NT Wright on reading whole books
". . . I am attempting to expound biblical books in their entirety. People do not always, perhaps, realize how natural and easy reading whole books of the Bible can be. You can read through Colossians quite slowing in about twelve minutes; you can get through Hebrews in under an hour. John may take longer, but time will quickly become a secondary consideration. I am convinced that using a lectionary—reading the Bible in little snippets—is a second-order activity; the primary activity ought to be reading the Bible in large chunks, to get its full flavour and thrust." N.T. Wright, Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), x-xi. Labels: bible, Whole Books, Wright
Recap from Nashville and what's coming up
Nashville RecapJohn and I were in Nashville a couple weeks ago for the National Youth Workers Convention. We showed up in Nashville with 1000 copies of the Encountering Jesus New Testament to sample to the 5000 youth workers attending. This picture is about 200 copies in. You'll also see our sweet (and very heavy) IBS Diner Booth as well as John's PowerBook preparing to do the hard work of taking orders. We also were entering people into a drawing for 100 free copies of the EJNT for their youth group.  By Saturday afternoon we had run out of New Testaments. John needed a break and kicked his shoes off.  Within two weeks of returning to Colorado, we were completely out of Encountering Jesus New Testaments. Awesome. Not so much because we're out (customers don't really like it when you're out of something they want), but because there are that many more people reading the Bible in a whole new way. Coming Up
Chris Smith and I will be coordinating an online reading community for TBoTB in 2009. Different people will be leading us through each book, posting thoughts and questions on the readings, then opening it up for discussion. If you haven't seen the reading plan, download it here. We'll be posting here and the facebook de-versify group with most of the discussion happening on the group discussion board. If you haven't joined yet, jump on the bandwagon. Labels: Encountering Jesus, Nashville, NYWC, read through the Bible, the books of the bible, Youth Specialties
199 years? It seems like just yesterday....
It was 199 years ago today that a group of folks met in Manhattan to begin the Scripture ministry of the New York Bible Society. They started small, but they had a vision and knew exactly what it was about.
As we turn the corner toward our bicentennial celebration, may God give us the clarity, conviction and courage to carry on this amazing legacy. We are facing extraordinary challenges today, but God's word is not chained. If we are to endure everything, we must do so for a mission.
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
Paul's 2nd letter to Timothy
New TBoTB endorsement
By removing artificial (and often inaccurate) verse and chapter references, and by formatting the biblical books according to their literary forms and natural structures, The Books of The Bible allows readers to see the Bible with new eyes and fresh insight. This is reading the Bible as it was meant to be read and hearing it as it was meant to be heard. Mark Strauss Professor of New Testament Bethel Seminary, San Diego Labels: bible, endorsement, MarkStrauss, tbotb, the books of the bible
Glenn on Beliefnet, John and Paul are heading Nashville
Glenn's article on de-versifying the Bible is up at Beliefnet. Here's an excerpt. Bible additives like these left philosopher John Locke complaining that the scriptures “are so chop’d and minc’d, and as they are now Printed, stand so broken and divided, that...the Common People take the Verses usually for distinct Aphorisms,” and “even Men of more advanc’d Knowledge in reading them, lose very much of the strength and force of the Coherence, and the Light that depends on it.” In other words: we’ve adapted the Bible to the point that it’s nearly impossible to understand.
Locke was right. The modern form of the Bible has compelled us to read it in bits and pieces. But the Bible is not made up of these bits and pieces. It’s really a collection of whole books. There are lots of books in the Bible and they are quite different from each other. There are letters and short stories, historical narratives and apocalyptic visions. Collections of song lyrics are included alongside prophetic oracles. The Bible’s wisdom literature includes books of short, pithy sayings as well as longer, ponderous explorations of life’s quandaries. Head on over to read the rest and leave a comment. John and I will be in Nashville for NYWC with a ton of free stuff and a chance to win New Testaments for your whole youth room. If you're around, either in town or at the conference, let us know. We'd love to get together and talk TBoTB. We're at Booth 122.
Preview of Glenn's new article at beliefnet
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