Reading holy books for fun

TVP45

Look into the history of barcan sand dunes. They're quite interesting and about as invasive as Kudzu.

VashtiMaiden

you mean reading the Holy Book for fun? I am reading my Bible, but not for fun. I want to learn more about God, and to streghten my faith, that's why.

Well, I'm a Baptist, but that is not a religion. It is an organization, i mean a group of Bible believers, Christians. I believe that Religion is not really important..


It is written in the Bible. "The fool hath said into his heart, 'There is no God'."

Moridin

It is also written that you should stone to death your family and loved ones if you discover that they are not theists, so you might want to give it a second thought.

"If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods that neither you nor your fathers have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people. Stone him to death, because he tried to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." (Deuteronomy 13:6-10)

"When I was a child, I thought as a child, I understood as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." (1 Corinthians. 13, 11-12)

mheslep

Another victory of the new testament over the old. I'm curious: what was your meaning in including the Corinthians quote?

TVP45

I think it might hinge on how you hold the scriptures, whether as literally true or as an oral history full of metaphors and allegories. Carl Sagan, for example, was an absolutely delightful speaker and writer, but when he started on the "...billions and billions...", even he seemed to know it was wild conjecture intended to fire one's imagination.

mgb_phys

I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said, "Stop! Don't do it!" "Why shouldn't I?" he said. I said, "Well, because there's so much to live for!" He said, "Like what?" I said, "Well, are you religious or atheist?" He said, "Religious." I said, "Me too! Are your Christian or Buddhist?" He said, "Christian." I said, "Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?" He said, "Protestant." I said, Me too! Are your Episcopalian or Baptist? He said, "Baptist!" I said, "Wow! Me too! Are your Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord? He said, Baptist Church of God!" I said, "That's great, me too! Are your Original Baptist Church of God or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?" He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God!" I said, "Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915?" He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915!" I said, "Die, you heretic scum!" and then I pushed him off.

Snazzy

Yes he is. He's under the name Yusuf or Yosef. Also, according to Islam, it was Ishmael that was to be sacrificed instead of Isaac.

moamen811

i liked your discussion alot and i'm arabic and muslim and me too tried to read the bible (i've 1 in my home)....
i just wanted to say that we beleive in all messengers of God
and we belive the jesus was not killed but another 1 was killed and jesus was raised to God and he will come back at the end of the world..
and for Mari(am) we believe she was virgin when she gave birth to jesus ...
and a p.s. during this discussion i noticd that some people made jokes on god and this hurt any one who belives in god....

Cryptonic

I would like to recommend the Enuma Elish, an ancient Babylonian creation myth (possibly originates from ancient Sumer?). It's very interesting to read the book of Genesis immediately after reading the Enuma Elish. It's instantly apparent that Genesis borrows heavily from much earlier texts. I see a strong parallel between "Marduk" of the Enuma Elish (who slays the "great dragon", the cosmic goddess Tiamat) and "God" of the Old Testament (also at war with a "dragon", Satan or Lucifer). It was Marduk who made the earth, and made "man" out of clay etc. Humankind was created to do all the manual labour so the gods could sit back and relax - in other words, as slaves. This is enjoyable stuff! Ancient science-fiction!

mgb_phys

Great, now we will have the Sumarian fundamentalists all over us!

aneesh.mulye

Put them away for now. This is, IMO, totally the wrong way to go about it. They are not narrative texts the way the Bible is.

If you want to read the abstract philosophical musings of scholars in an oral tradition using archaic metaphors in a special subset of a liturgical language with no actual context whatsoever, feel free to go right ahead. ;)

If, on the other hand, it is more of a human insight you want, I suggest you start with the Ramayana. It's a narrative epic in nature (check up the Wiki on it), readable and gripping, and provides much more "subjective" insight.

Once you're done with that, you can then go on to the Mahabharat. It's a mammoth compendium, which I'm reading right now, and I love it, because of its scope and richness.

Finally, after both of these are finished (the Mahabharat should occupy a good half-year or so, if not more), then you can begin your study of the more "theological" or "philosophical" parts. You will have the necessary context then.

More importantly, though, these two on their own are generally enough.

For the Ramayana, the Gita Press version/translation into English is probably the best. You should be able to have it shipped to wherever you are. For the second, I have no idea, because I'm reading it in Hindi. Try finding one by the BORI, I've heard it's the best we have.

JerryClower

God loves you. But he will do things to test you.

JerryClower

Where did you find those verses at?

atyy

Exodus 28:31-34
You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. It shall have an opening for the head in the middle of it, with a woven binding around the opening, like the opening in a coat of mail, so that it may not be torn. On its lower hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, all around the lower hem, with bells of gold between them all around - a golden bell and a pomegranate alternating all around the lower hem of the robe.

hamster143

Of course, that only applies to Jewish rabbis (IIRC there's an entry that specifies that rabbis in Judaism must be descendants of Aaron, the great-grandson of Levi). And many other commandments also only apply to faithful Jews.

hamster143

Unfortunately, Tipitaka alone is larger than all other major religions' sacred texts, combined (see here), and even larger than the Communist canon, and much of it is simply unavailable in English, except maybe in some ancient translations that you can only find in big libraries. You'd have to stick to Dhammapada. Also, if you're interested in Zen, check out Shobogenzo.

hamster143

"The Finnish epic Kalevala devotes more lines to the origin of beer and brewing than it does to the origin of mankind."

Shows what people considered relevant those days.