Reading the Bible for the First Time as an Adult Versus as a Child

I heard it said this morning one cannot read The Bible without having at least some trace of faith. So I ask those that have read it, at what age did you read it and what do you think is the difference between reading it for the first time as an adult versus reading it as a child?

rhinefire said:

I heard it said this morning one cannot read The Bible without having at least some trace of faith. So I ask those that have read it, at what age did you read it and what do you think is the difference between reading it for the first time as an adult versus reading it as a child?

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I would be willing to bet a lot of money (if I had a lot of money) that the vast majority of Christian children have not read the bible. I would bet about as much that the vast majority of adults professing Christianity haven't either. Having said that, I think it's clearly evident that many adults abandoned Christianity during childhood or adolescence and then found themselves having a child or adolescent's understanding of Christianity. Since they abandoned it, it never matures and they wind up being adults with a very immature, child-like understanding of Christianity. Then you find them on internet forums promoting atheism and pretending they understand Christianity based on their child-like or adolescent-like understanding.

The biggest difference between reading the bible as an adult and a child is that as an adult you have access to cognitive processes you did not have access to as a child and that life experience has gifted you with insights you didn't have before. This leaves you ready to approach books filled with allegory and symbolism; time has hopefully also given you the tools to understand other cultures, other mores, other geo-political settings, and to make sense of why people wrote what they did in such ancient documents.

rhinefire said:

I heard it said this morning one cannot read The Bible without having at least some trace of faith. So I ask those that have read it, at what age did you read it and what do you think is the difference between reading it for the first time as an adult versus reading it as a child?

Click to expand...

I have not read it as a child. I tried reading it as a young adult, but gave up. It was hard to understand....sounded like gibberish to me. Of course, at the time I wasn't really into faith. Maybe I was just trying to go through the motion, or was trying to recapture faith, half-heartedly.

My dad always read from the Bible everyday. I remember saying to myself that someday, I'll be like him. But I never did open the Bible.

It was years later, when I was desperately seeking God that I stumbled onto an Evangelist (Charles Price) on tv and he was reading from the Bible and explaining the verses. I got stuck because the way he was explaining them - they were so clear. I checked out the Bible, and sure enough - that was what it was saying.
He made reading and understanding the Bible seem so simple and easy that I started reading - and I'm still doing that everyday, and will be doing it for as long as I can physically can.

Btw, I got myself a KJV Bible study Bible that helps explain about translations, customs etc..,

As a 13-year old, I was challenged to read the Bible through in one year, which I did. I have done so ever since. I don't think this is an uncommon occurrence among the followers of Jesus Christ.

rhinefire said:

I heard it said this morning one cannot read The Bible without having at least some trace of faith. So I ask those that have read it, at what age did you read it and what do you think is the difference between reading it for the first time as an adult versus reading it as a child?

Click to expand...

I'm still reading it. But I think there is value for both children and adults on different levels. For example, Matthew 19:14, means one thing to a child and another to an adult, but it's the same message.

I did not take what the Bible had to say very seriously until I was in my teens, though I attended church pretty much during all my childhood...

I do think, as a parent, it is vital to expose my children to the teachings of the Bible from infancy...I even read the Bible to my children before they were born, so as they grew up, reading and studying God's Word was a normal part of our lives...I am thankful to say they have continued that good habit through their adulthoods...

Paul spoke of Timothy knowing the holy writings from infancy, so his mother and grandmother evidently began teaching him from a very early age...2 Timothy 1:5; 3:15...

rhinefire said:

I heard it said this morning one cannot read The Bible without having at least some trace of faith. So I ask those that have read it, at what age did you read it and what do you think is the difference between reading it for the first time as an adult versus reading it as a child?

Click to expand...

Seeing how I was reading the Qur'an round about the same time (mid teens) and seeing how only one of them (in my then prevailing simplicity) could be right, I finally dismissed both.

As a child I read neither but have read both again since my teenage years, mainly to get a better understanding of those following either. To conclude that, other than my perception there and then, they're good reads.

As regards "trace of faith", that never came up.