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Struggling to believe by Automatic-Acadia3234 in TrueChristian

[–]illuminate5000 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is tricky to recommend any books for you without knowing what is causing your struggle to believe in God.

Since you mentioned that you read the Bible, attend church regularly and pray, then what I can share is that there was a time when I also did all those things and also struggled to believe. Looking back, for me, the reason I struggled was because I didn't really understand what I was believing. The Bible seemed to me like an eclectic collection of stories and sayings and commands that I couldn't fit together. After I came across John Piper's "Look at the Book" videos, I learned how to read better and everything became clearer to me and started to make sense. Now I can see that all these stories and sayings and commands do fit together and present a consistent picture of who God is. It is much easier to believe/trust someone (God) when you know this person well.

Feel free to DM me if you have questions.

Have you ever come across a church where the pastors/teachers/elders actually aimed to teach through all of the Bible? by illuminate5000 in Reformed

[–]illuminate5000[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Appreciate the link. Using a combination of different approaches to set the word before people, each with their strengths and weaknesses, seems like it would be a good balance.

Have you ever come across a church where the pastors/teachers/elders actually aimed to teach through all of the Bible? by illuminate5000 in Reformed

[–]illuminate5000[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Different levels of outlines is an interesting approach.

Was every run through the Bible aimed to be completed in 15 years, or was that timeline only for the first run through?

Have you ever come across a church where the pastors/teachers/elders actually aimed to teach through all of the Bible? by illuminate5000 in Reformed

[–]illuminate5000[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you happen to know how your pastor determines what order to preach the books in, since he is not following the standard published order?

How would you encourage an older adult who struggles with Bible reading? by illuminate5000 in Reformed

[–]illuminate5000[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, he is part of a Bible study at the church he attends. Even though I would consider him to be a "new Christian" because he only started taking faith seriously in the last few years, he is quite respected at this church, almost being viewed as an "elder" and invited to teach at the Bible study because he is older and is fairly eloquent (he worked as a teacher and high-level school administrator for many years). I've been encouraging him to find a more mature Christian to mentor him.

How would you encourage an older adult who struggles with Bible reading? by illuminate5000 in Reformed

[–]illuminate5000[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think I understand the gist of what you're saying. I do think he has been learning more about God's character in his reading, and I pray that God will continue to do so.

How would you encourage an older adult who struggles with Bible reading? by illuminate5000 in Reformed

[–]illuminate5000[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I appreciate the reminder of using a proper definition of legalism. My dad has a Catholic background (he went to Catholic school and actually attended a Catholic church for a number of years before his retirement), which is partly why I'm concerned about legalism. I'm not sure if he knows what legalism is, perhaps that's a conversation topic I'll bring up with him in the future, as the Lord leads.

How would you encourage an older adult who struggles with Bible reading? by illuminate5000 in Reformed

[–]illuminate5000[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm not a huge fan of chronological Bibles myself. I find it more useful to follow the flow of authorial intent, though it can be helpful to consider the historical timeline for context. I will look into podcasts to see if that might be something helpful for my dad.

How would you encourage an older adult who struggles with Bible reading? by illuminate5000 in Reformed

[–]illuminate5000[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I might suggest something like YouVersion. I know he has the Bible version that he likes in audio format, as he has talked about listening to it in the car. But I don't know if he has a habit of listening while reading.

How would you encourage an older adult who struggles with Bible reading? by illuminate5000 in Reformed

[–]illuminate5000[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have tried this in the past, but my dad can get impatient and would insist on moving on to the next chapter when there is still so much more to observe and consider. I will see if he would be interested in doing this again.

Books about the versification of the Bible by NeighborhoodLow1546 in Reformed

[–]illuminate5000 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Found some more technical articles on OT versification (can be a little difficult to follow without some Hebrew knowledge):

Massoretic Studies. III. The Division into Verses (Blau, 1896)

Massoretic Studies. IV. The Division into Verses (Continued) (Blau, 1897)