Hello,
So far I have found the Bible pretty tough going - and I haven't even finished Genesis! Regardless of what I have tried to study in the past, I have found group lessons to be most effective and fun way to learn. I see there are many online Bible study groups. Why do they tend to be sex-segregated? Do they welcome non-Christians who are simply curious?
I can't speak about online Bible study groups as I've never been part of one, or sought any out. But I'll try to address a couple other things you've mentioned.
While having a men's study group, a woman's study group, or a youth study group is pretty common. There certainly are plenty of Bible study groups where it's men and women, and people of all ages. Usually when it is something like a women's study group, or a college study group, that's because part of the focus is on how to take what is read and studied in the Bible and apply it those particular circumstances: e.g. being a woman, being a college student, etc.
As far as a non-Christian coming to a Bible study, that is really going to depend on the group and what the sort of dynamics or focus of the group is. There certainly are seeker-welcome study groups out there, with the focus being on either people new to Christianity or who are curious about it.
It's actually quite possible that, if you are comfortable with it, you could reach out to pastors/priests of local churches and simply just tell them, hey, I'm not a Christian but I'd like to study the Bible, is there anything for me at your church? I'd be shocked if there aren't at least some, if not a lot, of churches out there which might have something for you to at least visit. Though, also understandable if you aren't comfortable with that. Also, that comfort level could depend on whether the study is held at the church itself or in a member's home. I certainly wouldn't be comfortable going to a church member's home of a church I wasn't a part of, and I am a Christian.
Also, as far as getting a start on reading the Bible. I wouldn't just start at Genesis as a first time read or study. I mean in a way it makes sense, Genesis is the first book of the Bible, why not just start at the literal beginning? But the thing is, doing that will be kind of a slog, as I'm sure you've realized. By the time you get to Leviticus you'll be cross-eyed with boredom. There's nothing wrong with a straight read-through of the Bible, it's just hard; and often that's the sort of thing that someone does much later after they've already become way more familiar with it.
Whenever I offer advice about what to do for a first time read of the Bible this is what I recommend:
Start with the one of the Four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). In particular, I suggest Luke. The Christian Bible is, rather intentionally, focused on Jesus. So, start with the main event: Jesus.
The reason why I suggest Luke rather than the other three Gospels, is because Luke is fairly easy to read. Matthew expects his readers to already know the Old Testament really well, John's Gospel is theologically dense, and so both Mark and Luke are great easy-access Gospel texts. Luke also benefits here because it's actually the first part of a two volume work, it has a sequel, the book of Acts. This means that as soon as the Gospel of Luke ends, the book of Acts begins. So as soon as you finish reading Luke, you can read Acts.
Where Luke is the story of Jesus, Acts is the story of Jesus' apostles after Jesus' resurrection and ascension. This means we also get introduced to the Apostle Paul, who takes up a lot of space in the second half of the book of Acts. And it also so happens that Paul wrote about half of the books of the New Testament. By the time you're done reading Acts, you will already know this Paul guy and his story and experiences, so that means if you were to, for example, read Paul's Letter to the Romans, you'll already know who Paul is and what his deal is. That's going to let you read Romans with a lot more information than you'd otherwise not have.
And yes, I do recommend reading Romans after Acts. Romans is considered by most people to be Paul's magnum opus. I've been a Christian all 41 years of my existence, I've been reading Paul's Letter to the Romans since I basically have been able to read at all. And I still read it constantly. Apart from the Gospels, Romans is the crown jewel of the New Testament--perhaps the entire Bible. It's that good, it's that important.
So that is the three-part introduction I always suggest: Luke -> Acts -> Romans. After that, you'll have a lot to work with if you want to start looking around the Bible. Some further reading suggestions:
The Psalms, sometimes informally known as Israel's songbook. A collection of songs composed throughout the period of the Old Testament, many attributed to King David specifically. These are beautiful, they offer wisdom and inspiration, they speak of the depths of the human condition both. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
Maybe try reading Mark, it's the shortest Gospel, and provides things from different perspectives and angles than Luke's Gospel does. Or maybe try Matthew, and then when you see Matthew quoting a lot of the Old Testament, feel free to see what he's talking about by going back and looking at those older references.
The Epistle of James is a good read, it has some valuable insight into the human situation about our biases and the problem with our tongue.
Really, at this point, it becomes a springboard to try other parts of the Bible.
And along the way, it's good to ask questions and consult resources, especially good scholarly and theological resources.
-CryptoLutheran
