Have you tried reading the Bible?

March 1, 2011 8:19pm CST
I am wondering why there are so many people who can read lots of books but they find it hard to get interested in reading a Bible. Some read Bible but get tired and some even fall asleep while reading. And in my case, I do read the Bible but often find it hard to understand and yeah, I even fall asleep..shame on me. What do you feel when you read the Bible and have you tried reading it,?
4 people like this
16 responses
• Thailand
2 Mar 11
Reading the entire Bible can be a hard slog. To make it a more meaningful experience it is a good idea to learn something of the time it was written about, who wrote it and the myths that preceded it which it was built on. You need to understand that the Bible we have today is an arbitrary collection of books that represent the work of people whose agenda was the preservation of the Roman Empire and in no way represents all that was available. There are many different Gospels that did not make the cut to be included in the Bible because they did not meet the criteria of the compilers. Read with informed understanding and you will find fascinating insights into the history of the Christian religion.
1 person likes this
3 Mar 11
Yes, you are right, it could be like a real hard work reading the Bible especially when you are just oblige to read on it. Like when I was still studying and we have Theology subject every semester and of course it only talks about the Bible and life of the people and of course life of Jesus Christ and his passion and love towards the people. I just like when I listen to the priest or nun explaining about the Bible than reading on it.
@wuliaode (92)
• China
2 Mar 11
I tried reading the Bible,because I want to learn more about the myth of the West.Read the upper half,I felt the power of the Bible is the time to cross the eyes and brain can understand.I repeatedly find,ultimately did not come out.I know I could not find that part of the lost soul of the
3 Mar 11
There's always some kind of power thus the Bible it gives, a kind of wisdom that gives life especially when you are lost and helpless and desperate to find answer to your question.Bible can really help you in so many ways, well if you just believe or let say understand to what it's written.
• China
3 Mar 11
Is this the agreement between God and humanity?
@dreamy1 (3811)
• United States
2 Mar 11
Yes I am in the process now. It's taken me years literally and I'm just started Exodus. I read some of it in school for English class. I'm not Christian and I don't believe in the bible but I'm reading it because I want to know what it says and my boyfriend wanted me to read it. I'd like to read all the religious texts maybe one day I will get around to reading the Quoran and Hebrew books, Buddhist books and all major religious books.
3 Mar 11
It's nice to know that you are into reading religious stuff because it contains a lot of knowledge and wisdom which you can apply in your daily life and somehow helps you become successful and happy person, because religious stuff were all inspirational. Good luck on your studies.
@inertia4 (27961)
• United States
2 Mar 11
First off the Bible is written in an old world language that does not exist no more. I have skimmed through it years ago and it does not hold my interest, it has too many twists and turns. I would rather read a good Stephen King book than the Bible. After all the Bible is fiction anyway. Maybe it should be re-written and broken in parts. I didn't know they had pencils and paper back then.
3 Mar 11
There are so many translation in the Bible to make it more understandable. I don't either read the old written version in the Bible because I might end up closing the Bible and fall asleep. Bible has lots of stories, it has lots of love, magic,miracles and wisdom. I talks about living our life and if you read about it and keep it in your heart it could be a great help.
• Philippines
2 Mar 11
I have tried actually. My aim is to read the Bible from Genesis to Revalation. At of this time, I'm still at Exodus. I beleive reading the Bible needs concetation which sometimes I lack of. I hope evetually, I could finish it and understand fully.
3 Mar 11
Wow, that's good. I am sure you will able to finish reading about it in due time. Just take your time and I am glad to know that you did it and will do it. And hope in the end you will gain the gift of wisdom and live a life with lots of happiness and love because that's what every body get from reading a Bible with their heart and mind.
@Dozikas (47)
• Lithuania
2 Mar 11
Not i didn't tried, but i think someday ive gonna try it . :) I will try dont fall asleep like you did. Haha ^^
3 Mar 11
Ha..ha..ha.. Yes, it's good to know that you have plans on reading about it. You will surely love it once you tried and of course one thing to remind you, try to pray before reading the Bible, because that's the only thing that it goes deep down inside my heart and mind after reading about it and not fall into asleep. Reading the Bible gives you a new sights and wisdom as you tried to approach and live your life.
@flowerchilde (12529)
• United States
2 Mar 11
I think it's best to read one of the gospels and then the book of Acts. Those two will give a very good impression and information of what the bible is saying. If one starts from Genesis, it gets a little dry after the first few chapter, what with laws and a national history (mostly of wrongdoing!) I find summaries of the books of the bible to be very enlightening. I find it very strange that so many accept every judgment against the bible as fact when they've never read the bible so wouldn't have a clue.
3 Mar 11
Yes, many people give judgment when in fact they never read or just read few pages and not the whole thing. The first time I read the Bible, yes, I start at the genesis and kinda great at first but later on, I find it boring, so I skip and tried reading other stories and even love stories on the Bible and it's wonderful knowing those people and how they live and love and sacrifice. It's like a history with lots of wisdom on it.
@lizzyt2007 (1312)
• Craig, Alaska
2 Mar 11
I used to read it more. Now I have a hard time getting around to reading it daily. Yes I believe in everything it says and I try to be a good christian to follow God's laws in it. but I read other books or play on pc more than I read the bible. I listen to it sometimes on my ipod, especially the short books of the bible. I figure if I do that maybe I can call to mind a verse from those short books. I don't read the bible to go to sleep I figure it's a during the day reading or studying at night when a person is not going to sleep.
3 Mar 11
Good for you, being a good christian one needs to learn to understand and know the Bible and of course believing and practicing what it says and apply it in our daily life. Bible can be a great guide for us Christian who believes in Christ and God. That's why it's not an ordinary book because it talks about God and heaven.
@mobhomeir (7558)
• Philippines
14 Mar 11
I seldom read Bible because the content of it are hard to understand. I picked only some important verses like Rome:16:16, Acts (Lamsa version)20:28 and Colossas 1:18 This three are few of my favorites. Cheers!! Mobhomeir here..
@bingskee (5234)
• Philippines
2 Mar 11
Yes, i have read the Bible, and would love to read it over and over again but there is always time constraint. It's been a few days since I had my quiet time with a Bible verse because of piles of work to do. I feel inspired and blessed everytime i read it.
3 Mar 11
Nice to hear that you feel inspired and blessed every time you read the Bible because that's the main purpose why it's written. To let the people grow in faith and love in god and in one another. There are so many people I know who's been into some sort of depression and the only cure was reading and meditating the words in the Bible, so it inspired them to live and face their fears and I love knowing about it.
@ebuscat (5935)
• Philippines
2 Mar 11
For me yes I have read it many times I love it to read because I love to know about Jehovah God he is the almighty God ever.
3 Mar 11
It's nice to know that you love and reading the Bible. It gives you guidance towards living a good life with love and faith to God and to His people. Although we must have different belief but I respect yours.
• United States
2 Mar 11
I think the difficulty in understanding the bible comes from that most read it like any other book...and I did that myself at first. The bible cannot be read in that manner, really...it's a complex series of books. The approach I take, as do most pastors, ministers..etc...is I just open it up and start reading. I will usually make notes and indicate the Book I read, ie, John 3:5...random notes about what I just read, even if it doesn't mean much at that time. The next time you randomly read it, make notes again on what you just read. Eventually what happens is you'll read something at another time, then you realize you read something that said something very similar not long ago, then you grab your notes, and compare the two together ...that's when things start picking up because it becomes very interesting because now you're wondering what else you can find. The bible is like a puzzle more than a regular book, and when you put a puzzle together, you pick up random pieces and see how it fits with another. Works for me, maybe it will for you as well.
3 Mar 11
I can't disagree with you. That's one thing I find it hard because I just read it like any other book that I bought on the book store. Find it kinda boring to read and sometimes did fall asleep, as what other said that you need to pray before reading as to give you the power to understand what's inside on it. You need some sort of divine intervention, I did try that way and yeah it work in sometimes, I just need to focus myself, heart and mind on it while reading just to able to absorb the word that's written.
@p3ks626 (6538)
• Philippines
2 Mar 11
I have read the bible but not cover to cover. I read it cause I am a sunday school teacher for young adults in our church. I enjoyed reading it especially when I am already relating the principle to my students and making them understand it.
3 Mar 11
That's good, you impart your knowledge and understanding towards the Bible and its very important matter especially to the young minds. Just like when I was a kid, though I can read but would rather like to listen to what my teacher explanation about the Bible and most of the time I believe on her than that what I read so, what you've share does matter.
@hbsbucks (40)
• United States
2 Mar 11
The Bible is an excellent collection of books that I very much enjoy reading. Though I will admit, there are some books I enjoy quite a bit more than others. Also, I prefer reading from easier translations such as Contemporary English, and The Message.
3 Mar 11
The easier it translated the more it's easy to comprehend, unlike reading the original context of the Bible. Especially it has lots of obsolete and slang words, and if you are not a native English reader you will find it hard to understand. In some content of the Bible I enjoy reading, but the whole thing no and I haven't tried it.
@buenavida (9985)
• Sweden
2 Mar 11
Hi, ganza-lovers and welcome to myLot For me it is easier to listen to the Bible as the readers are very good and it becomes more interesting, even the parts with a lot of numbers and names.. I go to jw.org and except for the Bible, there is other interesting literature in a lot of languages and books in many sign languages too. It is not necessary to read the books in order, some have chosen to read different parts of it on different week days and that is great too. We have to find the way that suits us best.. Thank you for this interesting discussion..
@goldeneagle (6745)
• United States
12 Mar 11
I haven't read the entire Bible, but I have read a lot of it. I don't really have a hard time understanding it most of time, but I do have to read some parts of it more than once. I also have a hard time staying awake when I read the Bible at times, but I think the reason I have this problem is because most of the time I am lying in bed reading it before I go to sleep at night. However, I have also fallen asleep reading it at times during mid-day as well, but I don't really think this is anything to be ashamed of. Some people just get really relaxed when they sit and read, and they fall asleep. I also had this problem when I would try to study for tests in college...