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Every now and then, I get an email that reads something like
this one:
"I want to learn how to memorize the whole Bible.
I read your description of your program and I am still unsure
whether it is all that you say it is or some scheme.
I was wondering if there are any other details that you can give
me to help me?"
Is It Really Possible To Memorize The Whole Bible?
As you undoubtably know, memorizing the whole Bible is an
enormous task.
However, I do believe it is possible!
In fact, William Walker Atkinson says, in his book "Memory, How
To Develop, Train and Use It":
In India, in the past, the sacred books were committed to
memory, and handed down from teacher to student, for ages.
And even today it is no uncommon thing for the student to be
able to repeat, word for word, some voluminous religious work
equal in extent to the New Testament.
Max Muller states that the entire text and glossary of Panini's
Sanscrit grammar, equal in extent to the entire Bible, were
handed down orally for several centuries before being committed
to writing.
There are Brahmins today who have committed to memory, and who
can repeat at will, the entire collection of religious poems
known as the Mahabarata, consisting of over 300,000 slokas or
verses.
Leland states that, "the Slavonian minstrels of the present day
have by heart with remarkable accuracy immensely long, epic
poems.
I have found the same among Algonquin Indians whose sagas or
mythic legends are interminable, and yet are committed word by
word accurately.
I have heard in England of a lady ninety years of age whose
memory was miraculous, and of which extraordinary instances are
narrated by her friends.
She attributed it to the fact that when young she had been made
to learn a verse from the Bible every day, and then constantly
review it.
As her memory improved, she learned more, the result being that
in the end she could repeat from memory any verse or chapter
called for in the whole Scripture."
So it is possible!
But it is no small feat. And no matter what techniques you use,
it will take you a very long time to succeed -- if you succeed
at all.
I cannot guarantee you that you will succeed in memorizing the
whole Bible, and I would venture to say that anyone who claims
to have techniques to guarantee success in such an endeavour is
a liar.
(I know those are strong words, and it is just my opinion; but
my opinion it is.)
There are books books out there on memorizing, some great, some
not-so-great, and some that probably shouldn't be sold at all.
Most Memory Books Teach Mnemonics
What most of these books teach, are mnemonics and mnemonic
tricks. These range from the extremely simplistic, like:
General Electric Power Company -- This is for remembering the
order of Galations, Ephesians, Phillipians and Colossians
and
This is the way the disciples run Peter, Andrew, James and
John Phillip and Bartholemew Thomas next and Matthew, too. James
the less and Judas the greater Simon the zealot and Judas the
traitor."
...to very advanced systems, like memory pegging techniques and
phonetic substitution systems.
Tricks like these might be great for remembering tidbits and
facts, but they do not improve your memory in the long run. And
of course, they do not help you remember long texts, or large
amount of information.
The only way I know to train your memory, not for party-tricks,
but for extensive feats like memorizing the whole Bible, is to
practice. And to practice a lot!
Tke Key Ingredient Vital To Your Success
There is one thing that is absolutely essential when you want to
memorize a large body of text.
It is how you practice.
I'll say that again: The way you practice is vital to your
success.
So how do you practice?
Easy. You need to apply Attention and Interest.
Attention, because it is, of course, impossible to remember
something you didn't quite notice in the first place.
How do you become attentive? By being interested!
When you are interested in your subject of study, attention
follows.
There are no fancy ways of doing this.
I cannot teach you to memorize the Bible in 90 days; there is no
Royal Road to Memory.
You can, however, train your memory.
For every step you take, it becomes easier.
After a while, you will be able to achieve whatever you set your
mind to.
About the author:
Sten Andersen helps making memorizing large bodies of text
easier. For a free memory eCourse, see How To Memorize The Bible
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