Dave Myers

When I was in college, I had a limited number of elective classes that I was given to choose from for my English degree, and availability of those classes was always an issue. Like many others, I sometimes ended up taking classes that weren’t on my “preferred” list. At CMU before the online world ever existed, I had to stand in line for hours waiting to get to see an advisor, and it always depended on the year you were in school as to how quickly you were able to get your desired classes. Upper classmen went first, followed by juniors, and sophomores, and ultimately the freshmen. It was like an airport waiting line for students — with the lines meandering back and forth until you got your 10-minute appointment. Decisions had to be made quickly.

In lieu of this, one year I was looking to fill out my schedule, and the only elective literature class that was still being offered was Russian Literature. To say the least, that was not one that I had marked to do. But, I was well aware of what it was going to take to get my degree done in four years, and sometimes, sacrifices had to be made.

So, begrudgingly, I took the class.

When I began the class, I had no knowledge of Russia’s history, who its historic leaders had been, the wars that they had fought, or who was considered to be a “classic” author of Russian literature. To say the least, I was overwhelmed, and when I looked at the syllabus, we were generally expected to read one Russian novel a week. During the classes, the professor broke the novels into pieces, so that we could properly interpret them.

As I began to read the first novel, it took less than 20 pages to get lost. I pressed on,

thinking that it was going to get better, but it didn’t. I tried and I tried and I tried.

When I was in class, I took a ton of notes. The professor’s teachings were gospel, because

I had no context otherwise to challenge him on anything. I listened as closely as I could, jotting down anything and everything that I thought might be important — or more importantly on a test.

Somehow, miraculously, I made it through the class. But if you asked me today what I

remember about Russian Literature, all I could tell you is that I read “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoevyski — all the while thinking that it was a crime and punishment that I had to read it!

It was hard, and I had no understanding of how to read Russian literature. It was dark and

depressing, and it seemed that the same cycles of government oppression occurred over and

over again in different cities with different names in different eras.

Part of my problem with the entire class was that when I read I didn’t know what I was

reading for.

I’ve often heard people say that they don’t read the Bible because they don’t understand it.

And there certainly can be merit in saying that.

The Bible is an accumulation of 66 books, written by 40 different writers over the course of 1,500 years. The writers themselves held very different lots in life, ranging from being incredibly educated to being simple fishermen.

Then, the Bible is divided up into two different segments, the Old Testament and the New

Testament. There’s poetry, there’s proverbs, there’s narratives, there’s letters, and even

apocalyptic literature. That’s a lot to digest.

So, let me help you out in reading the Bible. There are a few clues that I can pass your way that I think will be helpful.

First of all, the Bible isn’t just a collection of random stories that were haphazardly thrown together into a bound volume. What is absolutely amazing about this book is that it is cohesive from beginning to end.

So, what’s the Bible about? A person. Specifically — Jesus Christ.

The entire book? Yep, the entire book from beginning to end.

Even in the Christian realm, there’s a relatively new phenomenon where some people only want to read from the New Testament.

But that’s throwing out over half the book, you say?

Yes, it is, and that would be like picking up a novel two-thirds of the way through it, thinking that you were going to understand the entire message. It’s just not possible.

Okay, so is that it?

Nope.

Read the entire Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi with the idea in mind that it is a

series of stories painting a picture of and pointing to the coming of Jesus.

Then, when you get into the New Testament and read Matthew through John, keep in mind

that this is like reading a biography or autobiography. These books reveal the life Jesus led on Earth.

As you get beyond the gospels and read from Acts to the book of Revelation, these books

point to the coming of Christ.

The Bible is simply divided up into three different sections of time. There’s still a lot to digest, but if you can remember that the entire book is about the person of Jesus (before he was alive, while he was alive, and what to expect with him coming again), it probably will make a lot more sense.

And unlike Dostoevsky’s novel, it won’t seem like a crime and punishment to read it.

Dave Myers is a retired English teacher and baseball coach from Alpena Public Schools and is the author of the books, “Swim Upstream” and “Breaking Camp.”