Pace

We're committed to a pace that, perhaps unfortunately, will not allow us to plumb the depths of interpretation to the satisfaction of some participants. We'll be covering three chapters a day - and some days more than that. We are basically skimming the surface, little more than a survey of the Bible.

That's actually a good thing. Huh? What are you talking about, Willis? Sometimes we can get so focused on the details that we miss the overall message of the Bible, or even a single book. One of the teaching techniques employed by my New Testament profs was requiring that we read an entire book in a single sitting. After all, especially with Paul’s letters, that's the way they were meant to be experienced: Rather than curling up with a parchment and a commentary, dissecting individual verses, the leader read the complete letter to the congregation. They experienced it orally, in community and in total.

I read through the Bible the very first time in 1981 (I think). For years I've had varying degrees of success in my reading attempts, but now it's a thoroughly ingrained habit that I wouldn't give up for anything. What I still remember with amazement is how familiar the Bible seemed the second time I read it through. Nothing aids one's biblical comprehension better than simply reading the Bible... except maybe reading it in community with other disciples.

Next: Interpreting or Just Reading?