Know the Bible?
Next week we’ll begin a brief series of blogs on the topic of what it means to know the Scriptures.
I’ll start with a little story I picked up on another Bible blog. The author was making a point about the impracticality of a Bible without the chapter and verse numbers. He imagined a conversation that went something like this:
“I read this amazing passage today in John’s gospel. It changed my whole perspective.”
“Oh really? Where? I’d love to look that up and read it.”
“Oh, someplace in the middle somewhere.”
Real helpful.
So the idea here seems to be that “someplace in the middle somewhere” is all we have if we delete chapter and verse numbers, and obviously that’s not helpful.
What I hope to show over the next couple weeks is that this perspective on the only reasonable way to navigate the Bible is superficial, and in fact assumes that the Bible can’t really be known, or referenced, apart from the c&v system. But for now, here’s something to start pondering:
You have heard that it was said: “If you know the Bible, you’ll know the chapter and verse references.”
But I am proposing something new:
Know chapter & verse, no know the Bible.
No know chapter & verse, know the Bible.
Whoever has ears, let them hear.
-Glenn
This Bible Is Not For You
If you already have your own copy of The Books of The Bible we sure hope you’re enjoying it as much as we are. Perhaps you’ve discovered a new kind of Bible reading experience. Maybe you’re even reading more each time you pick up the Bible, now that there are no artificial numbers in the text encouraging you to stop so soon. We know this is the case for some of you, because you’ve written in to tell us. We think this is all pretty great.
But that’s not really why we produced this Bible.
We’re a Bible society. The whole point, actually, for anything we do is supposed to be that new readers will discover the Scriptures. That’s why we give away a lot of Bibles outright. That’s also why we try our best to keep the cost of our Bibles down. Not so Christians can get a good deal on their own new Bible, but so that Christians can easily afford to give Bibles to other people.
And that’s the idea we had when we first started this project. We wanted a Bible that would be inviting to read, especially for those who haven’t read it before. So, give a Bible to someone who’s never read it. This one may surprise them, since it reads like a real book.
The Bible itself, of course, is a missional book. As we say in the introduction to The Books of The Bible: “. . . reading is a means of entering into the story. The Bible is an invitation to the reader to first view the world in a new way, and then to become an agent of the world’s renewal.”
In keeping with our motto: mo betta Bible outreach leading to mo betta Bible reading leading, ultimately, to mo people finding their places in the story of betta (i.e. new) creation in Messiah Jesus.
-Glenn
Spread the Word!
Historically, the Bible society movement was founded on the belief that Bible distribution, leading to more and better Bible reading, would in turn lead to more and deeper evangelism (see my March 20, 2007 blog in the archives). A Bible society is not a commercial, competitive business venture. Anything that’s good for the Bible and for its readers is something we’d like to see spread. In this spirit, we are hopeful that others will freely borrow ideas from The Books of The Bible. We’d love for readers of all translations to have Bibles that invite them to move beyond snacking on Bible verses to eating whole books.
The history of the Bible shows that changes in formatting were introduced by those who copied, printed or published Bibles. There was no church council that met and mandated the additives. It’s quite appropriate for Bible publishers to be the ones who undo the changes that in fact hinder good Bible reading.
No doubt Bible readers have become used to many of these changes, even to unnecessarily rely on them. But it’s a sacred text that we are publishing. Our obligations go deeper than consumer preferences. Anyone who sells Bibles has the responsibility to lead Bible-buying markets well, not just follow them wherever they may go. As a publisher we have the power to shape expectations as well as meet them.
Here at IBS we’ve had our consciousness raised on this issue, largely because of our work on The Books of The Bible. We’ve come to believe that the first rule of Bible formatting should be: do no harm. The visual presentation of the text on the page should not obscure the Bible’s inherent literary forms. Additives should not distract from or disrupt continuous reading. We’re not perfect, but we are beginning to think this through. We hope to apply this thinking to more Bibles in the future, even Bibles that still have some of the additives. And, as I said above, we really would like to see this movement grow.
Here’s how you can help. In today’s market-oriented environment, publishers will listen when those who purchase Bibles speak. Simply contact the publisher of your favorite Bible translation and encourage them to consider producing their own editions without all the additives. Most publishers can be easily reached through the “Contact Us” section on their website.
Go ahead and speak up. Let’s challenge the dominant Bible-publishing paradigm.
De-Versify Now!
-Glenn
But is it practical? (Part 4)
It has been asked how editions of the Bible without chapters and verses (and we hope to see many versions appear in this format) could be used in discussion groups whose members were all encouraged to bring their own different copies? Here are some observations and suggestions. - The feedback we've been hearing from many people is that once they get their hands on a visually coherent presentation of the Scriptures, they simply don't want to go back to using a visually disintegrated one. Thus, even if they first get a copy of The Books of The Bible thinking it's going to be a "reading Bible," pretty soon they start taking it to church and Bible studies. And so practices will have to be adopted that will accommodate editions without chapters and verses in those contexts. Indeed, the process that will create them has already been initiated. It will be fascinating to watch this process unfold and see what practices develop. What might some of them be? - If a member of a study would like to bring in a passage for consideration, this member could be asked to read the passage out loud, in its immediate literary context. Other members wouldn't have to take the time to turn to the passage themselves, if this would hold up the study and break the flow of discussion. Instead, they could check the passage in their own edition afterwards, and there could be a follow up the next week if necessary. (We don't need to limit our conversations about a particular point to one meeting only.) - Many difficulties can be avoided through anticipation and preparation, such as I describe in the case of Scripture reading in worship services in "But Is It Practical? (Part 3)." For example, if a Bible study leader would like to bring in supporting passages to provide a wider canonical perspective on a given text under consideration, or to do a topical rather than an expository study, a list of passages could be sent out for participants to look up and consider in advance of the study. No doubt other approaches will be developed in the future. Or perhaps they're already in use, in a living room near you.
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