Reading the Bible

[Party Boy]

Having not opened the Bible since school days, I thought I'd sit down and read it again. Has anyone done this recently? I'd like to think I believe in God (was brought up a Catholic) but I don't go to mass or am overtly religious in any way. Am not sure if sitting down and reading the bible from start to finish like a normal book is the best way to go about it? Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

 

[Aardvark747]

Been a good few years since I last did. Around the summer of 97 I think it was. But yes, I just treated it like a normal book, and read it from start to finish during the school summer holidays. Find a nice quiet place to read it in...don't take it down the local or anything!

 

[AcrobatMan]

I would say stay away from religious books.

 

[Party Boy]

I would say stay away from religious books.

Well, i have done since i was about 10....

Am not looking for any enlightment or anything like that. I'd just like to give it a read I guess more out of curiosity. Hmm.. maybe I am looking for enlightment!

 

[A_Wanderer]

Maybe read a book on the enlightenment.

 

[karls77]

Am not sure if sitting down and reading the bible from start to finish like a normal book is the best way to go about it? Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

I have a similar background to yours and I've actually been intending to do the same thing one of these days but have never gotten around to it. I think that would be the best way to go about it rather than picking certain bits that people recommend to you. I would try to view it without any preconceived notions (as hard as that may be) and just see what you can glean from it.

Rather than viewing the Bible as a religious book, I think I now view it as more of a historic text which has undoubtedly changed over time. Its authors (and their intentions) are so varied that I would suggest that you think critically about what is written and not take anything literally.

 

[melon]

A little knowledge can be dangerous, and the Bible is a difficult book. Since you're Catholic, you should also bundle your reading of the Bible with a scholarly text:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...002-9796419-2826421?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

I haven't read this book myself, but it looks like it would be a good synopsis of what I learned in my Catholic high school religion classes.

Melon

 

[Party Boy]

A little knowledge can be dangerous, and the Bible is a difficult book. Since you're Catholic, you should also bundle your reading of the Bible with a scholarly text:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...002-9796419-2826421?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

I haven't read this book myself, but it looks like it would be a good synopsis of what I learned in my Catholic high school religion classes.

Melon

Thanks Melon!

 

[The Disciple]

The Message Remix is also a very good version 2 bring yourself back in2 the fold, so 2 speak... very easy modern language.

 

[nbcrusader]

Having not opened the Bible since school days, I thought I'd sit down and read it again. Has anyone done this recently? I'd like to think I believe in God (was brought up a Catholic) but I don't go to mass or am overtly religious in any way. Am not sure if sitting down and reading the bible from start to finish like a normal book is the best way to go about it? Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

There are many One Year Bibles that divide the text into daily readings. Many will have passages from Old and New Testaments each day (others add Psalms and Proverbs as part of daily reading as well). I'm in my fifth year of doing this as a daily practice.

You can find One Year Bibles for most common translations (NIV being the most common).

Enjoy!

 

[Jara's Song]

I started reading the Bible a year ago and it has been amazing! I have seen that Grace is the most powerful force in the universe.

I started reading The Message a translation of the Bible by Eugene Peterson. I was made aware of this by Bono himself!

 

[Jara's Song]

"I would say stay away from religious books."

I'm just glad Bono doesn't follow this advice.

 

[Party Boy]

I started reading the Bible a year ago and it has been amazing! I have seen that Grace is the most powerful force in the universe.

I started reading The Message a translation of the Bible by Eugene Peterson. I was made aware of this by Bono himself!

What kind of translation is it? Into simpler english or is it the way it is told?

 

[nbcrusader]

The Message is the easiest of all translations. I would describe it as a conversational translation.

Some translations go word for word from the Greek and Hebrew. Others translate thought for thought.

The Message gives you a good flavor, but would not be used for scholarly understanding.

 

[babyman]

Just reading may be difficult sometimes, you don´t understand everything. It´s good if you´d do it with someone who has studied the bible, maybe he would teach you

 

[Irvine511]

i would recommend also reading _Gravity's Rainbow_.

that, too, is a higher text.

 

[AvsGirl41]

Stephen Harris' "Understanding the Bible" is the textbook we used for one of my classes. Looks at it interpretively and historically, with lots of nice illustrations.

I would also recommend the Oxford Study Bible, it's a nice, clean scholarly translation put together by religious scholars from different backgrounds--Hebrew, Catholic, Protestant, etc., so it avoids doctrinally based interpretation. Very readable Modern English (but not so modern it drags you out) with helpful footnotes.

I lent both to a friend for his class, I'm so afraid I won't get them back.

 

[the iron horse]

The Message Remix is also a very good version 2 bring yourself back in2 the fold, so 2 speak... very easy modern language.

The Message is a good read.

The one I have has a few quotes on the back cover...

one by Bono.

A street level Bible.

 

[briarrose]

I'd start with John first, then read the other Gospels. Then continue through the New Testament.

 

[nbcrusader]

I'd start with John first, then read the other Gospels. Then continue through the New Testament.

Good suggestion

 

[Dreadsox]

I hate John.

 

[Se7en]

read through leviticus and deuteronomy. those are my favs.

 

[Anu]

I started reading The Message a translation of the Bible by Eugene Peterson. I was made aware of this by Bono himself!

I picked this up at Bono's advice.
Each day, I'm trying to do some kind of 'practice.' This is going to sound scandalous to some on Interference, but currently, the practice involves drawing a Tarot card and choosing a bible verse randomly.
So far, it's gone well.

Anu

 

[lady luck]

I started reading the Bible some time ago -- more than a year, I suppose
I started from the beginning and I promised myself to read some pages every day before sleeping

I had to give up for some months because I really was too busy and I used to arrive home late and with my eyes tired and not willing to read anymore...

I was quite shocked in the first part of the book, because of the amount of deaths and revenges and cruelty that I found there... But the more I turned the pages, the more I wanted to know.

I was impressed also because I noticed how many references to the Bible there are in the common and everyday world.
And there really are a lot of stories that are very interesting

I am not really a religious girl, but I think knowing the Bible a little can just do good to me
And I admit that the fact that I'm a U2 fan had a role in this decision.

 

[lady luck]

I picked this up at Bono's advice.
Each day, I'm trying to do some kind of 'practice.' This is going to sound scandalous to some on Interference, but currently, the practice involves drawing a Tarot card and choosing a bible verse randomly.
So far, it's gone well.

Anu

how do you draw Tarot cards?
I'm not able to!!!

 

[yolland]

read through leviticus and deuteronomy. those are my favs.

Well yes they are a bit dry, on the other hand the Golden Rule makes one of its first appearances here.

You shall not take vengeance, nor bear a grudge against your brethren; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself, for I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus/Vayikra' 19:18)



A heathen came to Hillel(c 60 BC-10 AD) and said: "Rabbi, make me your proselyte, but only on the condition that you can teach me the entire Torah while standing on one foot."

Hillel replied: "What is hateful to you, do not do to others. That is the whole of the Torah: all the rest is commentary. Now--go and study!" Shabbos 31a (Babylonian Talmud)


I agree with several others here that first choosing a commentary which appeals, then letting that be your guide is probably the best way to go, particularly when you have no predetermined goals of your own in mind. Even if you wind up rejecting most of its interpretations, your own will be all the more systematic and coherent for having been defined against it.

 

[coemgen]

Party Boy — Nice job trying to tackle the big book. I set out to do this a couple years ago. I read the entire New Testament, Pslams and Proverbs and then crapped out halfway through Genesis. I need to get back into it.
I do try to read some scriptures daily, along with prayer. I'd encourage you to add prayer time in with your daily readings. Then you'll have more of a two-way conversation going on with God.

 

[u2bonogirl]

I would start with the gospels and finish the new testament, then go back and read the old testament.
In order to see a lot of the relevance for today you need to see the old testament through the lens of the Gospel

 

[Party Boy]

Thanks for everyones suggestions! Am going to look into them all and try to form a good starting point. Either way, its good to know there is a lot of other people out there who are at some sort of crossroads/starting point as me.

 

[nbcrusader]

read through leviticus and deuteronomy. those are my favs.

Though I have my doubts about the seriousness of your suggestion, Leviticus and Deuteronomy are interesting as you can see many of the core concepts (negligence v. intentional acts, restitution, etc.) that we have in our rule of law today.