The Bible's an unusual book. The first thing about it, of course, is that it's not really one book, but a collection of smaller books. The second thing is that it's really hard to know where to begin.

If you're interested in finding out more about what the Bible is, have a look at here, which gives some information on the Bible itself. But you're interested in beginning to read it for yourself, this article aims to help you there.

I mentioned in the introduction that the Bible isn't really just one book but a collection of books, and that's important when you come to read it. It means, for instance, that it may not be best to simply start at the beginning and make your way through from there. For one thing, that would likely take a long time, and things may not make a great deal of sense.

Probably the best place to start reading the Bible is a gospel. The gospels provide a biography of the life of Jesus, who Christians believe was (and is) the saviour that was promised by God in the Old Testament. Mark's account is the shortest and probably most accessible. After that, perhaps move on to the other gospels, like John's, Luke's and Matthew's.

As you're reading, try to think about a couple of things. First, what does the account tell you about Jesus? What is it that he has come to do? The writers of the gospels have considered how to tell the story of Jesus' life in a way that helps their readers to make connections and understand what's going on. Perhaps also consider what you make of Jesus himself—does he seem authentic?

John's gospel in particular comments upon events in a way that helps us to understand their meaning and wider significance (the first few verses, for instance), and the letters that come after the gospels are useful for this too. The letters (like Romans, Hebrews, Ephesians and Galatians, for example) were written to the early churches and contain a mixture of theology and advice on how to live as a Christian.

The New Testament books have their basis in the Old Testament (and many refer to it as their source of authority). In starting to read the Old Testament, begin with Genesis. It gives an account of the creation of the world, and goes on to tell the early history of people and God's relationship with them. The rest of the Old Testament covers God's dealings with the nation of Israel (his chosen people), including historical books, wisdom (the proverbs), song (Psalms) and prophecy. It might be helpful to read some of these books with a commentary or notes to help you get around the terminology and have a better grasp of what's going on.

Christians believe that the Bible is God's revelation to humans about himself and hias relationship with us. It can be at once very hard to understand and very rewarding, and I'd encourage you just to start reading it and investigate what it's saying for yourself. If you have any problems or questions you'd like to ask, there should be ample help available on this site. Just contact us.

See also (online):

• Where is a good place to start reading the Bible?
  
• Starting to read the Bible.