Is it better to have read condensed than to not have read at all?

This was the essence of the question I put to Brother Maynard and "John the Shepherd" a while back...and we already know how challenged I am about linking stuff...so you'll have to find your way through to the original conversations yourself ;^( ...however, John's initial review post will get you started.

The Vulnerable Abbess, as A Celtic Son commented I should rename my blog, stepped out and suggested that so much of the Bible is never read by most people because it is too daunting a task. I merely suggested that the folks over at Reader's Digest provided a wonderful tool to introduce people to all 66 books of the Bible in such a way as one might actually get from Genesis to Revelation!

And so I'll pass the challenge on to you to consider embracing a tool that removes barriers to reading God's Word without replacing the preeminence of the full text of God's Word. To me, it is better to have someone read 60 percent of the entire Bible than the smattering that accounts for many people's experience.

I am going to very generally suggest that those who say they read the Bible, but who have not taken the effort to read it from cover to cover, have read Genesis, most of Exodus, a bit of Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy out of the Books of the Law. From History, Joshua, Judges, Ruth and I & II Samuel, parts of I & II Kings and Chronicles and Esther. From Poetry, parts of Job, parts of Psalms, all of Proverbs, parts of Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs. Of the Prophets--major or minor, only Daniel and Jonah in their entirely...the rest of them just parts here and there. I would hope that the New Testament would have more who have read it all, but figure that John's Gospel has been more widely read with Luke or Matthew following and Mark trailing. Acts and Romans in pieces. Parts of I Corinthians...not much of II Corinthians. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians are small and easily read. Bits of I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, and a verse here and there of Titus, Philemon and Hebrews. (Hebrews is one of my favorites...and it is key to understanding hesed and covenant in the New Testament, IMO.) James is a short and powerful book read more often, as is I John. II & III John and Jude get lost on the way to Revelation, which is all too often picked apart by dispensationalists and not seen with a singular message of perseverance, hope, and victory in Christ.

What do you think?