So I figure, I can’t really complain about Christians if I have never read their book. I have a passing interest for several reasons. The first reason, honestly, is that a lot of Heavy Metal music takes subject matter from the Bible. In addition, I wan’t to understand what is so compelling about this book.
I started with a King James version borrowed from my mother. My parents got turned off by religion after the intense problems between their families (Protest and Catholic). I could not follow the KJ version for more than 3 sentences w/o having to go back and re-read everything.
I bought a New International Student Bible and started from page 1. It just does not hold my interest. Maybe the Old Testament is harder to read, but I can’t follow this story for the life of me. My main problem is that the Student Bible doesn’t help to explain a lot of things. It seems like every time I try to read this, I get more confused.
I am asking for some passages that might inspire someone regardless of their religion. I am speaking about powerful stories or perhaps famous sections (Yea as I walk through the Valley of Death…) so that I might be inclined to continue reading. My favorite part so far is when Cain lied when asked -
“Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know” he replied “Am I my brothers keeper ?”
Many people have recommended that I start with the New Testament but I have been conditioned to start at the beginning of a book.
Perhaps the very back of the book might be more interesting – Revelations, I mean. Not that I put any more stock in it than I put in any other book of fables, but it’s pretty trippy.
Humor may help, too. Here’s a Genesis joke:
A gorilla in a zoo was taught to read. His teachers, wanting him to be well rounded, asked him to read the Bible and Darwin’s “Origin of Species.” Afterwards, they asked him what he thought.
“I’m confused,” the gorilla admitted. “Am I my brother’s keeper or my keeper’s brother?”
I’ve studied the Book as literature and as a religious work. You want to read it as literature. You will find it rich and it will open to you the meaning of most Western literature, even of a non-religious nature.
The NIV Study Bible has the better explanation than the Student Version, but the language is not as majestic as the King James. But in order to get into the King James, you will need to like Shakespearean language, another rich source of culture.
Find a book that presents a reading as literature plan. Resist the temptation to read it cover to cover as that will bore you to tears.
Read Genesis start to finish. Same with Exodus. Skip Numbers, Deuteronomy and Leviticus for the time being.Read Kings I and II. Read the Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes. Read Daniel. (My namesake) Leave the rest of the Old Testament for graduate work.
Move to New Testament. Read in order first four gospels. Read Acts. Letters of Paul are graduate work. (My other namesake, the pain in the ass one.) Paul is more theology than literature and is the basis for all modern Christianity. His letters were written to specific groups about specific problems. His is horribly prudish, I suspect he was more a prosecutor than a persecutor before his conversion.
Well, it’s not a spine-tingling page turner. This wasn’t written for entertainment, it’s for guidance. And Genesis has a lot of people begetting people just so you can follow the generations from Adam, but that’s always been the most skippable parts, IMO.
The Bible isn’t one book. It’s a series of books. Think of it as an anthology. You needn’t read the Old Testament to understand the New Testament, unless you want to take note of prophecies.
Take DPWhite’s suggestions and skip around. Don’t feel bad about it.
I recommend getting a version with lots of footnotes. My version (don’t know which one it is, it’s at home) has alternate definitions, which really reveal nuances in the text.
For instance: “And the age of Methusalah was 9?? years, and he had many children” with a footnote that indicated “children” could mean descendants. So maybe the text doesn’t mean that Methusalah live 900 some odd years, but that he started a dynasty that lasted that long.
Also, not all books even tell a story - Proverbs is just that, a list of aphorisms. All phrased in the same format, which makes it even more boring to read.
And just scan the “begats”, don’t try to follow them. I did find this interesting in terms of the the various cultures who preserved their lineage in an oral tradition.
My SO likes the bit where the guy is teasing the non-Christian guys about the non-appearance of their god. He suggests “Perhaps he is on the toilet?”. SO finds that hilarious.
That’s non-Jewish guys. (Admittedly, they weren’t Christian either, the religion having not yet been invented, but still.)
Lockfist, maybe you’re trying too hard. What do you like to read about? History, poetry, geneology, Dirty stories? Knowing that might help you figure out what parts to start with.
One other suggestion is to get it on tape with a great narrator. I’m not fond of Heston’s politics, but he has a helleva voice and knows how to use it, you might try giving it a listen. As originally written, the audience was supposed to hear these aloud, including the translations. Everybody has heard Psalm 23, for example. It’s kinda dry read, but done well at a funeral it is magnificant.
Oh, and the first few chapters of Genesis are some of the deepest stuff ever written, go really slowly. Particularly the stuff about getting kicked out of the garden. It can be read on many levels from the plain text, some that would deeply surprise most readers who think they know it. You can read it to children as a simple explanation, as about sex, as approving of rebellion (not for fundamentalists), a celebration of life.
Hey Ferggie and cazzle, Did you hear Christmas was cancelled ! Joseph confessed.
DPWhite, thanks for the suggestions. A tape sounds like a good possibility if all else fails. I think James Earl Jones also has a Bible tape out as well. Tough choice.
Crunchy Frog that is a good point about the anthology. I guess I knew that but kind of forgot. I’m always worried about missing the allusions toward the end of a book if I skip the beginning.
Ah, you got me on the “begats” Zyada. I am an accountant so if you can imagine I keep trying to add up everything in my head ! I wanted to pay attention because as I understand a lot of the problems we have today in the Middle East are due to the lineage of Abraham etc. That of all things has caused the most frustration. It sounds like you and DP are suggesting that this isn’t as important, especially if it is causing problems with comprehension of the material.
Another good point, Captain Amazing. As I mentioned I don’t have an especially compelling reason to read the book. The dirty stories are certainly inviting but as far as that goes - I hear all this talk about Homosexuality, Abortion, Sin, etc… so I want to read what the Bible has to say about these issues. I suppose my aim is to read it as literature and also try to understand the basis for all these deep-rooted beliefs.
That is my biggest problem. I know the birth of Moses was significant, but if I hadn’t seen that Disney movie the whole section would not have grabbed my attention. I get frustrated when I read something that I know is significant but I don’t notice. I want to be able to discuss the things in the Bible but I feel like even after I read a passage I couldn’t summarize it with a true understanding of the meaning.
So obviously I need to stop trying to read it like a book. I need to skip around a bit and do some additional research at the bookstore or on the internet. I’m getting more motivated as I type. Thanks for the help so far !
I studied the Bible (and the Koran) for similar reasons. I wanted to understand what drove people to such unquestioning faith. I also studied Buddhism to try to figure out what made people of that faith tick.
I was none the wiser after all this search. Eventually, I found the answer in history books.
The way Christianity spread in Europe is fascinating. European rulers found Christianity to be a powerful tool to control and manipulate the population. Not only were they able to control the populace, they were much better able to collect taxes and recruit men for their armies in “God’s name”. The crusades against the Muslims in Asia Minor destroyed knowledge and a peaceful secular Islamic religious movement. The Muslims took the cue from the Christians and married religion and government and became more militant.
The fanaticism comes from these times. In Christian Europe, you could be burned at the stake if you even hinted at disagreeing with the Church. The idea that it is blasphemous to question your faith or the leaders of your faith remains to this day. Ignorance was imposed on the populous, the rulers were well aware that an educated population would threaten their rule. The Church helped to keep the people ignorant by keeping them illiterate. Books were reserved for the elite.
When the protestant movement spread in Europe it had the benefit of freeing people from religious oppression. The rulers of the Protestant nations found themselves limited in their ability to use religion in order to control the population. More and more people learned to read and write, religious leaders were no longer able to suppressed knowledge and discoveries. Europe was on its way out of the Dark Ages. As human knowledge and discoveries accelerated, human achievement increased. It is the separation of church from state that has brought advancement and enlightenment.
In the US, religion is creeping into our government in somewhat underhanded ways. The very unconstitutional words, “In God we trust” on our money is an insult to the remarkable achievement of the American people. God did not make the US great, it was made great by the people of this nation. To give credit for this achievement to some fantastic being is an insult plain and simple. I for one am deeply offended.
This got a bit longer than I expected. The point is, you’ll find out more about Christians (and Muslims) if you study the history books.
If you want to just do a quick read through to get the basics, try getting a Common English version. It’s got all the verses, but in plain languege. Next down the list is a copy of Good News. It’s kind of like the Bible as a novel. It’s pretty well all there, but the format is more like a normal book. By the way, I only made it about halfway through the O.T. when I tried to go straight through. You should definately break it up a bit.
To read the Bible as a Novel, try “The Book of God” by Walter Wangerin, which is a fictionalisation of the stories in the Bible. Do not attempt to read this as “divine guidance”!!
To read a good modern interpretion of the Bible (at least the New Testament and Psalms so far) try “The Message” by Eugene Peterson. This is not a translation in the strict sense, but an attempt to express the meaning/spirit of the work in appropriate language.
When I read this I immediately flashed on the episode of The Simpsons when Homer ate poisonous blowfish sushi and thinks he has only a day to live. With the final hours ticking away, he goes to the bookshelf and takes down a weighty-looking tome…
[homer simpson voice]
“The Good Book.
On Tape.
Ooo! As read by Larry King!”[/homer simpson voice]
Lockfist, by far the easiest-to-read version of the Bible that I have found is The Living Bible (make sure to read some of the reviews on that page). The one I have is heavily footnoted and extremely helpful in untwisting some of the stilted language found in the King James Version.
You need to brush up on your history, because religion didn’t “creep in”, it’s been there for awhile. Ignoring the fact that there have been chaplains in both houses of Congress for a very long time and that Biblical verses (including the Ten Commandments) are carved into the walls of very old government buildings, there is this little tidbit in our Declaration of Independence:
If you want to argue about the Constitution (since the Declaration of Independence was pre-constitutional), take a look at the implication of the preamble:
Where do “blessings” come from? Who could “bless” us with liberty?
I think you might be misreading that part. It doesn’t have to be some supernatural being that “blesses” things. In this case, I believe it’s Liberty that is bestowing blessings, and we, the people, are the recipients. No external force needed.
And while I’ll agree that the word “bless” definitely has religious roots, by no means does it have Christian or even monotheistic religious roots.
Just thought I’d remark that NiceGuyJack made some interesting and valid points. I was raised in a strict Catholic family and environment, including much of my education in religious schools, and, although I am now an atheist as far as faith is concerned, I consider those times valuable for the background they provided me with. It would be a challenge for one to start as an adult trying to grasp the whole Christianity thing. Certainly the Bible to me is a work of literature, not of faith, but as it does engender a million subtle references in many aspects of life (even the most secular), familiarity can at least make one more well rounded.
I agree wholeheartedly with those who say that you need to skip around. Forcing yourself to do cover-to-cover in sequence is definitely going to hamper your abilty to gain what you want from it, not to mention take you a discouraging amount of time and waste some of your valuable mental effort on largely insignificant trivia. I have the same pattern of starting at page one, but it’s worth breaking here.
Yoaz, very true that religion/Christianity has been present in American government from the start - most of the “founding fathers” were religious men, and it would have seemed very strange and senseless to them to consciously try to eliminate that element from their documents, etc. The appropriateness of that presence two hundred years later is perhaps the subject of the debate. I’m no fanatic on the subject, but I can see the point of those who question whether Christianity should be such an integral part of democracy in a time when so many American citizens are not Christians - a significant change from the picture in the 1700’s. I’m not trying to start a debate - just my .02. (Hey, bleeding of the sick was a significant part of medical practice back then as well, but that I’m thankful we don’t feel compelled to hang on to it today just beacuse it’s historical.)
Necros, excellent point, and I believe a true-to-intent interpretation of that sentance.
but as far as that goes - I hear all this talk about Homosexuality, Abortion, Sin, etc… so I want to read what the Bible has to say about these issues. I suppose my aim is to read it as literature and also try to understand the basis for all these deep-rooted beliefs.