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Book Review
Priest offers guidance to new Bible readers
Reviewed by Andrew Junker, The Catholic Sun
January 3, 2008
Eating healthy, hitting the gym and giving up nasty habits are just a few of the resolutions many people made this week with the ringing in of the New Year.
The hope is that Catholics also took the New Year as an opportunity to commit more fully to their spiritual lives — whether by daily Mass attendance, praying the rosary, or reading the Bible more often.
For anyone looking to be better versed in all things scriptural, Fr. Timothy P. Schehr has written a book that’s sure to help.
It’s called “The Bible Made Easy: A Book-by-Book Introduction,” and it provides guidance through each book of the Bible as well as offering resources for those wishing to further their studies.
In his introduction, Fr. Schehr lists the different approaches people use to mitigate the imposing length of the Bible. Some will work out a schedule of pages to read every day. Others will move through the Scriptures based on overarching themes. Or, you could read through the books as they take place historically.
Whatever the method, Fr. Schehr writes that the goal should be finding an “invitation to faith” throughout all of the good book’s pages.
“The authors of the Bible were inspired by the Author of the Bible, and so they have our spiritual welfare at heart,” he writes. “They want to give us every advantage in our spiritual journeys.”
If Catholics read the Bible this way, their labor will be very fruitful, Fr. Schehr writes.
“Reading the Bible with our focus on its invitation to faith is like looking at a beautiful work of art with just the right lighting. We will be able to see and appreciate all its beauty,” he writes.
What’s nice about this approach is that it doesn’t require a Ph.D. in scriptural studies. But then, one might ask, if the preferred method of reading the Bible is simply to pick it up and start reading, why the need for Fr. Schehr’s book at all?
The answer is two-fold. Firstly, reading Fr. Schehr’s entry for each book before reading the Scripture itself will help with clarity. If you are not very familiar with the Bible — especially parts of the Old Testament — its locations, characters and allusions can confuse and discourage the reader.
Fr. Schehr begins each entry in his book with a brief synopsis of the corresponding book of Scripture. Then, there is a description of how the book is structured or organized and a list of dominant themes presented by the book.
By dispelling these simple confusions of plot, setting and character, the reader will be better able to hear the word of God come through the Scripture.
Secondly, Fr. Schehr’s book helps to show the Bible as a whole, each book connected to the other to tell the story of God’s relationship with humanity. He offers questions for readers to keep in their minds as they read the Bible.
For example, in his entry for the Psalms, Fr. Schehr offers this question.
“In his Pentecost sermon (Acts 2), St. Peter turned to Psalm 16 for proof from Scripture that Jesus would rise from the dead. What verse from Psalm 16 do you think he found especially relevant to his message?”
By approaching the Bible this way, Catholics can see interconnectedness not only among the books themselves, but also in the greater life of the Church, in her sacraments and rituals.
In the wildly diverse books of the Bible, in their different themes and locales, styles and characters, Catholics may also learn what Fr. Schehr lists as a spiritual lesson:
“The whole range of life is an occasion to offer praise to God.”
Andrew Junker is a staff writer for The Catholic Sun. Comments are welcome. Send e-mail to letters@catholicsun.org.
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