Have you read the Bible?

KatanaSky

I know many of us have probably followed along while in church, and some may have even picked up just to read it - but have any of you read the whole book?

I bought the New International Version (NIV Backpack Bible) the other day, and I started reading it. I've heard that you should try to read the New Testament before the Old Testament as it relates more to today's times. Not quite sure how accurate that is, but that's what I've started to do ..beginning with Matthew.

I can't say that I'm religious - I don't go to church on the weekly basis, I don't pray every night (though perhaps I should) I don't know. ...but I've always thought that it's important to believe in something. ...but let me not get too into my somewhat religious/spiritual (if you can call it that) side of things.

I just wanted to see what the hype is all about. The Bible is known for being the most published book in history. There are those that refuse to talk about anything that relates to the book, there are people that seem to always reference and back up their points by using the Bible to support their opinion, and I think there are the rest of us who either don't care or just haven't taken a moment to pick it up and actually read it.

I guess I'm just tired of being ignorant in a sense, I don't really know anything about my religion (I was born a Catholic), religion in general, etc... other than from the little overview they teach us in school, what I've seen in movies/tv shows, and conversations that others have had that I've never been able to relate to.

I guess picking up this book is my way of taking the first step to getting some sort of understanding.

Keran

I'm a Catholic too, I don't go to church every sunday, though I pray every day. The reason for that is because I don't believe in church itself (because I think it's a bunch of cra*), I do however believe in God. I've always believed in Him, not some priest in fancy dress screaming at an holy altar (which is holy just because someone said so :/ ) human race just got this whole God thing way too over-commercialized.... But I'm getting off topic here...

Anyway I think the Bible, from what I've heard and read a few fragments, is quite nicely written, it has all the moral codes and such, but nevertheless I think it's just a way for the church to control our lives. But I guess it's necessary to maintain order, as once someone (some guy from XVIIth century I think) said "Even if there's no God, we would have to make one up, for the sake of humanity"

btw. my 300th post ^^

MaxStirner

Having attended an Episcopal primary and secondary school (including compulsory Bible classes and service attendance) I suppose I'm as well acquainted with this book as the next person. It is certainly worth reading, though it's importance to western culture is, in my opinion, rather due to the influence it has had in shaping our history and values and not so much any possible literary quality. In any case, it utterly failed its purpose in my case.

P.S.

arquivo

good question...

When i was young i never wish to read, and im catolic... today im not too young and i started to think about read some... im sure, in few years i will really start...
That happens because we look for answers for ourself, and the questions change with the time and your age...

loyal

catscratches

I actually started reading it (even though I'm not Christian and hate all kinds of religious nonsense) but I couldn't get past very many chapters before being too disgusted to carry on.

HalfBloodPrince

Arnie

I tried reading these topics on Frihost but I couldn't get past "very many" pages before...

loyal

bloodrider

I born in a cristian family, so I had a "proper" education acording to the religion.
When I was young I heard or read many stories from the bible, but I never really read the hole bible. I tried some times but in that time I hadn't the patient (I was more used to science fiction Razz

).
Now that I'm older I may some day read it, but simple as a book.
My beliefs had evolved and read it wouldn't change them, but to some people it may really matters, they should read it to improve them selfs.

catscratches

johanfh

Books on evolution tell you you have to love your self and don't be sad for your neighbour, because only the fittest one does survive. Bad luck for the weaker ones! (And sorry for homosexuals, but in evolution they don't have any change because they do not pass their dna to their children. So it doesn't tell you to stone a homosexual, but does tell you implicitly that a homosexual will 'extinct' himself)

I read the Bible and I think it's a great bundle of books. At the same time I realize it's not one book (although it's presented that way) but a big library full of all different kind of books: poems, stories, critical letters, historical encyclopedia-like books, wisdom-sentences, etc. So just starting at page one and reading until you finish the last one is not very easy and also very difficult. (It's like going to the library and reading all the books you can find in alphabetical order)

So if you would like to know more of the Bible, first think what you would like to know: do you want to know more about the life of Jesus? You can read Luke or Marc, they aim at people who don't know much about the Bible.
Do you want to read a short song about living with God? Read one of the psalms and remember: it's a poem, so you have to 'feel' the song and think about the lyrics.
Do you want to know something about the creation of the world or about the 'old times'? Read Genesis.
Do you want to know something about what christians think about the future? Read Revelations. Remember: this book is very difficult. It's full of symbolic language.
Do you want to know more about how it is to be a christian in daily life? Read a short letter from Paul or Peter or John.

And remember: it's a library. So if you're serious about reading the Bible, look for someone who can guide you through it, like a librarian. Someone who knows a little about the Bible and who can help you find the right parts to read.
If you can't find someone to help you, feel free to PM me. I'll try to help you.

Yours,
JohanFH

Bikerman

thegoswebs

I've read the holy bible and I noticed that I completely do not like the book for many reasons. Even though I believe that the holy bible has some pretty good morals, all it really is is a fictional book teaching the ways life "should" be. I myself am a Satanist, I've read the Satanic Bible, by Anton LaVey and have studied my religion very much for the past 3 years. I can not believe in the Holy Bible because it doesn't follow my real beliefs. I believe that everyone should believe in whatever they truley believe in and not follow someone else's morals. If you know what i'm saying.

xtupie

I have read through the bible many times. I try to read it through at least once a year, it usually takes 10 weeks of intensive reading about 18 chapters a day and I do not speed read, and I have at least 4 reading sessions a day. The rest of the time I will study section of the bible and parts of the bible to quote from memory

The bible is most inspirational and there is no other book quiet like it.

The New and the Old Testaments are equally relevant but your friend was correct to tell you to start in the New Testament, not because it is more important than the Old Testament but it deals with Christ’s life and the main reason for the bible.

A daily time of devotion includes three major things, you, God and your bible. During this time you need time to pray and time to read and study your bible.

If you are a new Christian, I would suggest you read a chapter a day following the following plan:
Gospel of John
Gospel of Luke
Acts
Romans to Jude - 19 books
Gospel of Mark
Gospel of Matthew
Revelations

Then you can start with the Old Testament
Read
Genesis to Deuteronomy - The Law or Torah
Joshua to Ester - The History
Job to Ecclesiastes and Lamentations - Poetry
Isaiah to Malachi - Major and Minor Prophets

Remember the order of the books in the Bible are not in chronological date order!

Trust you will take the time to read you bible, and I trust it will change your life.

dougblackjr

I agree too! Start reading with the Gospels (the stories about Jesus), Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The whole Bible is really about Jesus, so it kind of gives you the main plot points to see before you read the rest.

If you every have any questions, feel free to message me!

~ Doug

{name here}

A famous person whose name escapes me now said that you only need to read the bible to not want to be a Christian. As a Catholic, I ended up reading up until the end of a exodus or a book or two after. Then I stopped and never picked it up again until I wanted to figure out the approximate size of Noah's ark in SI units. I didn't stop because I didn't want to be christian, though. I just started shifting towards reading programming books because that's what I was interested in during the time, and I completely forgot about it. Now I'm an agnostic that doesn't even feel inclined enough to read Thus Spoke Zarathustra, much less the Bible.

dougblackjr

I guess it just depends on what you are looking to do. The Bible is a great book to read if you want to grow in your faith in Christ, or see who Jesus was.

I think too that if you read it focusing on Jesus as the central character and theme of the Bible, it makes the rest of it make sense.

Arnie

dougblackjr

Jesus loves homosexuals, just not homosexuality.

Don't mean to offend...that's just the way it is.

catscratches

liljp617

dougblackjr

I would love to help you you figure it out!

~ Doug

liljp617

dougblackjr

Alright!

How do the rest of you guys feel?

Arnie

liljp617

Arnie

Oh, he is obviously not serious - and obviously all the people saying homosexuals should die, they are. Why? Because you know. You just know. Just like certain people know that homosexuals caused 9/11. But they're wrong. And you're right.

But with those two sentences I'm back where your logic started... Unfortunately you failed to top Catscratches' statement in hypocrisy, but it's all right, you were close.

Obviously now he's in a corner and chances are he'll claim to be joking just to get away with it. But that signature doesn't look like a joke at all. On the Internet, smileys were made to distinguish whether such statements are meant funny or seriously. So even if he were joking, it'd 1) be tasteless and 2) allow a devil's advocate to justify all the so-called homophobes because they could have been joking as well.

Klaw 2

HalfBloodPrince

So wait...now who's killing people for their beliefs?

vineeth

I haven't read Bible till date fully, with care. But I am planning to do that in a few days using a copy of the Bible collected from my friend. As a Hindu, I don't have a copy in my house. But I do love Christ...

Bikerman

dougblackjr

liljp617 · Last edited by liljp617 on Mon May 19, 2008 9:37 pm; edited 3 times in total

Klaw 2 · Last edited by Klaw 2 on Tue May 20, 2008 5:02 pm; edited 2 times in total

1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophobia
the meaning of homophobe

2: of course he didn't mean to kill them, I suppose, but that the world would be better without them.

Arnie

Yeah, wanting homosexuals dead is so wrong because they're so horribly prejudiced against, but saying exactly the same about homophobes is perfectly fine.

Bikerman

ermm..I have to say that Arnie has a point here. I would put it in terms of the 'universal ethic' which is, simply put, what is right for one is right for all. Various religions and ethical systems put it in different terms - love thy neighbour, do unto others, cast not the first stone...etc. The basic point is, however, that advocating 'death' for a particular viewpoint is fine as long as you extend that to every viewpoint ...not something I think that most people would wish to do. The alternative is to define right and wrong in terms of current social and political norms - always a dangerous thing to do. It might be better to put it in more general terms:
thus 'homophobia is an outmoded viewpoint which should, hopefully, die out'.
It's not very snappy as a sig though....

liljp617

I do not support what he said nor will I attempt to defend it in its directness. He can handle that if he wishes to do so.

But I do think it's quite a bit easier to take what he said more lightly in comparison to what people say about homosexuality on a near constant basis. Mostly due to the fact that prejudice and hate toward homosexuals has already caused quite a bit of harm even in the recent past.

Is saying homosexuals or homophobes should die right? Neither statement is right in my opinion. Is saying all homosexuals should die more serious than the other? To me personally, yes. Applying it to reality and what we've seen so far, people spouting off all homosexuals should die has and will likely lead to more violence and more prejudice against them. The same hasn't happened in the case of homophobes and I don't think it will.

Was he wrong to say all homophobes should die? Yes. Is it as serious a statement as saying all homosexuals should die? No. My opinion...and unlikely to change.

Anyway, I think we're grossly off topic so if you care to continue the discussion feel free to do so in some manner. I'm going to attempt to allow the thread to take its original course if possible.

Bikerman

Well, since this has become a 'live' issue, let's look at the details.
Council for the defence:
'Homophobes should all go and DIE' is the sig in question.
Now, let's examine this. Is it an incitement to kill homophobes? No. Clearly not. It is possibly an incitement for them to commit suicide which is a legal offence in some countries, to be sure. One could, however, construe it as a wish that they will, in the fullness of time, die-out. In that case there is nothing illegal being suggested - merely a hope for 'better times'.
Is it an incitement to violence - again no.
Is it offensive? Perhaps to some.
Should it be censored? No.

(harrumph..my bill for the defence is frih$5000 - payable within 30 days)

spinout

Homophobes... Well isn't it time to wrestle out of the grip that the 'holy' (hahahahahahaha) bible has???

Have I read it - yes some pages here and there - and that was enought to stop.

A woman, some free religous rang my bell, she had read the 'holy' bible for 50 years... She wondered if a wanted a copy? I answered trouthfully: I got 5 pieces - in various editions from new to very old - not ever have I read such a story that is just designed for powermongering!
let us diskuss the 10 commandments, noone can be from God, if there is one! She left and I was still happy.

catscratches

Bikerman

Arnie · Last edited by Arnie on Tue May 20, 2008 8:17 pm; edited 1 time in total

If you agree with this defense, you are compelled also to agree with the following:

HalfBloodPrince

I say homosexuality is wrong.

You say homosexuality is right.

To you your belief; to me mine.

Klaw 2 · Last edited by Klaw 2 on Tue May 20, 2008 8:04 pm; edited 3 times in total

HalfBloodPrince

Ok!

~~Homosexuals should all go and DIE!~~

Arnie · Last edited by Arnie on Tue May 20, 2008 8:17 pm; edited 1 time in total

Klaw 2 · Last edited by Klaw 2 on Tue May 20, 2008 8:30 pm; edited 2 times in total

I wanted to say nothing more but in a way I HAVE to respond

Bikerman · Last edited by Bikerman on Tue May 20, 2008 8:43 pm; edited 1 time in total

catscratches

I also think that there is a clear difference between homosexuality and homophobia. Homophobia is a choice, not something you're born with.

EDIT:

Klaw 2

Bikerman

aswapathy

There are some parts like the genealogies that I just can't relate to. But other parts, like some of the parts of the Old Testament that people complain about the most, I read over and over again. I don't think these things were meant to be read the way we read a Dean Koontz novel. I think they were meant for meditation. The more you ponder them, the more they reveal.

catscratches

Afaceinthematrix

I've read the majority of the Bible. I skipped a few parts in The Old Testament because to be honest (and I've even had highly religious Christians agree with me on this, parts of The Old Testament get extremely boring. There's books that are basically family trees.) But I've read most of the Bible. I've also read parts of the Koran and many books on evolution. I like to be open-minded and see multiple points-of-view, even if I don't agree with some.

xtupie

I think we are all forgetting something VERY important.

GOD LOVES YOU ALL!!! It is the SIN's we do that He hates and separates us from Him.

You are looking at homosexuality and the bible has a lot so say about it and most definitely does not condone it, which is why He made Adam and Eve - not Adam and STEVE!!!

The bible does have a lot to say about others sins like lying, stealing, adultery and disobeying your parents etc. it just seems that people’s pet sins are more prominent and get highlighted but I can assure you that if you continue to sin you will receive "just" payment for your sins.

God does love you, even if you are gay, but He hates your sins!!! It is our sins that separate us from God, and that is why He sent Jesus to pay for our sins and to save those of us who will accept His plan for salvation, that is when you accept Him, you turn from your sins (repent) and following Him, He will accept you.

But you cannot habitually continue in your sins and expect to be saved!!! That is why we must REPENT (which means to turn around or turn away from) our sin.

Yes there is GRACE but who know how big or small God's grace is. And Yes Jesus death for you and me is complete, i.e, he died for all my sin, past - present and future, but if I continue to do the something I did before I was a Christian then there is something terribly wrong. No one is perfect and we all sin the difference is God's forgiven me and I live under His grace and mercy.

When I came to Jesus I was an adulterer, liar, drunkard but when I got saved I stopped doing those things, yes I did tell the odd lie and I still sinned but now it is different, when I become aware of a sin or sins in my life I confess them and repent of them and many of the things I used to do, I do not do anymore.

There is a major change in my life style and that is due to my relationship with Jesus Christ

If you come to Christ, repent of your sins but then just go on doing them as you did before, then who are you fooling?

Not God!!! There must be a CHANGE in your Lifestyle!!!

Klaw 2

gandalfthegrey

Yes, I read it as a teenage Christian.

Looking back, I remember how I found much of the old testament deeply disturbing to me. How could such a loving God be so violent or ignorant?