How well do you really know the Bible?

[GodLovesCats]

Every time I read a Bible verse or passage in Scripture someone else wrote, I feel bad about not already knowing it. I hate being unable to memorize the book/chapter/verse references for everything I do know in it and name all 66 books in the correct order. But I know I am not alone. I also know other people are the opposite, thinking they know a lot more about the Bible than they do. I hope this is the right section to start tackling these issues, which are not unique to new Christians.

 

[HTacianas]

Every time I read a Bible verse or passage in Scripture someone else wrote, I feel bad about not already knowing it. I hate being unable to memorize the book/chapter/verse references for everything I do know in it and name all 66 books in the correct order. But I know I am not alone. I also know other people are the opposite, thinking they know a lot more about the Bible than they do. I hope this is the right section to start tackling these issues, which are not unique to new Christians.

I know the bible fairly well. But let me tell you that you do not need to. The vast majority of Christians throughout history have never read it. At first it was because bibles were extremely rare, and then after they became widely available most people couldn't read.

 

[d taylor]

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What you have experienced is, that people know The Bible, to back up their particular theology. So in the end if their theology is wrong, they really know nothing.

 

[Jonaitis]

Every time I read a Bible verse or passage in Scripture someone else wrote, I feel bad about not already knowing it. I hate being unable to memorize the book/chapter/verse references for everything I do know in it and name all 66 books in the correct order. But I know I am not alone. I also know other people are the opposite, thinking they know a lot more about the Bible than they do. I hope this is the right section to start tackling these issues, which are not unique to new Christians.

I sought all the knowledge that could be derived from the Bible, and later realized in accumulating all this knowledge that all that really matters is how it personally speaks to you. If you have been down the road I walked, you will realize the importance of my words. It doesn't matter how much you know, it is about what you do with it, even if the interpretation is wrong.

 

[GodLovesCats]

I know the bible fairly well. But let me tell you that you do not need to. The vast majority of Christians throughout history have never read it. At first it was because bibles were extremely rare, and then after they became widely available most people couldn't read.

What about the vast majority of 21st century Christians?

People who can't read the Bible are able to buy audio versions of it or two Braille Bibles. It is widely available both on paper and online. There a nonprofit group called the Deaf Bible Society whose only mission is to make full Bibles in all of the world's sign languages. So I highly doubt many people could complain about Bible illiteracy today, in the 23rd year of the 21st century - almost 2,000 years after Christianity began.

What I did, however, was talk my mom into buying reading glasses. With them, I should be able to know the Bible much better than I did as a regular churchgoer.

 

[GodLovesCats]

I sought all the knowledge that could be derived from the Bible, and later realized in accumulating all this knowledge that all that really matters is how it personally speaks to you. If you have been down the road I walked, you will realize the importance of my words. It doesn't matter how much you know, it is about what you do with it, even if the interpretation is wrong.

My opinion has always been because God never changes and knows everything, only one interpretation of each word in the Bible can be correct. If you do not interpret a verse the way He intended it to mean, you are wrong.

But when I said this during a kinship meeting, another member told me, "It is not always that black and white." And some people think God did change because he destroyed almost everything in the OT, but not the NT.

 

[Jonaitis]

My opinion has always been because God never changes and knows everything, only one interpretation of each word in the Bible can be correct. If you do not interpret a verse the way He intended it to mean, you are wrong.

I was raised in the faith to believe the same thing until I woke up. In truth, there is only a single interpretation for each book, but not for the collection of the whole. Not all of the authors agree with each other, and it is our presumption to think so. The older I got and the more seasoned in the word I became, I realized that ultimately knowing everything means knowing nothing. I truly know nothing, and there is nothing to brag about in any of it. "Vanity, all is vanity!" The path to knowledge leads you back to the road you began, and it is a very humbling experience. What really matters is the wisdom taught in each book. Let the wisdom guide you.

 

[Petros2015]

Well enough to tell when someone is misusing it.

 

[GodLovesCats]

I was raised in the faith to believe the same thing until I woke up. In truth, there is only a single interpretation for each book, but not for the collection of the whole. Not all of the authors agree with each other, and it is our presumption to think so. The older I got and the more seasoned in the word I became, I realized that ultimately knowing everything means knowing nothing. I truly know nothing, and there is nothing to brag about in any of it. "Vanity, all is vanity!" The path to knowledge leads you back to the road you began, and it is a very humbling experience. What really matters is the wisdom taught in each book. Let the wisdom guide you.

I was not referring to books. I meant there is only one correct interpretation of, for example, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Not all Christians are exactly sure what that means, even though it is Christ's Second Commandment.

 

[Jonaitis]

I was not referring to books. I meant there is only one correct interpretation of, for example, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Not all Christians are exactly sure what that means, even though it is Christ's Second Commandment.

My wrong.

 

[eleos1954]

Every time I read a Bible verse or passage in Scripture someone else wrote, I feel bad about not already knowing it. I hate being unable to memorize the book/chapter/verse references for everything I do know in it and name all 66 books in the correct order. But I know I am not alone. I also know other people are the opposite, thinking they know a lot more about the Bible than they do. I hope this is the right section to start tackling these issues, which are not unique to new Christians.

we are all growing in our knowledge in His Word .... just keep studying .... perhaps start keeping some notes ... I have found a lot of times when I actually write something down it becomes easier to commit it to memory.

Remembering the principles taught are more important than being able to quote chapter and verse etc. Don't worry about it. ;o)

 

[Wayne Gabler]

Every time I read a Bible verse or passage in Scripture someone else wrote, I feel bad about not already knowing it. I hate being unable to memorize the book/chapter/verse references for everything I do know in it and name all 66 books in the correct order. But I know I am not alone. I also know other people are the opposite, thinking they know a lot more about the Bible than they do. I hope this is the right section to start tackling these issues, which are not unique to new Christians.

I went through that. I reconciled myself by saying I shouldn't know what is in a book I just started to read. In the Bible's case, it has to be studied rather than read like a novel. When your reading doesn't invoke any more quests and all you have are answers, then you know what is the whole book.