How to Read the Bible - 5 Steps

How to Read the Bible - 5 Steps

By Marco A. Bomfoco

The two fundamental pillars of Western culture are the Bible and the Greek philosophy. The Bible is the best-selling book in the world. There are several reasons why we should read the Bible. The Bible gives us discernment, it makes us much wiser. It builds our relationship with God.

The Bible is a library; it is a collection of sixty-six books. It was written in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek), by forty authors, over a period of 1.400 years. These holy men were powerful kings and simple men, living on two continents. The Bible speaks both the language of fact and of symbol.

The Bible contains two great divisions, familiarly known as The Old and New Testaments. They are "the books", which came from the Greek expression ta biblia. The Bible contains thirty-nine books of the Old Testament (or Covenant) and twenty-seven of the New. The Old and New Testaments are inseparably bound together, they are complementary the one to the other. Christ is in all the Bible. The New Testament stands at the end of the Bible. They are the Christian writings of the single generation of the Apostles. It is important to note that there are over five thousand Greek manuscripts of the New Testament.

The Bible exists to be read and understood. I suggest bellow five steps for the beginner Bible reader:

1. Ask some questions. Who wrote, when he wrote, to whom he wrote. What are the main theme and the purpose of the book?

2. Let's begin with the book of the Psalms. The Psalter is a collection of lyrical poetry by different authors. The German reformer Martin Luther said that they may be called a little Bible, in which everything that is in the whole Bible is contained. It offers us a great religious experience of faith and hope; it teaches us how to pray.

3. The four Gospels. Here we are in the world of Jesus. We shall begin with Mark, because it is the oldest text and the most narrative of the Gospels. Mark tells vividly a story; it is full of interest and action. It should be read "at one sitting".

4. The Acts of Apostles. The book tells stories about the foundation and teaching of the Church. Pay attention to the speeches of the apostles.

5. The beginning. The Genesis embraces the period of the creation. Now we can read the historical, the poetical and the prophetical books of the Old Testament. The last book of the Bible is Revelation. A vision of what the end times will be like. And about the advent or second coming of Christ.