fun until I was finished!

A confession....

I didn't read last night. My sister came over for dinner and then we went to the movies and got home late, so there was no time to read before bed. Strangely, today Amy over at Mom's Toolbox wrote about the frustration of falling behind. I'm not there yet. I'm not frustrated. I know I will have the time tonight to read double and I don't forsee missing out on my reading time again for weeks. I'm steadfast in my resolve to stay on track and finish this baby in 90 days!

I'm already excited to read about the fifteen ten commandments tonight along the rest of Moses' journey.

So far in the pages I've read there are so many instances where the laws of the commandments are being broken (even if they hadn't been created yet) that I am interested to see the people's reactions to the commandments and how it affects their lives.

The questions that the readings bring up is what keeps me coming back for more. :-)

The first three days... right on track!

Day 1 and Day 2 I read in the evening. Yesterday, I read in the morning (stayed home sick from church, so lots of time)! I am not sure which I prefer yet, but I am so excited about the project that I just can't WAIT to read by the time I sit down to do it. Those 12 pages fly by.

I've discovered a few things, about my reading style and about the content of what I am reading.
- I can't read if there is any music or noise happening. I used to be able to! All those names get garbled when listening to something else, though, so quite time is necessary.

- Reading through the popular stories of Genesis (Adam & Eve, Noah, Esau & Jacob, Joseph) has helped me to realize how much our culture has ADDED to these stories that just is not in the bible. Also, facts have been changed (or perhaps interpreted differently), but the essence of the stories is what is important.

- A whole lot of procreating going on! WOW. I'm not sure what to make of some of it, though, especially the way women were treated.

- I've been taking notes, but mostly just trying to take it in. I'm underlining things that I would like to go back and ponder or research after the 3 months are over.

- It takes me about 45 minutes to read as long as I don't get interrupted.

I'll try to post here every few days with a "check up" of where I am and any ponderings that I have.