The Books of The Bible: Year One, Part Three
On this last day of August, here are a few stories of people and their interactions with The Books of The Bible. As always, we invite your feedback as well both via email and in the comments section. It is this kind of feedback that will help as we produce new editions of TBoTB:
Lenae, a mom from Minnesota, told us:
"One of the most noticeable differences in my personal Bible reading is catching things within passages that I never noticed before. What a difference in understanding the big picture of a Bible passage or story when there's no chapter breaks. It has its original flow and magnifies my understanding of the passage. I use the reading plans you have available on the web site. It doesn't feel like a chore to check off those boxes . . . I often read more pages than what is suggested on the Bible reading guide. Blessings in your research and promotion of this wonderful book!"
Andy Crouch, author of Culture Making, on the impact it has had on his children:
"The most surprising beneficiaries of my enthusiasm for The Books of the Bible have been my children (ages 8 and 11). Both of them have always been interested in reading the Bible, but since we got several copies of TBoTB I have noticed them picking up the book spontaneously, spending much more time reading, and reading much more extensively. I just asked my youngest, Amy, what she liked, and I quote (transcribed directly!): "It doesn't have all those little things down at the bottom, they're at the back in a sort of glossary thing. Also the typing is clearer; I've noticed that some others have small typing and it's kind of hard to read." In other words, TBoTB has removed several barriers to my children being able to read fluently and extensively. It's a joy to watch them immersed in the narrative of Scripture just as they might be in any other book."
Troy, a pastor from Indiana:
"I would echo the comments of those who have found themselves reading more and larger sections of scripture at one time. I liken it to the difference between reading a novel and reading an encyclopedia. An encyclopedia is formatted so that you read a little. A novel captures your attention, stimulates your imagination, and you end up reading more. But here is the thing: you could take the actual text of a novel and format it in an encyclopedia-like fashion and the result would be that you would read less and read it differently. Form and content are tied.
That is why I love The Books of The Bible. Finally, the Bible is formatted as it should be. When that happens it is read more freely and with a different perspective.
I do want to add this: don't ever stop publishing this tool. The church has been taught an incomplete way of reading the Bible, tied to numbers and verses, etc. which has often led to misinterpretation. It will take a reeducation for us to realize that isn't how the Scriptures were written and meant to be read. Your product is very helpful toward that end."
Brad from Minnesota, regarding his friend, a dechurched 19-year-old whose previous "exposure to 'the gospel'" was "sparse, snippet-driven, and high-holiday-centered": as they read Mark together out loud on a drive from New York to North Dakota, 'Austin was routinely bewildered that "this whole Bible thing" wasn't "totally [expletive] after all"—that it wasn't simply Captain Kangaroo (i.e., Jesus) spouting platitudes about sharing and being good little boys and girls, that it didn't sound like 1611 English, etc. At the end of the one book, he proclaimed that, due to that singular experience, he had changed from thinking of the Bible as a weird thing in motel rooms to something he wanted to read in its entirety.' 'These are the sorts of conversations, reflections, etc. that were facilitated as a result of our reading through entire books, in a readily understandable translation, in one sitting—something which had never been the natural direction of any of his prior attempts at finding anything resembling profundity within the text's pages.'
Lenae, a mom from Minnesota, told us:
"One of the most noticeable differences in my personal Bible reading is catching things within passages that I never noticed before. What a difference in understanding the big picture of a Bible passage or story when there's no chapter breaks. It has its original flow and magnifies my understanding of the passage. I use the reading plans you have available on the web site. It doesn't feel like a chore to check off those boxes . . . I often read more pages than what is suggested on the Bible reading guide. Blessings in your research and promotion of this wonderful book!"
Andy Crouch, author of Culture Making, on the impact it has had on his children:
"The most surprising beneficiaries of my enthusiasm for The Books of the Bible have been my children (ages 8 and 11). Both of them have always been interested in reading the Bible, but since we got several copies of TBoTB I have noticed them picking up the book spontaneously, spending much more time reading, and reading much more extensively. I just asked my youngest, Amy, what she liked, and I quote (transcribed directly!): "It doesn't have all those little things down at the bottom, they're at the back in a sort of glossary thing. Also the typing is clearer; I've noticed that some others have small typing and it's kind of hard to read." In other words, TBoTB has removed several barriers to my children being able to read fluently and extensively. It's a joy to watch them immersed in the narrative of Scripture just as they might be in any other book."
Troy, a pastor from Indiana:
"I would echo the comments of those who have found themselves reading more and larger sections of scripture at one time. I liken it to the difference between reading a novel and reading an encyclopedia. An encyclopedia is formatted so that you read a little. A novel captures your attention, stimulates your imagination, and you end up reading more. But here is the thing: you could take the actual text of a novel and format it in an encyclopedia-like fashion and the result would be that you would read less and read it differently. Form and content are tied.
That is why I love The Books of The Bible. Finally, the Bible is formatted as it should be. When that happens it is read more freely and with a different perspective.
I do want to add this: don't ever stop publishing this tool. The church has been taught an incomplete way of reading the Bible, tied to numbers and verses, etc. which has often led to misinterpretation. It will take a reeducation for us to realize that isn't how the Scriptures were written and meant to be read. Your product is very helpful toward that end."
Brad from Minnesota, regarding his friend, a dechurched 19-year-old whose previous "exposure to 'the gospel'" was "sparse, snippet-driven, and high-holiday-centered": as they read Mark together out loud on a drive from New York to North Dakota, 'Austin was routinely bewildered that "this whole Bible thing" wasn't "totally [expletive] after all"—that it wasn't simply Captain Kangaroo (i.e., Jesus) spouting platitudes about sharing and being good little boys and girls, that it didn't sound like 1611 English, etc. At the end of the one book, he proclaimed that, due to that singular experience, he had changed from thinking of the Bible as a weird thing in motel rooms to something he wanted to read in its entirety.' 'These are the sorts of conversations, reflections, etc. that were facilitated as a result of our reading through entire books, in a readily understandable translation, in one sitting—something which had never been the natural direction of any of his prior attempts at finding anything resembling profundity within the text's pages.'
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