The Bible contains a whole library of books written over hundreds of years by many people for many purposes. Together these books form a record of God’s relationship with man and man’s reflections on that relationship. Translations of the Bible were hugely influential in the development of modern languages, including English. The Bible was for a long time the primary text for persons learning to read and an important inspiration for literature. Readers of Chaucer, Milton, Dickens, Stevenson, Hawthorne, and Melville know how deeply those writers were steeped in the Bible. Even today, many common names have a Biblical origin.

It is an understatement to say that the Bible has fallen out of fashion. That is unfortunate. The Bible contains great wisdom and great comfort for people in dangerous times.

One of the glories of the Anglican tradition is its insistence on reading the whole Bible. When the first English Bibles were printed, crowds gathered to hear them read aloud. Anglican Sunday services include multiple Bible readings (usually one from the Old Testament, a Psalm, and one from the New Testament). At St. Barnabas, the readings are printed in the bulletin that you will be given if you attend our drive-through Eucharist on Sundays (anytime between 10 and noon). In addition, we can provide resources to guide you through daily readings that will cover the whole Bible in a year.  

We encourage you to read the Bible for its cultural importance, for its wisdom and comfort, and most of all for its record about Jesus, the Son of God, who lived, died, and rose again to save us from sin, evil, and death.