So i am going to read the Bible (King James) from Genesis to Revelation.

I was raised as a Catholic, got baptised, communion, confirmation, the whole 9 yards, and i just wanted to read it so i could understand the christian world just a little bit better. (Next is the Qur'an) Also, so when someone argues that Islam is violent, i can say "Have you read their book?".

Anyone read the whole thing? What was your opinion of it? Favorite Book in it?

Fuck King James, read the NIV, such a better read.

And yes, it's one of my favorite books, it's hard as hell to put it down.

Favorite book is Ecclesiastes, just for the lulzy nihilistic truth of the material world.

Start with the "secret teachings", the Nag Hammadi library. you can find it online.



[This message has been edited by Rizzo in a box (edited 03-23-2007).]

WTF?

The Qur'an has a diverse system of ethics and laws, sans long metaphorical fairy tales.

quote:Originally posted by cpl. julian:

WTF?

Somebody reading the bible in a religious forum OMG!!!!!

I liked the poetry.

No, its more exciting to read an old goosebumps book.

Not really a good read at all. The rituals in Leviticus are interesting though dry, and the wherein Jesus' words feature prominently (Gospels) are nice, but on the whole it's quite boring and ill-made.

quote:Originally posted by ductape:



Anyone read the whole thing? What was your opinion of it? Favorite Book in it?

Not the whole thing, no... I started with the New Testament when I was only 12/13 and I found it a slog. I only got about halfway and haven’t really gotten around to picking it up and trying it again. (I think I might have put myself off it when I was younger.)

Good luck with it though. I take it that you're probably older than 13 and shouldn't find it quite so hard

[This message has been edited by flatplat (edited 03-24-2007).]

^ Yeah, 16.

The words are not difficult, it is just a bit dull right now.

To be honest, I found it far fetched and poorly written. The only book I like in there is Job.

What the fuck do you mean when you say the Bible is poorly written. Most of it's over 2000 years old. Of course it's not a page turner. Ancient people used to think and speak much differently than we do today, not to mention that it's translated from Ancient Hebrew which is a completely different type of language from ours.

^

All your doing is admitting that it's poorly written.

Try the Living Bible! The original is a paraphrase that purports to give the meaning rather than a letter for letter literal translation that may not convey the intended meaning as well as a paraphrase - a thought for thought versus a word for word interpretation. Much better read and after all, whether literal or paraphrase, they are simply interpretations of writings from ancient languages that often had no vowels or punctuation, things that even the best translators need to guess!

Makes a huge difference, much better, and read a multi version if you can find one. A parallel version with different versions in columns allows quick comparisons with the thoughts of other translators.

Starting at Genesis and reading straight through is a rough and often boring path and if you want a xian view you need to begin at the New Testament. The Gospels are not in any order that you should read Matthew first, John would be better, and read a little of the Old Testament everyday especially starting with Psalms and Proverbs, the more interesting parts. The Old Testament has a lot of history and details that are meaningless unless you know the history. What I found extraordianry is that the protestant version of 66 books leaves out Maccabees which is about the history of the time the Greeks ruled Palestine. Big difference when you read the prophecies of Ezekiel and Daniel and you see that many of those prophecies where fulfilled in the time of the Maccabees.

That also throws a different light on the New Testament especially The Revelation as it uses a lot of imagery from Daniel and Ezekiel, for example compare the vision Ezekiel has of God in chapter 1 with the one John has in the fourth chapter. It is a similar view there is the sea of glass/crystal found in Revelation 4:6 and Ezekiel 1:22 and the view of the throne and the being in Ezekiel 1:27&28 and Revelation 4:2&3. BTW Jasper and Carnelian have the colour of Amber and reflect light to give the appearance of fire and of course there is the common rainbow description.

To me it as if Ezekiel is seeing the same scene except from below whereas John has been "caught up" to the same level. Compare that to the one in The Essene Book of Revelations and one begins to wonder about the claims that the Revelations we have is not the original?

You could say the bible is just as interesting because of the debates that rage about it's contents or sometimes about it's very existence. To truly understand, one needs to read the book; but be gentle on yourself, ration the boring bits! Look at it as history, metaphor and truth, in the sense of a relative truth: the absolute is beyond the reach of human intellect as our intellect is grounded in the relative(Shantideva). Small fish in a big sea! Be guided by your intuition and do read the Gospel of Thomas from the Nag Hammadi Library as well

"Your own self is your ultimate teacher. The outer teacher is merely a milestone. It is only your inner teacher that will walk with you to the goal, for he is the goal." Nisargadatta Maharaj

Peace

quote:Originally posted by niggersexual:

What the fuck do you mean when you say the Bible is poorly written. Most of it's over 2000 years old. Of course it's not a page turner. Ancient people used to think and speak much differently than we do today, not to mention that it's translated from Ancient Hebrew which is a completely different type of language from ours.

That's no excuse. Plato's dialogs are older than the New Testament and I find them a far more exciting read.

The bible is THE most boring book ever.

/thread

I read the four gospels a few years ago. I enjoyed them for the most part Jesus was a really great teacher despite the whole "son of god" thing.