In the introduction, we saw that this first phase was described as the level that deals first with the ability to master specific facts, terms, major ideas, and events.  Also beyond that was the ability to recall the ways and means of dealing with specifics, such as sequences, categories, criteria for evaluation, methods, and basic conventions that concern principles or widely held agreements, as well as more complex abstractions such as structures or generalizations.  This may sound like a pretty tall order, but it simply boils down to little more than reading and memorizing Scripture.

1a. Survey reading

            The purpose here is not to immediately understand what is read, but to simply get an idea of what the passage is talking about.  The real difficulty with this is resisting the temptation to try and get the full meaning the first time through.  Especially on your first time, it is better to read quickly and absorb general ideas; don’t allow yourself to get sidetracked onto references, footnotes, or trying to sort out difficult passages.  This is best done with a plain text Bible, one printed without outlines, notes, or other potentially distracting marginal things.  It is good to have a study Bible, but I always keep another one around that is plain text, unmarked, and as simple as possible so that I can read a less familiar section without having to weed out things I previously highlighted or underlined, and I can be free to discover something new upon the next time around.

            I recommend that this type of reading be applied to larger segments, beginning with a group of chapters or a small book and later working up to a larger book.  If you decide on a smaller section, guard against too much re-reading; an inaccurate first impression can still be corrected with later study.  I also recommend any of several good through-the-Bible-in-a-year plans, or come up with your own (I did this for my first ten years as a Christian uninterrupted—it’s not as difficult as it may sound).

            A common problem when reading a longer passage is when the mind wanders while the eyes continue to follow the words on the page.  It can be a little embarrassing to suddenly awaken from a daydream and not know what the previous ten verses said that came before the point where your eyes are.  One way I’ve found to help keep my mind on my reading is to keep a Bible study journal.  Journal entries of this sort need not be lengthy or detailed.  You could use the format of a short paragraph or a brief topic list, or for smaller sections, a single sentence may be enough.  Here are two examples from my first-year journal:

            II Peter – a list of Christian virtues, Peter discusses his approaching death, the inspiration of Scripture, a warning against false teachers, judgment and the last days, and a recommendation of Paul’s writings.

            Genesis 6 – the wickedness of the days of Noah, his goodness, his family, instructions for building the ark, and what to bring in it.

            Once this process is well underway, it becomes easy to see what the logic is in the way the books of Scripture are arranged, what they contain, and what category (history, poetry, epistles, or prophecy) they fall in.

1b. Memorization

            Memorizing generally happens as a result of repeated reading, hearing, speaking, and even singing the scriptures.  Some people use “Scripture-of-the-day” type cards or index cards; others use tapes or CDs and play a passage repeatedly while reciting along.  The era of the Scripture songs of the Jesus movement proved to be especially helpful to many because the tunes were simple and useful as memory aids.

            I strongly urge you to concurrently memorize the reference for where the verse or passage is located; it is so much easier to double check your accuracy whenever your memory fades if you know where to look.  It is advisable to also make use of mnemonic memory devices, such as subdividing a list of nine into three threes, or using the initials of the items to make an anagram.

            When attempting to memorize longer sections of Scripture, I find it to be most effective to work progressively and cumulatively; for example, learn the first three verses, then add the next two, then the next group, and so forth depending on the logical subdivisions of the section.  Each time a new paragraph or segment is added, it is a good opportunity for a quick review of what came before.

            A few suggestions for beginners’ passages to memorize would include:

            Of course there are many other passages of Scripture worthy of memorizing; I offer this list merely as a suggestion for a starting point.  Also, in the case of the Ten Commandments, for example, there are certain places between the commandments themselves where explanation is given; these parts may be skipped over as long as the commandments themselves (and their numbers) are mastered.