We (the creators of the Game) were raised going to church. Sunday morning services, Sunday school, Sunday night services, Wednesday night prayer meeting, youth group on Thursday or Friday, and some other obligatory church event on alternating Saturdays. Summer meant spending time at a Christian camp, as campers and then staff members. We’re masters at “sword drills,” Bible quizzing, and all other Christian competitions that feature the Bible as a centerpiece (We will destroy you and your whole clique at this. Don't test us).
Once upon a time, in a public school setting, one of us referenced a Bible passage to explain a biblical allusion in Shakespeare, writing the Scripture reference on the board. A student timidly raised his hand and asked “what the hell does that mean?” Others chimed in with their confusion. There were suddenly two types of people in the room: people who were confused by what was written on the board, and those confused by the confused people.
It suddenly dawned on the second group of people that reading Bible references is something that they were all taught, even though they have no memory of learning it.
It’s like learning to walk, talk, or wipe one’s own arse: you cognitively understand that someone helped you acquire proficiency at these skills, but it was so long ago it feels like you were born doing it.
In that spirit, here is a crash course in reading the Bible references you may encounter on this site or in the wild. We’ll stick with "John 3:16" as an example.
How to Read a Bible Reference
TL:DR = John 3:16 refers to the sixteenth verse of the third chapter in the book of John.
Standardized reference: John 3:16
First word = Book Title
“John” = The Gospel According to John. The fourth book in the Christian New Testament. This shouldn't be confused with 1 John, 2 John, or 3 John, which refer to different books, the first, second, and third epistles by someone named John (or someone writing as if they were John. Why? Because the Bible is confusing like that sometimes. That's a whole other blog post).
Sometimes the book title is long, or people are lazy, so they shorten it to an abbreviation. For example: Lamentations becomes "Lam". And Second Corinthians (or 2 Corinthians) becomes "2 Cor" or "2 Co," unless you're running for president and you have no idea what you're talking about. But we digress. Lists of the abbreviations are often found at the beginning of most Bibles. Here's a handy one.
The First Number = Chapter Number
“3” refers to the third chapter in the book. Just like a good novel, each book of the Bible is divided into chapters. Usually these chapters are at logical point in the narrative/exposition. Sometimes they aren't.
The Second Number = Verse Number
Like nothing outside of religious texts, the each chapter in the Bible is broken into smaller units called "verses." The “16” in our example refers to the sixteenth verse.
And for those who have never Googled it, John 3:16 says:
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life
This is the basis of what Christian call "the Gospel": the idea that God love all of creation enough to live and die for it. Despite all the arguments over the who, what, when, and how of Christianity, the why remains a unifying force in the Church universal.
Love.
And if you want to know more about that, ask a Bible-reading friend.
Or drop us a line. We'll be glad to chat.
