The ''Bible Companion'' (or Bible Reading Planner) is a guide developed by the
Christadelphians
The Christadelphians () or Christadelphianism are a restorationist and millenarian Christian group who hold a view of biblical unitarianism. There are approximately 50,000 Christadelphians in around 120 countries. The movement developed in the U ...
to aid reading the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
. It was first produced by Robert Roberts when he was 14 years of age, in about 1853,
and revised by him over a number of years into its current format.
Background
Christadelphians believe that reading the Bible is very important: they believe that it is "essential if one is to discover—and remember—God's revelation of Himself and His purpose";
citing Bible verses such as Psalm 119:105, they believe the Bible gives moral direction for the life of a Christian - thus the ''Bible Companion'' is designed to aid the Christian in their Bible reading to this end.
The Bible Companion as a reading aid
By following the ''Bible Companion'' the reader is led, in small portions, through the whole Bible in a year. The
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
is read once in the year, and the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
is read twice. The plan starts on January 1 in the
Book of Genesis
The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning") ...
,
Book of Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...
and
Book of Matthew
The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and for ...
and works its way through the scriptures as the year goes along providing around four chapters per day.
Here is an example of a section from the ''Bible Companion'':
Current usage
Although the ''Bible Companion'' was developed over 100 years ago by the Christadelphians it is still widely used within the community. Some ecclesias (individual churches) read the allotted chapters of the Bible as found in the companion during their Sunday services. Many people have the ''Bible Companion'' printed on book marks so they can easily find and follow the day's readings. There is an increasing number of
apps for
mobile phones
A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
and
tablets which also show the daily readings. Use of the ''Bible Companion'' is down to the individual's choice.
References
{{reflist
External links
Bible Companions
Daily Bible readingsbased on the "Bible Companion" but with added brief reading from Proverbs each day
A Bible Study site based on the Bible Companionwhich incorporates the Daily Readings.
Comments, exhortations and questions following the Bible Companion program
Daily Bible readings following the Companionwith comments on each reading
following the Bible Companion
Christadelphian Isolation Leaguepublishes exhortations every week, and the website, alongside the readings from the KJV and as audio files, has Exhortations published on each day in recent years that may link to the daily readings
Christadelphian books
Books about the Bible
1853 books
1853 in Christianity