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Bible

Bible – Pluses and Minuses

(Text as at 24/06/2014 09:25:55)

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  1. In contrast with most Christians1, I have actually read2 the whole Bible through a few times, some passages hundreds of times. However, when my Christian faith unravelled in the early 1990s I stopped reading the Bible, and now have some difficulty remembering the Chapters and Verses.
  2. What I have attempted – and achieved – over the past year (2013) is to read the Bible through again with fresh eyes. This time "Bible - The Bible in One Year: New International Version". In general, the Bible is a ripping good read, and deserves to be more widely read as literature.
  3. What I had intended – but not achieved – was to jot down all the things that are troublesome, without ignoring the passages that impress. Maybe someone has answers to the difficulties (though I doubt it).
  4. So, having re-read the entire Bible to remind myself of what’s there, I intend to go through it all again, but this time with some heavy-duty “Introductions” as guides to (fairly) current opinion, from the perspectives of Liberal and Conservative Christian scholars, and likewise for Jews. Items on the agenda3:-
  5. Incidentally, I don’t have a huge amount of time for this exercise, and I won’t be writing a Bible commentary, or even reading any of them.
  6. The idea is to plough on to complete this part of the exercise in three10 years. No doubt my jottings will be superficial. But something’s better than nothing. I have a feeling that there are lots of “problems” with the Bible, but I need to make plain what these are.
  7. There follows a list of all the books in the Bible. Clicking on the links will reveal what I have to say, which in most cases is nothing. In the first instance I’ve just taken the (very brief) summaries from "Bible - The Bible in One Year: New International Version" and occasionally added a comment.
  8. I need to develop a method11 whereby the “Pluses and Minuses” are readily visible, rather than hidden away in a straggle of text. Anyway, here goes.

Old Testament
  1. Genesis12
  2. Exodus13
  3. Leviticus14
  4. Numbers15
  5. Deuteronomy16
  6. Joshua17
  7. Judges18
  8. Ruth19
  9. 1 Samuel20
  10. 2 Samuel21
  11. 1 Kings22
  12. 2 Kings23
  13. 1 Chronicles24
  14. 2 Chronicles25
  15. Ezra26
  16. Nehemiah27
  17. Esther28
  18. Psalms29
  19. Proverbs30
  20. Job31
  21. Ecclesiastes32
  22. Song of Songs33
  23. Isaiah34
  24. Jeremiah35
  25. Lamentations36
  26. Ezekiel37
  27. Daniel38
  28. Hosea39
  29. Joel40
  30. Amos41
  31. Obadiah42
  32. Jonah43
  33. Micah44
  34. Nahum45
  35. Habakkuk46
  36. Zephaniah47
  37. Haggai48
  38. Zechariah49
  39. Malachi50

New Testament
  1. Matthew51
  2. Mark52
  3. Luke53
  4. John54
  5. Acts55
  6. Romans56
  7. 1 Corinthians57
  8. 2 Corinthians58
  9. Galatians59
  10. Ephesians60
  11. Philippians61
  12. Colossians62
  13. 1 Thessalonians63
  14. 2 Thessalonians64
  15. 1 Timothy65
  16. 2 Timothy66
  17. Titus67
  18. Philemon68
  19. Hebrews69
  20. James70
  21. 1 Peter71
  22. 2 Peter72
  23. 1 John73
  24. 2 John74
  25. 3 John75
  26. Jude76
  27. Revelation77


In-Page Footnotes:

Footnote 1: With some regret, I don’t think I can count myself any longer as a Christian. Click here for Note for a discussion with a friend back in 2007 which explains my reasons in some detail.

Footnote 3: This is rather a lot. We’ll see how we progress.

Footnote 4: This is the text I’ve just read (in 2013). I won’t read it through again this time round, but will use it and the notes to supply a conservative Christian perspective on passages of disputed interpretation.

Footnote 5: This is described as for those Jews of the “Conservative, Reformed or Reconstructionist” persuasions. According to the Publisher’s blurb, “Orthodox” Jews also were involved in the translation of the Text, which is the one I shall read as my primary text for the OT. So, presumably, there’s a distinction between “Conservative” and “Orthodox” Jews. Currently, I’ve no idea what Reconstructionist Jews believe, but will no doubt find out.

Footnotes 6, 8: Nothing to say, yet. I’ve had this book some time, and have not looked at it much. It seems rather dull.

Footnote 7: Very liberal, in fact, and less scholarly than many (though far from “popular”). But opinionated and stimulating.

Footnote 9: Maybe oddly, this will be my primary text for reading the New Testament.

Footnote 10: I originally thought “two years”, but it won’t be enough. I’ll need some sort of plan to achieve even this, but given my propensity to produce elaborate plans that lead nowhere, I’ll skip the plan until I’ve got some momentum together.

Footnote 11: It’ll no doubt be possible, but this is another task awaiting sufficient “momentum” to be worthwhile.

Previous Version of this Note:

Date Length Title
12/08/2007 10:17:46 2928 Bible – Pluses and Minuses


Note last updated Reading List for this Topic Parent Topic
24/06/2014 09:25:55 None available None

Summary of Notes Referenced by This Note

1 Chronicles 1 Corinthians 1 John 1 Kings 1 Peter
1 Samuel 1 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Chronicles 2 Corinthians
2 John 2 Kings 2 Peter 2 Samuel 2 Thessalonians
2 Timothy 3 John Acts Amos Biblical Languages
Colossians Daniel Deuteronomy Ecclesiastes Ephesians
Esther Exodus Ezekiel Ezra Galatians
Genesis Habakkuk Haggai Hebrews Hosea
Isaiah James Jeremiah Job Joel
John Jonah Joshua Jude Judges
Lamentations Leviticus Luke Malachi Mark
Matthew Micah Nahum Nehemiah Numbers
Obadiah Philemon Philippians Proverbs Psalms
Revelation Romans Ruth Song of Songs Sylvia's Questions
Titus Zechariah Zephaniah    

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Summary of Notes Citing This Note

Jack and Sheila Theo Todman's Blog      

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References & Reading List

Author Title Medium Source Read?
Barker (Kenneth) The NIV Study Bible: New International Version Book - Cited High Quality Abstract Barker (Kenneth) - The NIV Study Bible: New International Version 2%
Berlin (Adele), Brettler (Marc Zvi) & Fishbane (Michael) The Jewish Study Bible: Featuring the Jewish Publication Society TANAKH Book - Cited Medium Quality Abstract Berlin (Adele), Brettler (Marc Zvi) & Fishbane (Michael) - The Jewish Study Bible: Featuring the Jewish Publication Society TANAKH 2%
Bible The Bible in One Year: New International Version Book - Cited Low Quality Abstract Bible - The Bible in One Year: New International Version Yes
Ehrman (Bart D.) The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings Book - Cited High Quality Abstract Ehrman (Bart D.) - The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings 4%
Guthrie (Donald) New Testament Introduction Book - Cited High Quality Abstract Guthrie (Donald) - New Testament Introduction 2%
Harrison (R.K.) Introduction to the Old Testament Book - Cited High Quality Abstract Harrison (R.K.) - Introduction to the Old Testament 2%
Levine (Amy-Jill) & Brettler (Marc Zvi), Eds. The Jewish Annotated New Testament Book - Cited Medium Quality Abstract Levine (Amy-Jill) & Brettler (Marc Zvi), Eds. - The Jewish Annotated New Testament 36%


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  1. Blue: Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2024



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