# So, I'm building a personal religious library... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 2, 2011, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780 "2011-12-02T02:07:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780/21 "2011-12-06T03:30:43Z")
I’ve got a similar reference shelf, and it includes Anton LaVey’s “Satanic Bible” and also a cheap, knock-off, pseudo “Necronomicon.” Both are there mostly for grins. The real advantage to the Qur’an is that it’s physically small, so won’t take up a lot of space, and is, also, quite readable. What did you choose for your Wiccan texts? Is there a good general-purpose “first place to look” Wiccan book? Oh, also: Theogony of Hesiod, Metamorphoses of Ovid, and the Iliad and Odyssey. Get some Greco-Roman classics in there. In addition to being educational, they’re mighty fun reading! ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2011, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780/22 "2011-12-06T03:40:05Z")
[Unaussprechlichen Kulten](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unaussprechlichen_Kulten)😃 ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2011, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780/23 "2011-12-06T05:16:55Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > [Unaussprechlichen Kulten](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unaussprechlichen_Kulten)😃 Grin! I should also add that I have “Petersen’s Guide to Dreamlands Monsters” in my theology library, but, again, mostly as a quip. (The same way my sister has Gray’s Anatomy in her cookbook shelf.) ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2011, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780/24 "2011-12-06T06:21:02Z")
“why i’m not a christian” by bertrand russel “sayings of the ayatollah komeini” “we the living” by ayn rand “summa theologica” ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2011, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780/25 "2011-12-06T06:23:29Z")
Nearly everything mentioned is available for free download at [Project Gutenberg](http://www.gutenberg.org/). ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2011, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780/26 "2011-12-06T06:43:08Z")
[The Hidden Words](http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/HW/) [Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh](http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/GWB/) [The Dawnbreakers](http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/nz/DB/db-6.html) ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780/27 "2011-12-07T17:36:16Z")
Maybe the atheistic writings of the four horsemen: Dawkins, Dennett, Harris, and Hitchens? ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780/28 "2011-12-07T17:44:40Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > Maybe the atheistic writings of the four horsemen: Dawkins, Dennett, Harris, and Hitchens? Atheism is not a religion, as much as religious people would like to believe it is. _Is a religious person but just hates bad arguments_ ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780/29 "2011-12-07T21:26:33Z")
You need a few volumes by St. Augustine: _ **City of God and Confessions** _ A collection of the texts of Maimonides is essential. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780/30 "2011-12-07T21:47:11Z")
[The Year of Living Biblically.](http://www.amazon.com/Year-Living-Biblically-Literally-Possible/dp/0743291476) Just for fun. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780/31 "2011-12-07T22:09:34Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > Atheism is not a religion, as much as religious people would like to believe it is. . . . True, but atheist commentaries _could_ be included in a religious library. It helps complete the spectrum of viewpoints. My religious library also has a significant chunk devoted to Dante’s Divine Comedy, along with commentaries. Milton is in there too, and Bunyan. The more, the better, I sez! ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780/32 "2011-12-07T23:44:04Z")
Well, not all ‘religious’ per se, but I’d suggest The Analects of Confucious A Book of Five Rings (Miyamoto Musashi) Bushido, the Soul of Japan The Art of War (Sun Tzu) The Mahabharata – of which the Bhagavad Gita is a small part. The Enuma Elish Metamorphoses (Ovid) A friend of mine gave some other friends of mine a CD ROM which includes the major and minor texts of all the world’s religions. I’m very envious. I’ll try to contact him to find out the name of the product and where to find it. Is there a Zoroastrian scripture? I see a definite lack of African or Pacific Islander cosmology here. And Norse mythology is notably lacking, even though we name our weekdays after those dieties. You might also find the Dogon tribe mythology interesting. It includes an ancient belief that Sirius is a binary star system with a habitable planet – long before anyone knew stars could be binary. –G Won’t you save me Don’t you blame me [COLOR=Black]I got the fear that I’m gonna turn to dust .[/COLOR] --Def Leppard . _Turn to Dust_ . Slang ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780/33 "2011-12-08T00:53:32Z")
Don’t forget the Necronomicon, by the Mad Arab Abdul Alhazred. If possible, get the original human skin version. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780/34 "2011-12-08T00:57:33Z")
> [@tomcar](#): > > You certainly need the Bhagavad Gita. It’s one of the most important Hindu scriptures. I got my copy from Dave Mason, who got it from a guy at the airport who wouldn’t leave him alone. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780/35 "2011-12-08T09:08:36Z")
The Socino editions of the Zohar & the Talmud & the Neusner translation of the Talmud are quite affordable & available. Recommended- Everett Fox’ The Five Books of Moses is an almost essential supplement to the JPS Tanach, the best edition of which is the Jewish Study Bible from Oxford Press. Jay P. Green’s Interlinear Hebrew-Greek-English Bible. The NRSV Study Bible which includes ALL the Deuter-canonical books of the Catholic & Orthodox Bibles. The Orthodox Study Bible ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780/36 "2011-12-08T09:09:46Z")
Nordic- The Elder (Poetic) Eddas & The Younger (Prose) Eddas ---
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780/37 "2011-12-08T10:32:37Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Note that getting a copy of the Talmud (that is the five books of Moses plus the commentaries of the great sages) could be difficult. Last time I checked, it was against Jewish custom to sell or give one to non Jews. The theory is that they may intentionally or otherwise disrespect it. Just to clarify, the Talmud isn’t “the five books of Moses plus commentary” - it’s a self-contained work of literature. It refers to Torah and the rest of the Tanakh as prooftexts, but it doesn’t contain the full five books anywhere (actually, it might, in the sum of all the little pieces strewn throughout it, but certainly not all strung together). I’d also recommend against getting a full Talmud, for two reasons: first, it’s insanely expensive, and second, the Jewish groups with the resources to put out full English translations tend to have agendas (cough cough Artscroll) and often obscure the meaning of the text with misleading translations and inaccurate or misleading commentary. In my experience Jews who study Talmud study Talmud in Hebrew and Aramaic, or as part of study groups and/or with rabbis that put out their own homemade English translations to help students that don’t have the necessary language skills. I have never heard of anyone studying in English (or another local language) only. That said, for your purposes (that is, I’m assuming you’re not going to run off to a yeshiva) there are several mini-Talmud translations that are perfectly lovely and give a good and comprehensive sense of the literature; for example, [Norman Solomon’s “The Talmud: A Selection”](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Talmud-Selection-Penguin-Classics/dp/014144178X/) is well-edited and has a good introduction. Getting hold of it won’t be difficult at all. It is sold in bookstores (as are full English translations and full Hebrew/Aramaic copies). ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780/38 "2011-12-08T15:03:21Z")
> [@Grestarian](#): > > You might also find the Dogon tribe mythology interesting. It includes an ancient belief that Sirius is a binary star system with a habitable planet – long before anyone knew stars could be binary. I’ve seen this debunked on the SDMB. I can’t remember the thread though. ---
**Author:** ![CateAyo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@CateAyo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CateAyo)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780/39 "2011-12-09T03:29:06Z")
I wold suggest anything and everything written by Huston Smith. He does an outstanding job of comparative analysis, without bias. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780/40 "2011-12-09T05:05:33Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > I’ve seen this debunked on the SDMB. I can’t remember the thread though. [Decent article here](http://www.skepdic.com/dogon.html) on "The Skeptic’s Dictionary. Basically, the timeline doesn’t support the claim; the Dogon could easily have learned about Sirius B from visitors (from earth, that is.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-building-a-personal-religious-library/604780.md?page=3)