James Gray's "How To Master the English Bible" (Reading Plan)

[matthew11v25]

I just came across reviews of this book as I was checking out Justin Taylor's links to various reading plans. Joe Carter summarized four steps in this way (reviews linked below):

1. Choose a book of the Bible.
2. Read it in its entirety.
3. Repeat step #2 twenty times.
4. Repeat this process for all books of the Bible.

James Gray on Mastering the Bible | The Scriptorium Daily: Middlebrow

How to Change Your Mind » First Thoughts | A First Things Blog


Pretty basic, huh?

Any thoughts on this? Anyone do this regularly, etc?

 

[baron]

Wow thanks! Sounds like a good plan, at least a good challenge.

Has anyone on this board ever followed this plan?

 

[CharlieJ]

I used a similar method to memorize some books of the New Testament. For example, I would read James 3 times per day. After a few days I would try to do the first chapter from memory. Usually only some spot-work was needed to fill in tough verses. Then I moved on to the next chapter. One summer I did 4 or 5 short NT books this way. Now, several years later, I can't quote them off the top of my head, but a few words will usually recall many more, and I can tell you the basic outline of just about all of them. Plus, of course a few special nuggets stayed with me.

I don't know about using this on a long book. In Bible college, we had to memorize the chapter content of the whole Bible. That is, if we were asked on a test, "Genesis 22", we had to write a short summary, such as "Sacrifice of Isaac." I think that helped us develop some biblical literacy and a big-picture perspective on Scripture.

 

[bookslover]

I was just reading the links a couple of days ago, myself. Great minds think alike, I guess.

James Gray (1861-1935) was President of Moody Bible Institute for 30 years (1904-1934). This particular book was originally published in 1904. It's short (just 84 pages) and was republished just once, that I know of, in 1951. And, yes, that's the whole purpose of this method - to give the reader the "big picture" of what each book and, thus, the Bible as a whole, is about.

 

[Tim]

A quote from the article:

How is it that “the Bible must be mastered before it can be studied?” What Gray is emphasizing is that a student needs a grasp of the whole before he can profitably investigate the parts.

Intriguing. I conclude from this that in many areas of the bible, I am not yet ready for study. But, instead of being discouraged, this encourages me greatly. Sounds like an approach that could work well for me.

---------- Post added at 10:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:22 PM ----------

Links at archive.org:

How to master the English Bible; : Gray, James M. (James Martin), 1851-1935 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive

How to master the English Bible : an experience, a method, a result, an illustration : Gray, James M. (James Martin), 1851-1935 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive

 

[Rufus]

I hardly have the patience and dedication to read each book of the bible twenty times! I can say after reading and listening to the same verses time and time again that they begin to stick in my mind.

 

[Ne Oublie]

you can hear it coming, it blazes through town every year, the inevitable evangelical bandwagon. Jump on or you won't know the bible as you should...

Are things that hard where we cant just be ok with reading the Word, praying the Word, singing the Word and hiding the Word in our hearts. We are not meant to make a game/ or challenge out of how much we read or how fast or how much better we know it because of this method or that.

Like a fad diet, these things can trick your mind to think that your really doing something.

 

[Tim]

Robert, nobody in this thread has suggested or implied any of the things you are saying.

 

[Ne Oublie]

Robert, nobody in this thread has suggested or implied any of the things you are saying.

Agreed, but I did not say that I thought that anyone did imply or suggest what I was saying. It is the whole means and ends scenario that I am remarking about. Having and following a reading plan is a means and not an end. No, no one is saying they are an end, but that is just my point. Although, we tend to 'understand' what we think we 'know' of our intentions, our hearts should be guarded against things that make a litmus test out of our faith and we start gauging ourselves based upon our knowledge of the Word.

I have tried this plan and it was and did very quickly became an ends in itself and it made me realize that it was not profitable for me nor my family for the reasons that I have just noted.

 

[Tim]

Then your caution is a general one, and not limited to this reading plan or any other reading plan. Rather, it is applicable to all good works in the Christian life, right?

 

[seajayrice]

Will this method work for Leviticus?