MEMORISING SCRIPTURE

[vernecarty]

V

[Arthur]

Do you memorise Scripture? If so what version do you use?
Do you teach your kids to memorise Scripture?
What nemonic methods, if any do you use to help them recall?
What is the longest passage of Scripture you have ever memorised? My mom taught Psalm 1 when I was about five and I have never forgotten it.
I am told that Jack Van Impe has memorised the entire Bible!
Does anyone know if this is true?
I have a great book called, Keep In Memory that gives lots of neat suggestions for commiting the Word of God to memory. I once heard someone pose the question in regard to memorisation of Scripture and it went something like this:

If they took away your Bible, how big would your Bible be?
Verne

Hi Verne,

I have been wondering about this very much for some time.  It's kinda hard deciding which one to memorize in until we know for sure which is the right one.  
I grew up in the Christian Reformed Church, which uses the NIV, and so at the private Christian school that I went to, it was from that Bible that we memorized our verses.  In the eighth grade our Bible teacher had us memorize about 50 or so verses that dealt with the basics of our faith.  Then in the 11th and 12th grades we had some more verses to memorize.  Then when I joined the assembly, I started memorizing more in the NIV, but after a few years I switched to the KJV.  So now I have different versions of the same verse swimming around in my head.   It's kinda disconcerting.  

I think the KJV is the right one, but people dont understand the language today.  If I go out witnessing, I want to quote one that people don't roll their eyes over.

And I've been wondering, what should I teach my kids.  Maybe I'll write my own one day, hehe.  A true new KJV.

I've been working on Psalm 119 in the KJV for a while. I think there's one that would have been a lot easier in the original.

Arthur

[Joe Sperling]

I think the KJV is the easiest to memorize. At least for me it is because it is almost poetic in it's form. When I was in the Assembly,  myself, and a brother named Keith Walker would take a walk before worship each Sunday and recite the Gospel of John to one another. I wound up memorizing Chapters 1 thru 6(6 is a very long chapter. Phew!!!).  I still remember quite a bit of it. It was one of the few Chapter summary "applications" that I actually put into practice and "stuck with" for quite a while. I don't remember what book we were studying but I was asked for my application and said "I'm going to memorize the Gospel of John". The next week I found out Keith had made a similar commitment, so we started the Sunday morning "memorizing walks" and did it for quite a while.

I don't think Jack Van Impe has memorized the whole Bible, but I heard he has put large portions of the New Testament to memory. (His memory soaks up Bible verses almost as much as his wife Rexella's face soaks up make-up. Just kidding. It's fun listening to Jack Van impe because he gets so excited about Bible prophecy).

--Joe

[al Hartman]

     I have never really attempted to memorize from any version other than the KJV, simply because that was the only version I read and heard ministry from when I was a new and growing believer.  
     I presently read and hear ministry quoting other versions as well as the KJV, but I must agree that for memorization purposes, more versions simply means more confusion.
     When quoting or reading scripture to someone, I have no qualms about substituting "you" for thee or for ye, or updating the wording, so long as it remains an accurate rendering of the meaning.  If the 1611 translation team were working with the same manuscripts today, they would render their product in the language of today's English-speaking populace.

     My problem with scripture memorization has always been in learning the exact wording and the reference, but not the true depths of the meaning.  Well, the real problem with that is when one thinks he does fully understand that which he does not.  That "he" has often been me.  
     But we must start with milk, and grow until we can digest strong meat.  Basic memorization is a milk course.  We will never understand the Word until we know it.  Utilizing that which we have memorized will bring us to savor the meat of the Word.  I am now concerning myself as much with knowing the location of a passage by its "sense" or meaning as by its precise wording.  I believe this will help in discussing the scriptures with those who use other versions.
     I still see no reason to memorize from any other version than the King James.

al