(Aug 14, 2019, 13:54 pm)RobertX Wrote: [ -> ]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.