Welcome to my new blog! In it you will find a personal tool for your Bible reading and study–and by personal, I really do mean your own.

A Little History

Once upon a time, long ago, during what has been called the Dark Ages, there were few Bibles to be found. A large portion of the population couldn’t read their own language, and there was no efficient way to print books for them to read and learn anyway. The few carefully handwritten volumes were kept private and safe in the confines of remote monasteries, hidden to the eyes of the people, and written in ancient languages. It was the responsibility of only the highest bishops and the Pope to interpret the Bible for the people. In fact, most of the monks themselves never read the actual Bible at all. It wasn’t until well into his career as a monk, devoted to the service of God, that Martin Luther even discovered and read the Bible! But then–what a revolution it was!

The Bible was translated into the peoples’ own languages and printed, and with the advent of the printing press, literacy in the general population expanded as well. But, unfortunately, the devil keeps busy. If he can’t keep the Word of God from the people, he can bring confusion to it. Nowadays, Bibles can be found in every corner bookstore, from millions of sources online, and free from sites and apps such as bible.com, blueletterbible.com, and many others (see Resources for more), most of which include all sorts of extras like maps, commentaries, history, and cross references. There’s the Marine’s Bible, Teenage Girl’s Bible, and on and on. Bibles are found in hotel rooms. Bibles are easy to find–this is a wonderful thing. However, along with it, people’s vast amount of ideas are easy to find, too, which is often the unfortunate part. This confusion can cause even the simplest and clearest verse to be “interpreted” in a vast amount of ways. Whatever you want the Bible to mean, you will probably find someone who will, and has, interpreted it that way for you.

In fact, with so many interpretations and commentaries out there, we’re really back to not reading the Bible itself again. Your pastor, the evangelist on TV, a commentary, or the author of a blog or article in a Christian magazine have all studied and interpreted the Bible for you–just like the bishops and priests of the early Christian church did during the Dark Ages. But the problem is–you’d love to know, yourself, what the Bible actually, well, says!

So What’s This Blog For?

The idea of this blog was inspired by those reading-comprehension exercises you did in fourth grade. Not that we’re back to fourth grade again, but the process of learning is the same whether you’re in grade school or getting your PhD in philosophy. Read, ask questions, comprehend. Plus, the Bible is understandable on a grade-school level yet contains themes which we can continue to ponder for eternity. Everyone at any level of literacy or education can explore the Bible.

This blog is just a bunch of questions based on the passage you will read. They are for you and you alone to ponder the answer to. However, the rule is that you must answer the questions according to the passage you just read, not from your own opinions or ideas (or the pastor’s, evangelist’s, or author’s you might have heard). 

Comments?

My aim is to be as unbiased as possible in my questions. If you have any feedback, feel free to leave a comment and I will try to edit it accordingly.

However, the comments section is NOT for discussing your answers to the questions. We want everyone to be able to explore their own answers, and a discussion of them in the comments would be the same as giving away the answers to an essay test. Find a friend or start a small group and discuss them there instead. As I said before, comments about personal interpretations of the Bible are everywhere, and there are plenty of places you can voice your opinion. Therefore, comments are moderated and opinion or interpretation-based comments will not be published.

Happy Studying!