Read The Books of The Bible in 2009

Today I was invited to "attend" an event on Facebook. I accepted. The event is to join with others in reading the Bible through in a new format during 2009 and discussing it. The format is The Books of The Bible (TNIV text) which we have previously blogged about. This format removes chapter and verse divisions which can hinder us from hearing the text as closely as possible to how the original hearers did (they didn't have chapter and text divisions either). This format arranges the Bible in a more chronological order than the traditional order found in Catholic and Protestant Bible versions. And it arranges the Old Testament more closely to how the books of the Hebrew Bible were arranged.

I invite you to join me at this event. Those of you who are already members of Facebook can attend the event by going to this Internet address:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=40536860035

If you are not a member of Facebook, you can join for free during a short sign-up process. I do not know if you can attend the event from another website if you are not a member of Facebook and do not with to become one. But I can let you know if there will be any way to attend outside of Facebook.

Here is the invitation from The Books of The Bible folks:

Read The Books of The Bible in 2009: Genesis

Join us in reading and discussing the books of the Bible in 2009! We're starting with Genesis, and we hope you'll join us for as many books as you'd like--hopefully all of them.

We'll be using an edition of the Scriptures called "The Books of The Bible" that the International Bible Society has specially formatted for reading with greater understanding and enjoyment. The text is in a single column, and there are no chapters or verses or section headings. The book of Genesis in this format can be downloaded free as a PDF file at
http://thebooksofthebible.info/sample.php.

(To find out more about this edition, visit www.thebooksofthebible.info. You can order a copy of the complete Bible at http://www.ibsdirect.com/p-574-tniv-the-books-of-the-bible-tbotb.aspx.)

To take part in this event, read through the introduction to Genesis (pp. 5-6) and the book itself (pp. 7-71) any time between January 1-14. Take a break wherever you want along the way. (At an average adult reading speed, it should take about three hours to read the whole book.) Join in the discussion with your questions, comments and observations. What is it like to read Genesis as a continuous narrative? What strikes you as you read? What bothers you? What would you like explained (if possible)?

The discussion of Genesis will be led by the Rev. Dr. Christopher Smith, a consulting editor for "The Books of The Bible."

We look forward to reading and discussing Genesis together! (Please pass this invitation along to others--we'd love to have them join us, too.)

Event Info

Host:	De-versify
Type:	Education - Study Group
Network:	Global

Time and Place

Start Time:	Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 12:05am
End Time:	Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 11:55pm
Location:	Wherever you like to read

TNIV top Bible

Blogger Byron has the TNIV at the top of his list of Bible versions he uses most.

Andy Stanley Endorses the TNIV; Calls It His "Standard Text"