Reading the Bible

[mystiqueishot]

Won't take jabs at other texts but The Bible is the Truth to me.  I'd start with New Testament for sure first.  The Old Testament will make much more sense if you start with who Jesus was and is and realize that the OT points entirely to Him.  Happy reading!

[Banarner]

I'm currently reading the Alter Robert Bible, which is a direct translation from Hebrew to English with a lot of commentary. I chose this Bible to be my first to ever to read because, I don't want to just skim over it, I actually want to study it in depth, even though I've been an atheist for as long as had the mental capability to think about God. Recently I came to a realization that maybe all my problems with God might be originating from other peoples interpretations of poorly translated Bibles that they didn't even bother to read more than once in their life. Staying as close to the original material is the only thing I can imagine will help me circumvent this problem, and help me settle my internal dispute.

[waregim]

What must be realized is that the bible is not one one but many books. Roughly divided:

OLD TESTAMENT
Pentateuch: Writtern (allegedly 'discovered) by Josiah around the 8th century BC as a collection of old tales and fables rewritten as a psyops to get the Levant to join him in an attack on Egypt. He was defeated and killed in the attack. Much of the content was mangled from other sources, such as Noah from the Babylonian Gilgamesh.
Post Exile: Returnees from Babylonia trying to regain power. Era of 'prophets'.
Hellenic: Latter books as Pharisees are in rebellion with ruling Saducees.
NB: Read Israel Finklestein

NEW TESTAMENT:
The Evangel: Matthew, Mark. Luke and John. Most derived from a single source - Q in the latter first century. Basic teahings of James, brother of Jesus.
Pauline: Written by a Roman Jewish tax collector who was opposed to James and his followers. He reinterpreted the Evangel into a sanitized Hellenic religion to make it more acceptable after the failed Jewish Revolt. However the Romans still regarded Pauline Christianity as a sect of Judaism (which they had just crushed in a war).

The book spans two religions, with very different world views.
For christianity - Start with the Evangel, its the closest to the original gospels and largely derived from the Pharisee Hillel.
For judaism: The pentateuch (Torah) is only a start. The Talmud is the real heart of the religion.

The Bible is an inspirational book. As portrayed in the protagonist of Clockwork Orange.
Personally, for more uplifting ancient works I would recommend the Mahabharata, as well as Lao-Tsu.

[dueda]

Now, now, waregim, whadda yado for a-living? Don't tell me you're a sales representative for Huges Aerospace Weapons Division...
Great info, I think more lessons on religions and history should be on the standard school program. From a fair neutral point of view, of course.

[waregim]

I slept at a holiday inn.....

As a pope in the Erisian religion (I have the card...somewhere) I would certainly start teaching paganism in schools.
The Olympians (and the Vedas- NOT Vedanta) had the cosmology closest to modern science.
From Chaos sprang the gods.

But for me the most inspirational of all is the Epic of Gilgamesh. Find a *good* translation.

[vimcontrole]

I don't know how to approach reading something like the Holy Bible or the Koran, so I will ask for help.

How do you read your own religion's text? Do you read them from beginning to end, or do you read the Bible when you are in search of answers, like how to deal with certain issues that affect the mind?

Right now, I'm in a rut; I have come to a point in life that I have no control over, it's like I am not in the driver's seat when it comes to changing my destiny. I need help.

Well, enough of the sob story, I am not bitching as my financial problems aren't as bad as it was years ago, it's just that it's not changing. I am dying of chronic boredom.

Anyhow, what is the way to read the Bible in the effect that suits you guys the best? Do you read it from beginning to end like a James Koontz novel, or do you read in the order depending on what suits you best? If so, how and why?

Bye now?

First i speak portuguese, second Bible means lots of books put together i think...
As i already read at least 50% of it, what i discovered until know was the following:

First five books teach about moral, etics, justice, how to make everything be in equilibrium and how everything is connected, it was really life changing as i changed mine to adapt its phylosofy. I think they were the best part of it all as it just makes sense. Actions and consequences.

Some people says that some parts "was magic" or "Supernatural". I tried to think and found explanations that it was not magic at all. It is hard to explain but can be explained, so it is not magic, it is something really hard to know how it happened, the hard part in replicating it is the timing and i think this something the Bible explains about God, He does a really good job with doing things when it matters for the people that do what he says.

So if you are not going to look for answers about the culture from that time, the nations that it says about, and translations from the original when the scriptures was written, you will think like the "church", all magic and faith, you will not understand some parts of it as you were suposed to. Example: the bible says magic should not be trusted yet some people says to have "faith" and look for "miracles", for me its not in the bible.
For years i thought something about a passage of the bible then when i looked for the translation in the original, the meaning changed, as you know the bible says "dont kill" (in portuguese at least) but the translation from the original says "dont assassinate", so "dont kill people to get advantage from it", but it says to kill people that are assassins or rapers or robbers using guns, not stealers they should pay three times what the stole.

The next books in the bible makes a very good job in illustrating what happens if you misbehave, lying, killing, stealing... damaging other people or yourself, how people do it, when people do it and how to revert it to get benefit of doing what God says to do, how to treat humans and animals the right way. Even if people dont know what they are doing wrong the bad things happen anyway as God says it happens.
The "new testament" what shouldn't have this name as it is not "another book unrelated", it is when the prophecies from the profets that came before says that a Savior will came, so he did, as a person. It let you know what he did, how he did, what he knew, and what will come, the savior just did what humans was supposed to be like and thats why he could do things that no body else can, but if you do like the diciples of him, you will be able to do the same things that he did. He was an example to people to do what God says to have what God says he will give.

It is history, everything repeats it self, as i read more i recognize more of the same in todays society, the wrongs and the rights.
For me the bible is plain simple, it explain to you what are you doing wrong the will destroy you life, you friends life, you family lifes, the society in general and making it miserable and what you can do to make then better and have the best from life and God.
Also it explains how God works, how he listens us, how he speaks to us, how the do things the right way, as it is all connected, some times you think it was not God as you obvious can see as consequence of actions and other things happening around you, but it was arranged to the right time to be a consequence of something you did or other people did.

1-read the first 5 books, (dont let your "actual knowledge" judged, everything that i knew about the bible i was thought wrong from tv, churchs, people and other books that "explains" the bible).
2-try to understand the culture, how was their life experience, what they did eat, how they learned things, how much money did they have, how much things costs, what was the expensive itens at the time, how was their jobs (it is really fun, as i thought harder the first impression from reading the bible changed from one thing to complete different thing).
3-rarely the translations dont uses the correct word
4-if someone explains something that you dont belive thats what it is, keep digging, try to find the the agenda behind the explanations, maybe it is to destroy you understanding, look for another source. The originals scripts of the bible are the best source if you have doubts, greek or hebrew.
5- i have never found contradictions in the bible, unless explanations from someone with agenda or wrong translation of the bible, like "faith" doesnt means blind belive and you can never find a reason for it, actually it means trust like you trust the most trusting person of earth or like a consequence of something like gravity, you trust that if you jump you wont flyaway, because it is obvious how things are, you have experience with it, you know it, you "belive" you have "faith", if you dig the answer you know you will find it, but as you know it is right you dont have to dig it.
So the bible says to have "faith" dont trust anything like the churchs says "God will pay back, have faith!" without cause. Example: what i did was to look for what happens if i give money to church and what i found was i will not have my "heart" into money, being happy to be out of the monetary controlled system of my happiness, thinking what is money, why do i work for the system and not for myself, what can i do without money, and because of that i prepared to survive without money, and now i give money to brothers (the bible says church is not the construction, it is the people who belive in the samethings like i do) in the need (10% of my earning only) that dont know how to survive without money and teach then how to live without money. And one day i know if i askthen for help they will be there for me, consequences.

Thats how i read it

Dont mind my mistakes and ask me if i wasnt clear.

[RobertX]

Thank you for the input and welcome to the forum!

Firstly, we don't discriminate, and secondly, I respect the fact that there are many answers in open-ended questions, so shoot from the hip all you want.

Here's a bit that I learn between wisdom and faith: you can split faith, but wisdom is the same. By saying that, I mean that no matter which faith you're from, you can go pick one or another religion, but you're looking at the same bit of wisdom, regardless of the faith.

See, I never really read the Bible extensively apart from the fact that I got it as a gift from a volunteer workplace I went to once upon a time. However, I did thirteen (lucky thirteen) years of education in Catholic schools despite the fact that I am not a Catholic (never have), and I have the utmost respect to most people who are Catholics. What I know came from mandatory Mass participation and classrooms.

I am not a believer of any sort of religion, but I think Catholicism is a good religion. It is bound with moral fibre and good deeds.

All right, thank you for your input, vimcontrole, I think I'll need to read your comments a few more times to derive a clearer explanation; I merely skimmed from it. Sorry.

[vimcontrole]

Give it a shot first five books don't take much, i guess you can do it in 1 month or less.

I don´t have a religion as far as i can see, i just understood what the bible is telling by reading it.
And its not the same as any religion, every church i went to, every spiritual tables, sorcery, witchery, even catholics, protestants, judaism have their disfunctions, because they say they do as the bible says, but a few very important things, they dont or they interpret from something that doesnt make sense when you read the bible. 
As i red what the bible says about sorcery, that is not good, and seen what i have seen, its right. It gives alot of desieses, drinking blood, touching the dead, dealing with poison, eating the wrong animals that transmits lots of desieses, etc. the spiritsms, makes you crazy as "spirits" lie to you. Since i learned hipnotism, for therapy, i know that its spirits are not ghosts, they are imaginations of the person, they are like psycatric desieses and induced me to make wrong decisions in life. What i learn was the bible shows reality as it is and how it works from the right perspective. 

I am not catholich or protestant or sorcer or anything, i am indepentent, i don't like theology or anyone that "explains" things because of its agendas. Religions are used by the people with agendas.

So give yourself a good try to learn by yourself. Every question i have, when i search for the answer i found it, until now at least.

it is a jorney and takes time to start from 0.

I am investing time to write this because it really changed everything in my life for much better, i have a better family, a better job, a better way to see life, it makes the world better. And i know anyone can have that. You wont know what i mean until you have results.

If you really want a really good answer from someone that tried alot to get to this life.

I have 2 college degrees and in a family of doctors, but it doesnt matter... It only means we dig really hard to get answers to life...

[RobertX]

So you're in the same boat as I am. I am not a Catholic nor am I involved in any religion.

I just have a notorious trouble in believe in an afterlife. I just believe that if it's done, you're done.

I just hope I'm mistaken. Sometimes an eternity in hell is better than eternity in nothingness.

EDIT: And I'm sure if you do plan a vacation in the Void, Qiiksand can be your tour guide in a lesson in cataclysms.

---

I just made a decision.

I have decided to start reading the Bible from the beginning and spend half my week doing so and dedicate the other half doing language studies.

Maybe futile effort, but it's a start.

[vimcontrole]

So you're in the same boat as I am. I am not a Catholic nor am I involved in any religion.
Nice, no agendas.

I just have a notorious trouble in believe in an afterlife. I just believe that if it's done, you're done.
The problem with this question is, to know it by yourselft you have to die, and there is no way to come back, so this way is not a good way to know it. Or you can "trust" some source that is always right, and it must never lie, or make mistakes, so if it says something about another life, we can have "faith".
This is the part you must gather expirience by you own, i cant help you with that. The expiriences is about its source. Test every thing it says and see if it is true or not, will it destroy you or make you better? Because if i tell you my own expirience you will make another assumptions and you dont know my life, i am totaly capable of lie as every one can.
Some people believe in the "magical" side where they dont look for explanations, others like me dont do that. I always try to find a explanation, some times i make mistakes. What i can tell is you must have your own expiriences, not from others, not by listen and beliving in others. You should make your own decision if there is afterlife. With that said, i can tell i totally know that after life exists as the bible was allways right when i did made wrong decisions and when i did the good decisions also when i see aspects of other people lifes, the consequences were all writen in there.

With that said there is one person in my life that had expirience of having cancer in the brain in 1990, no cure at that time. She went to heaven in a dream and told us how amazing it was, she didnt know much of the bible but the description was like the bible discribes it, and she told us she was curered too. Next days the doctors declared she was in fact cured after some exams.
After one day, she told us GOD told her she could decide to go (to heaven) or to stay (cured), she told us that here (living) was too difficult and she told she chose to go (stay in heaven), next day she died, the doctor didnt know why she died. It has alot more details but im lazy to write it all... As i see, the mind stuff that happened in her mind, is completely belivable because she didnt need to lie to us, she didnt know all that things, the things she told us that would happen, actualy happed after she told us (like seen the future stuff), and alot more stuff happened too... I have some hipotesis: 1-GOD was really talking to her because there are things like that in the bible, 2-She was crazy because of the cancer, but she made alot of sense when she was talking, crazy people doesnt make sense like that, 3-The cancer gave her super powers... but this doesnt make sense to me, super powers are "magic", a cancer that will kill her gives her super power is a sick joke and because if she had super power she told us it was GOD talking to her that stuff, and it was exactely like the bible says, 4- She had super powers and super powers like that is in the bible.
So this is MY experience and is extremely unbelivable to other people, of course.

I just know you will have yours if you go extremely deep in the GOD stuff. But i can tell you this, after this experience and reading the bible, i had alot more other experience, all "not magical" but more about timing and probablistics, such as right people at the right time, life saving experiences, solving dificult problems, and it just goes on and on...

A recent one was three moth ago my mother had a stroke, alot of suffering, memory loss at the time, carryng her literaly to the hospital, she couldnt move, she had a convultions too, doctors told us she would be a veggie or at least had paralises and memory loss...
I talked to GOD to save her like crazy, all the time i was awake some times in my mind or else i looked like crazy to other people (talking to a imaginary person haha), for 30 days at least while she was in the hospital, now she has no sequelas, she is normal again, it looks like she had nothing if it wasnt for the bills i have to pay and the magnetic ressonances exams, and the medice she takes... of course it was the hospital and medice that treated her, but no sequelas when doctors knew there should be problems? Realy? I can tell she was realy realy bad, at the time she woke and asked me, "am i going to die now?" super sad stuff to hear from some one you love... this is where i "think" GOD did something, because it is very propable doctors were right in that situation, and then she was in the oposite state, she was normal as before... if i tell you all the doctor of the hospital went to a meating to find what what happed, is me exagerating because they do that when they dont know what happed, still they didnt had an answer... again MY experience... You have to search for the answers really trying to find it, learning, try to talk to GOD i dono... put all your heart into it... experiences will come to you... man i could write a books about experiences and you would still never belive because it is not with YOU! I wouldnt belive in others history as i dont actualy, when i here from others experience i say "its in his mind", "it was not like that", "he is hidding something", "its fake"... and i "know" im right, actualy sometimes i go after "who is this guy", and find he is a faker or pilantra (scammer) haha.

I just hope I'm mistaken. Sometimes an eternity in hell is better than eternity in nothingness.
Go find the answers, its a adventure... but it takes time, persistence and perfect sincerity with yourself

EDIT: And I'm sure if you do plan a vacation in the Void, Qiiksand can be your tour guide in a lesson in cataclysms.

---

I just made a decision.

I have decided to start reading the Bible from the beginning and spend half my week doing so and dedicate the other half doing language studies.

Maybe futile effort, but it's a start.