Worked a summer as a door attendant at the community center swimming pool. Read it in about 2 months in between games of solitaire.
We had to read all three holy books with there meaning (cliff note version). Quran, Bible and Tanakh. It was mostly because of work. So we can interact with people on positive level instead of using force.
I went to Catholic school back in Venezuela were they taught Catechism. part of it was reading the Bible. I got expelled in 8th grade for revealing that I was an Atheist. So, yeah....
Read it once when I was in the 8th grade, it made me realize that Christianity is not the religion for me.
I get a kick out of reading Ecclesiastes for some reason. That shit is almost entirely bleak and disheartening, and yet somehow makes me optimistic. Also I like to read a proverb or two before I crash. It gives me something to chew on while I try to fall asleep. It's a darn sight more tranquil than replaying the day in my head over and over and/or worrying about what I'm going to do tomorrow. Also, those books are just interesting to me. I'm sure there's a lot of wisdom throughout the whole bible, but those two books just happen to be succinct about it. It's rare that I'll ever peruse any other parts. I've read it before... it's a little... wordy. And those genealogies... give it a rest!
Also, when I voted, the forums spit me out into this 4 year old thread! Kinda weird. You think it's a sign?
I'm not much for book reading I tried reading some of the books in the old testament but I just couldn't follow it easily. I like learning about the bible as it relates to history (the history channel usually has some good stuff).
I went to parochial schools from Kindergarten through 7th grade and went to church through my senior year. Pic semi-related:
I read the kids version growing up, then I read the whole thing in jr high/high school. ( I was 1 month away from my gold medal of achievement as a Royal Ranger) There are some good stories in it, as well some wisdom and some good words to live by. the problem is when people pick parts out as justification for hatred, anger, and prejudice.
No, I'm pretty sure when a book has contradictions, and outright tells people to do something, that is a problem with the book. The church9s0 don't help, but there is a root cause. here are a few gems to illustrate the point. (Deuteronomy is a pretty fucked up book.) how about a handy list of inconsistencies? http://www.cs.umd.edu/~mvz/bible/bible-inconsistencies.pdf like I said before, the bible can be a good book, when the uplifting parts are paid serious attention too. But to deny there is alot that can be picked out to justify what amounts to evil doings, is kind of foolhardy.
read it younger, kinda forced. dont get me wrong i think young kids should read or be interesting in the moral values of the bible.. but as they get older and experience the "real world" i think they should be allowed to free think on their own. i do remember one thing that i miss and i think about it every now and then. the tiny bible story cartoon pamplets that, i think, still get passed around in public i liked tiny books when i was younger (ie mr men, little miss books), the smell of the little pamplets and the stories were compelling as a child.
Alot of you that say you've read the Bible need to actually read and study it all the way through, research the historical timeline, culture and then I might debate this. Until then, it's a waste of time/words.
Yeah, you don't just "read" the bible or any other religeous/philosophical book. You have to study them. I studied that particular book for three years strait and came to understand maybe 20% of it. There is alot of wisdom contained in it and the fortelling of things to come: causes and conditions type stuff. The second half is the sequell and maturation of the story of the fitrst half. The second half can be concidered an owners manual for a better healthier life. The book was written to make a person think. It is not a novel. Same goes for other religeous based books and books on philosophy and spirituality. Their purpose is to get you to think and be a light for your path.
like i said. i READ it when i was a wee little tot. not studied. read it like.. barely comprehending most of it.. much like most people today cant comprehend that jargon of bullshit. and much like i wouldnt be able to today if i tried. and i could care less about "studying" it today.
But the two are dependent upon each other, like when you get to the final show of a season of your favorite show on TV, it ends with a cliff hanger and the last words you see are: "to be continued...". The old testament was written centuries before, in nearly another language. Just look how much vocabulary and circumstances have changed in the recent past 100 years. Now multiply that by 100's. The king james version was written in the venacular of 700 years past............no wonder it's so hard to comprehend.
It's inherently a hard subject to read. A book that is supposed to lay out how to live your life isn't an easy topic to tackle so reading it shouldn't be that easy, either. Originally, laymen couldn't even read and the Bible was a word of mouth story.. when it was written down it wasn't meant for the farmers or merchants or anyone but the clergy, really. Only recently has it been translated so the average joe can read it which makes those versions of the Bible a pretty butchered version of the original (which is butchered anyways). I guess what I'm saying is that I'm a Bible elitist for no real reason other than my liking of the Old Testament more (solely on it being a good read). For me, it has to be a literal translation.. none of this horrible straightforwardness of the dynamic translations (NIV). It takes the poetry out of it. Otherwise it's like reading a "Shakespeare for Dummies" book.
I voted "have read", but I've only studied portions of it. And I wouldn't bother reading the whole thing cover to cover. It's an interesting historical book, and has some good lessons on how to live, but I don't at all buy into the whole "god" thing. At least not as written by mortal men.
this. i had to read it for sunday school in jr high, but that was just volunteer moms teaching it. I went to a catholic high school in Houston and had to take 3 years of bible study under people who were bible scholars, major authors, etc. Its a lot different than just reading a book
