A question:


How would you read Scripture if no one had ever told you how to read it?


Imagine this with me.


You know nothing about the Bible—not its structure, not its interpretations, not its controversies. One afternoon you’re wandering through a bookstore, simply looking for something new. But this bookstore is strange: no categories, no tidy labels, no “Religion,” “Fiction,” or “History.” Nothing to even set you up to pre-judge a book. There are only shelves of books, side by side, in no particular order, without distinction.



You’re moving slowly down an aisle, reading the spines, when one title catches your eye:


The Bible.


In this case, it is bound like any other paperback. It is unassuming and nothing about its appearance makes you think it is more than any other book.


You pick it up. Thumb through it. Its thickness is a little intimidating, but something keeps your attention. So you buy it. You take it home. And later that evening, you open to the very first page:


“In the beginning, God created…”


Now pause here.


Before we go any further in this series, sit with that simple scenario.


Forget the sermons, the study notes, the inherited assumptions.


Forget the arguments, the apologetics, the categories of “this is literal” and “that is symbolic.”


If this book found you for the first time today—what would you see?


What would you feel?


What would you expect?


Before I offer any reflections or frameworks, I want you to hold the question yourself.


What would it be like to read Scripture with no pre-knowledge?



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