|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 11:22 am
Something I seem to be encountering more and more frequently is self-professed Christians who haven't actually read the Bible, or who have only read bits and pieces of it.
Now, I really have no right to think myself to be a "better Christian" than anyone else, but I just find it kind of sad that there seem to be so many Christians who have not even read the Christian holy book. I'm not a believer in sola scriptura, yet even I feel that a basic familiarity with scripture is a pretty vital part of a person's walk with Christ.
I can understand it in the case of the very young, but even as a very young child, my parents taught me scripture. I remember having an illustrated children's Bible, and my mother would often read me a chapter or passage from a real, "grown up" Bible, and then have me read the corresponding equivalent chapter or passages in my children's Bible, which as I recall was actually very good. It had everything in it, the only real difference was that the language was simplified and it had pictures. I also attended...it wasn't called Sunday school, but that's basically what it was. I think it was called something like Catholic Education, which was basically Catholic Bible study for the young children of the parish. We learned about and discussed scripture. When I was a little bit older, I attended Catechism classes, of course, which was geared more towards learning about specifically Catholic teachings and aimed to prepare you for Confirmation which, again, is really more of a Catholic thing, so I won't bother getting into it unless any of you are just dying to know more.
And as a teenager and adult, I've read several translations of the Bible cover-to-cover, and I still continue to study scripture and feel that it's an important part of being an active member of the faith.
I'm not claiming to be any expert on scripture, because I'm not, but at least I've read the source material of my own faith, and I always find it shocking when I encounter grown men and women who haven't read the Bible even once, usually, it seems, because they feel that attending church and listening to their pastor/priest's sermons/homilies is enough.
Anyway, how many of you actually have read the Bible? For those of you who haven't, what's been stopping you? Do you feel that reading the Bible is a necessary, or at least an important aspect of being a practising Christian?
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 2:55 pm
I have. I don't think people can follow Jesus without fully knowing what he said nor what the prophets said (people so easily distort the way he summarized the law and the prophets). Everyone who professes to be a believer should read it and not just read it, but put it into practice. The big picture gets missed when it's not fully, and carefully, read. As a religion, I see three major areas of weakness within Christianity, areas we often fail to understand:
the misunderstanding between the covenants (the big differences are: all believers under the new covenant will receive the Holy spirit permanently, unlike the old covenant where only certain individuals, who had to fulfill specific tasks, received it (comparing Numbers 11:25-29; 1 Samuel 16:14; John 14:16); people under the new covenant adhere to his commands genuinely from the heart, not just letter of the law/outward appearance (Romans 7:6; Hebrews 8:10; Jeremiah 31:31-33; Ezekiel 36:25-27); we're also released from the curse that came along with the jealousy offering of Numbers 5:11-31). Granted, they do understand the specific act of faith that justifies us ("Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses." - Acts 13:39); that justification also covers you for things not even mentioned in the law of Moses (there's only so many scenarios the law actually covers, but the intentions of the heart is where sin starts; the old covenant did not hold you accountable for the sinful thoughts of the heart if they never manifested outwardly; not so under the new covenant [thus now, if you lust after another man's wife, you are guilty of committing adultery with her despite never having physical sex with her]).
Paul's stance with respect to the law. Paul himself denied teaching against Moses in Acts 21:20-26, 24:14; 1 Timothy 1:8; Romans 3:31, 7:24-25. His writings address that faith has always been what justified us, what act of faith in specific justifies us now, and how we've been released from certain curses and vows, but there have been no changes to the law. Because it has been so abused, Romans is a letter that should be read entirely in one sitting, not in bits and pieces.
Neglecting the prophets' writings. The prophets are a big deal. Revelation gets the most attention, even from secular people, but passages like Zechariah 14, Isaiah 56 and 66 which also describe Jesus' millenial reign (and the plagues he will send on people) gets ignored by mainstream. Those chapters also give further hints about how the law never changed (during his reign, Sabbaths will continue, biblical Feast Days continue, pork eaters get punished. Ezekiel 44 mentions that the earthly priesthood gets reestablished, just like John hints at in Revelation 20:4-6 and Paul hints at in 1 Corinthians 6:2-4. Having said that, there are certain Old Testament laws we can't actually keep, even if we wanted to, until the temple gets rebuilt; however, that doesn't mean they were abolished/scrapped; we will be able to once the temple gets rebuilt and they do continue during Jesus' 1000 year reign).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2013 5:00 am
I'm Muslim yet i still read the Bible
Some things i agreed with (mainly in the old testament) other things i didn't
( basically the writings of the false apostle Paul)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2013 8:01 am
Frankly, I think it's a good idea for everyone who lives in the western world to at least become somewhat familiar with the Bible, not even for religious reasons, but because it's probably the single most influencial piece of writing in the West and has played an enormous role in shaping our culture and society. That's just an inarguable fact, regardless of one's creed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 10:12 pm
I've read good chunks of it.
But not the whole thing cover to cover.
I know, thats bad, but I just cant sit long enough to read it and I get bored.
Reading is just not easy for me.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 6:56 am
Crunchy Fetus I've read good chunks of it. But not the whole thing cover to cover. I know, thats bad, but I just cant sit long enough to read it and I get bored. Reading is just not easy for me. I mean no offence, but I must admit I have some difficulty understanding why you're a Christian (if indeed you are) if you find your sacred text boring. Aside from the chapters that are just recitations of who begat whom, anyway. Perhaps you would be better served by a different translation?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 3:06 pm
Crunchy Fetus I've read good chunks of it. But not the whole thing cover to cover. I know, thats bad, but I just cant sit long enough to read it and I get bored. Reading is just not easy for me. Try breaking it up into smaller, less daunting chunks and just keep chipping away at it bit by bit. Or if it's the physical act of reading that's the problem rather than the material, perhaps look into an audio book version...assuming one exists. Come to think of it, I can't be sure that it does exist, but it'd be worth looking into. Failing that, perhaps you could find someone willing to read it to you a little bit at a time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 3:27 pm
Sanguina Cruenta Crunchy Fetus I've read good chunks of it. But not the whole thing cover to cover. I know, thats bad, but I just cant sit long enough to read it and I get bored. Reading is just not easy for me. I mean no offence, but I must admit I have some difficulty understanding why you're a Christian (if indeed you are) if you find your sacred text boring. Aside from the chapters that are just recitations of who begat whom, anyway. Perhaps you would be better served by a different translation? It's not that it's boring I just find it hard to sit still long enough to actually read a book. I watch a lot of movies and docs based off the Bible/Religion and I listen to audiobooks to make up for it though. I just hate reading books, always been that way.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 9:25 pm
I'm afraid I can only say I've read bits of the bible. I can be bothered- so that's not it- it's just I am in the process of reading it. And I know quite a lot of the stories. I've only started seriously seriously reading it at the start of this year. Beforehand it was just an, "I'm bored- I know I'll read the bible" type thing. But I am reading it. Maybe next year I'll be able to tell you different. Just not yet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 24, 2013 10:18 pm
When I started reading, I was really passing through it. However, I am stuck now because I am trying to understand Colossians. I find myself reading and re reading and rereading. So, I started listening to an audio bible, and relistening to the section I have problem understanding.
What do you read after your first finish? I think I ought to go back over the old testament prophets, because I too had trouble understand everything there. I gotta pray on it.
Do you read it from the beginning to the end again?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 10:11 am
I know for some time into adolescence, I didn't pick up and read the Bible in its entirety because I felt that I didn't really need to. I felt that I was already familiar with it, and I would rather spend my time reading material that I didn't already know so well. But when I was abut 12 or 13 (I think), I had a literature teacher who really changed the way I went about reading...well, anything. I learned to approach all forms of storytelling in a more mature way. Not just who does what, what happens next, how does it end, but recognising symbolism, identifying cultural archetypes and knowing what they meant, etc. It no longer mattered if a story was familiar to me or not, and I remember going back and re-reading a lot of classic stories and books that I'd loved as a child and was stunned at how much they changed in my eyes, and that was what prompted me to start reading the Bible on my own. At first I mostly skipped around and read the storied I remembered enjoying the most as a child, but by the time I was confirmed when I was 15, I know I'd read it 3 or 4 times to completion.
To date...I really have no idea how many times I've read the Bible, but I've tried to read as many versions in multiple languages as I can.
It is a dense read, though, and I can understand how someone to whom reading does not come easily might struggle. Reading has come very naturally to me for as long as I can remember, but I know it's not so easy for everyone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2013 4:15 pm
I got part way through Isaiah when I tried to read the whole Old Testament, and I got part way through Revelations when I tried to read the whole New Testament. My problem is mostly that I have a hard time sticking to a routine (i.e. reading very single day) so my reading progress is very slow. Plus, I'm not just cycling through reading the Old and New Testament, I'm taking turns reading the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 6:06 pm
I've read parts of the Bible, but have yet to read it cover to cover. Yeah I was raised Christian and got away from the faith and am now coming back to it. I definitely do plan on remedying this sometime in the near future or I might wait till January so I can do one of those read the entire Bible in a year plans. I do better when I have plans
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 10:12 pm
I've read it from cover to cover. Haven't read the deuterocanonical texts in there entirety yet. I've read most of the Nag Hammadi Library.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 10:15 pm
I know I posted in the past that I didn't really like reading, however that is starting to change.
I think I'm going to buy a bible and a book containing the the Apocrypha as I'm drawn to it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
