Quote Originally Posted by ageiger518
The bible isnt meant to be read from cover to cover. You have to jump from story to story. Most people start with john and finish with revelations. Each story in the bible has a purpose and is to be read at different times.


ummm...no. The Bible was structured so that it could be read and understood in chronological order. Please don't do what ^he said.

If the goal is to read and understand then you need to try do understand the culture and history around the OT before you move to the NT or nothing makes sense. Remember these books were not written by americans and the culture was different in traditions, thoughts, and their methodology. The first 4 books of the NT are going to be very similar b/c they are 4 different accounts of the same events (like you had four witnesses telling what they saw) after that it is mostly chronological.

But skipping around...and expecting to understand it...no. The bible should be approached as a book on culture (mostly Jewish, some Roman), history, and faith. All of those elements are studied by scholars of the Bible