1 - Why should I?
IF you have ever had to fix something around the house without having a single tool available, you will know it can be done, but it isn't easy. A kitchen knife will double as a screwdriver, if there's nothing else; or a shoe can serve as a crude hammer.
People buy tools because they want to get things done quickly and more efficiently, and it is just the same with reference books. You don't have to have any around the house to understand the Bible. Just read it and, in time, its meaning will become apparent: that's one of the wonders of the word of God. It is its own best interpreter, a point we like to make sometimes when referring people to 2 Peter 1:20: "No prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation" or, as the Revised Standard Version translates it, "No prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation".
Self-interpretation
Let the scriptures interpret themselves and, if you follow the marginal references, you will begin to put together links and connections that will open up themes and topics right across the Bible. But already we have begun to use tools for Bible study. It might have been a concordance to find the verse in 2 Peter. Then, we consulted another translation (the RSV) and, thirdly, thought about the cross-references we might want to follow. These are all tools for Bible study and, as we often comment, the Bible itself is a library of sixty-six books, not just one book. So even if you've only got a Bible in the house, you have already started to build a library!
Book buying
On my notice board there's a placard that says:
"Book collecting is an occupation, a disease, an addiction, a fascination, an absurdity, a fate. It is not a hobby. Those who do it must do it. Those who do not do it think of it as a cousin of stamp collecting, a sister of the trophy cabinet, the combination of a solid bank account and a weak mind."
That was given me by a colleague at work who is a compulsive reader. At the end of every year he sends a note around to his friends telling them what he's read during the year, and what he recommends. His enthusiasm is infectious and he is amazingly well informed. He has a wider perspective than most of us, because he's better read. As someone once put it, he's been "standing on other people's shoulders" and can thus see things from a better point of view.
This series
The aim of this series is not to encourage you to buy books, although a publishing company like The Christadelphian is always glad of your interest and support. We produce material which has been written to encourage and inform spiritual development and to assist with Bible reading. So, it's good for all the people who do that to know that the material is being read, not just bought!
This series is intended to encourage you to read more, and to read more widely as a means of stimulating your interest in the purpose of God. It will offer some recommendations and will encourage you to submit your own ideas. Further material, outside the scope of what one page allows, will be lodged on the Christadelphian Office website, for readers who have access to the internet. Over the next few months, God willing, suggestions will be made about study aids and good books to read, and details will be given about where you might find them, both in print and in electronic format.
So, keep reading!