by Geoffrey Schmitt

Created on: November 16, 2009   Last Updated: November 22, 2009

When I was a teenager we took a vacation to Stratford on Avon, Ontario Canada. The city is named for the famous town in England where Shakespeare's plays were first performed. There was at the time a new theater. Inside it was as a replica of the stage in England. We went as a family of five to a performance of The Tempest. I shall always remember how the bare stage was transformed into a raging storm at sea. Actors wearing feathery blue and white costumes became fierce ocean waves. My imagination was completely captivated in a way no modern high tech special effects have ever matched. On that summer afternoon Shakespeare was not boring.

Recently I had occasion to watch some more Shakespeare. I hardly noticed the Victorian English rhyming and foreign way of speech, as actor Al Pacino, playing The Merchant of Venice, fought to get his pound of flesh. It was a far from boring movie. On the other hand, it would be greatly difficult for me to pick up a copy of Macbeth and read that passionately intriguing story and not put it down out of boredom in a couple of pages. Why? It's because the language is so foreign to me. I can't understand it. I don't know what they are talking about and I'm lost in the poetry. I don't have Leonard Bernstein turning Romeo and Juliet into a roof top dance number.

People who find the Bible boring are having a similar difficulty. For starters, they may be reading it in the King James Version. This is almost exactly like reading Shakespeare, without the rhymes. Secondly they don't know where to start. They probably begin at the beginning. It seems logical. However, by the time they get to chapter two it starts all over again. Wait a minute, didn't I just read that? They might make it through Genesis. It has some pretty exciting stories. However, all those begats in Numbers are sure to bore the best of them.

Those who find the Bible boring need the same experiences that helped me enjoy Shakespeare. Watch the new TV series Kings. It is a modern retelling of the story of King Saul and David. Go rent The Passion by Mel Gibson. It's as spooky as any horror flick and more graphic than Braveheart. If you like music, you might try Joseph and His Technicolor Dream Coat. Don't forget the epic film The Ten Commandments. I'm only touching the surface of possibilities.

Then get yourself a modern translation of the Bible. You can even listen to it on CD. There are dramatic readings of The New Living Bible and others. If you are a computer buff you could try one of several interactive Bible software programs. Try a combination of these approaches and the Bible will no longer be boring.

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