FAQ

Welcome to my blog about reading through the whole bible in a year. Here is some more information about this blog. If you've got a question for me that's not answered here, feel free to contact me.


Why are you reading through the bible in a year?
Because I love the bible, and reading the stories of the bible is a good way of starting my day in a contemplative manner. I explain a bit more about this here.


Why do you blog about reading through the bible?
Because I love to share my love of these amazing stories with other people. Also, I hope to encourage more people to pick up their bible and read it more.


So will you blog about every daily reading?
No! Why set yourself up for failure? Besides, not every single reading will be so interesting to me that I'd want to blog about it.  The bible has some wonderful stories, but let's face it: some parts of the bible are simply dull. But I want to update this blog frequently, so check back often.


What Bible do you use for this blog and why?
I use the Books of the Bible version. It's published by Biblica, formerly IBS.

The Books of the Bible is really special. It's the same bible of course, but the presentation of the text differs radically from the way bibles usually look. They tried to make the bible more like a book people would want to read by removing the chapter and verse numbers from the text and using a single-column lay-out. There are a few other differences in presentation as well. Here is some more information about the reasons for presenting the bible thus.

I love this bible and the whole idea of making the bible look like a regular book. I only wish they would bring out a hard cover version, because it quite heavy.


What bible reading plan are you following and why?
I chose the 'Blended Bible Experience' reading plan. It was developed especially for use with the Books of the Bible. It takes you through the whole bible in 312 days, that's 6 days a week. That leaves me a few days every month for catching up if I fall behind, which I like. I also like that it alternates first and new testament books (I'm not a big fan of all the epistles attributed to Paul in the New Testament). And the book of Psalms is divided in 5 sub-books which you read all through the year. I think I will like this reading plan.


Why did you choose the TNIV translation?
I wanted to use the Books of the Bible, and since it's only published in the TNIV translation the choice was made for me. I like the TNIV translation fine though. But I would love it if they would publish a Books of the Bible presentation for the Good News Translation. I like that translation for reading multiple pages at a time.


Are you a pastor?
No, I'm not. I read numerous books about the bible and worked my way through 3 excellent study bibles (see the list on the home page of this blog), but I didn't receive any formal theological training of any kind. What you read are just my personal opinions.


Why don't you write about the religious aspects of the bible?
Because I'm primarily interested in the stories and the story telling aspects. If you're looking for a religious blog about the bible, there are plenty of them around. As they say, Google is your friend.


Are you even a Christian?
At this point in my life I think the term agnostic describes me best. But Christianity remains my point of reference, so just think of me as a Christian agnostic.


Are you a native English speaker? I think I saw some mistakes?
I am Dutch, so no, English isn't my native language. Sorry for the mistakes.


Can I contact you?
Sure! I love to hear from other people who love the stories in the bible. Email me at adafrs[remove these words]at[remove these words]gmail.com.