Could somebody recommend some good readings from the Bible?

[Michael Savage]

Old and/or New testament. I haven't read much of the bible at all, just a few hours at a time. If I want to get more into the word, it might be good for me to start with some of the most crucial stuff (although I know it's all important).

Thank you in advance.

[xexon]

Genesis and Revelation. Everthing else is just fluff.

Genesis most likely is an oral tradition written down in ancient times predating the rest of the bible.

Nobody understands the Book of Revelation, but there is great drama as people profess their take on things. :)


x

[Michael Savage]

Thank you. Anyone else? :)

[MellowMike]

Don't just read the Bible, STUDY the Bible!http://www.hipforums.com/forums/images/icons/newicons/icon14.gif

http://www.theseason.org/

http://www.biblestudysite.com/indepth.htm

May The Lord come into your heart and show you his truthshttp://www.hipforums.com/forums/images/icons/newicons/icon6.gif

[MellowMike]

Nobody understands the Book of Revelation, but there is great drama as people profess their take on things.The definition of "revelation" is something revealed or disclosed. The title of the book itself tells us it is meant to be understood.

Check it...

http://www.theseason.org/revelation/revelation.htm (http://www.theseason.org/revelation/revelation.htm)

[steve-peace]

the odd Psalm isn't half bad. sometimes they are lame but some are really inspiring

[Okiefreak]

In the Old Testament, the Prophets, Ecclesiastes and Job. In the New Testament, the Gospels, of course, and the Epistles of Paul (except, maybe, Timothy and Titus, which are considered not to be Paul).

[duckandmiss]

Exodus 2:11-12
http://cdn-www.cracked.com/articleimages/wong/badass1b.jpg


II Kings 2:23-24
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Ezekiel 23:19-20
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[duckandmiss]

Judges 15:15-16
http://cdn-www.cracked.com/articleimages/wong/badass13.jpg

1 Samuel 18:25-27
http://cdn-www.cracked.com/articleimages/wong/badass14.jpg

[Hryhorii]

In the Old Testament, the Prophets, Ecclesiastes and Job. In the New Testament, the Gospels, of course, and the Epistles of Paul (except, maybe, Timothy and Titus, which are considered not to be Paul).
I like Paul. He is a pretty interesting character.

I also like Mark. Simple, to the point and doesn't really beat around the bush. Uses "immediately" a lot, almost to the point of being funny.

[Portalguy]

For me Matthew 5,6, and 7. To me it totally explains what the religion is about.

[Okiefreak]

Judges 15:15-16
http://cdn-www.cracked.com/articleimages/wong/badass13.jpg

1 Samuel 18:25-27
http://cdn-www.cracked.com/articleimages/wong/badass14.jpgHey, guys. Is anybody going to respond to this? There are other parts of the Bible that seem equally bizarre and "out of character". I hesitate to bring them up, for fear of being struck by lightning (we're having an electical storm at the moment). I guess I have no shame about being a "cherry picker" when it comes to scripture. I'd be hard put to try to rationalize some of this stuff as divinely inspired, let alone God giving dictation. But I'd love for somebody more knowledgeable about the Bible to set me straight.

[duckandmiss]

Hey, guys. Is anybody going to respond to this? There are other parts of the Bible that seem equally bizarre and "out of character". I hesitate to bring them up, for fear of being struck by lightning (we're having an electical storm at the moment). I guess I have no shame about being a "cherry picker" when it comes to scripture. I'd be hard put to try to rationalize some of this stuff as divinely inspired, let alone God giving dictation. But I'd love for somebody more knowledgeable about the Bible to set me straight.These sections remind me of graphic comics or the action packed bizarre movie sections of the bible. The old testament itself has some pretty crazy stories.

I love the story of Legion. (my name is legion, for we are many) I can't think of the reading but the story is great, multitudes of demons inhabiting a man's body and communitcating to Jesus. They are like the Michael Bay sections of the bible hahaha.

[Hryhorii]

Hey, guys. Is anybody going to respond to this? There are other parts of the Bible that seem equally bizarre and "out of character". I hesitate to bring them up, for fear of being struck by lightning (we're having an electical storm at the moment). I guess I have no shame about being a "cherry picker" when it comes to scripture. I'd be hard put to try to rationalize some of this stuff as divinely inspired, let alone God giving dictation. But I'd love for somebody more knowledgeable about the Bible to set me straight.
The bear mauling os one of my personal favourites. First I love that some translations read "she-bears" and two, were there even bears in Israel of antiquity?

[Okiefreak]

These sections remind me of graphic comics or the action packed bizarre movie sections of the bible. The old testament itself has some pretty crazy stories.

I love the story of Legion. (my name is legion, for we are many) I can't think of the reading but the story is great, multitudes of demons inhabiting a man's body and communitcating to Jesus. They are like the Michael Bay sections of the bible hahaha.For a people groaning under the yoke of Roman imperialism, a demon named Legion had special significance.

[duckandmiss]

For a people groaning under the yoke of Roman imperialism, a demon named Legion had special significance.

Yup, love that story.

[sweetdeviant]

my personal favorite starts with ruth and ends after solomon dies. i love david.

[cotopaxi]

i love kohelet. vanitas vanitatum, it's quite... buddhist or so. will make you smile when you feel lost and take you to the ground when you are overexcited... makes calm.

[SelfControl]

A little voguish, but I like this one:

"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked."

Remind you of anyone?

[SelfControl]

Hey, guys. Is anybody going to respond to this? There are other parts of the Bible that seem equally bizarre and "out of character". I hesitate to bring them up, for fear of being struck by lightning (we're having an electical storm at the moment). I guess I have no shame about being a "cherry picker" when it comes to scripture. I'd be hard put to try to rationalize some of this stuff as divinely inspired, let alone God giving dictation. But I'd love for somebody more knowledgeable about the Bible to set me straight.


I guess they could just be true, rather than parables, and thus not intended to convey a message but merely to relate a historical event.

[Portalguy]

I think the Bible shouldn't be "cherry picked" per se. But, you must realize things in context as well. To not do so is just crazy. A lot of what you read I think is figurative. Not always literal. I also think there's of course been a shifting of morals between the Old and New Testaments. I've heard people try to refute this and it's absolute malarchy.

I think another big thing is saying the whole Bible is crap just because they have some chapters that don't make sense to us. The message of Christ no matter how many Legions or foreskin trades is still the message of Christ.

[SelfControl]

Yeah, there's ignoring the bad parts (because it's not beyond the realms of possibility that, for example, Leviticus was just a wanker) and then there's picking out one line that "proves" something is okay and ignoring everything else that says otherwise.

The totality of the Bible is pretty good. There's things about it that are bad but the basic underlying message is pretty hard to fault. Same applies to a lot of religious texts.

[OlderWaterBrother]

Old and/or New testament. I haven't read much of the bible at all, just a few hours at a time. If I want to get more into the word, it might be good for me to start with some of the most crucial stuff (although I know it's all important).
Thank you in advance.I'm sorry Michael but your request is impossible to fill without knowing more about what you are looking for. Are you looking for bed time stories? Are you wanting to know more about mankind in general? Are you wanting to know more about yourself? Are you wanting to know more about God?

[Bhaskar]

I would say stick with Christ. The stories about him and what he said. The rest I have little use for.

[xexon]

Ditto.

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians.

Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

Mohandas Gandhi

[darrellkitchen]

A man walks into a Restaurant. The waitress seats him and hands him the menu. She returns about two minutes later and asks, "May I help you?" To which the man says, "What do you have that is good?"

Although the man may have been thinking of what the waitress has a preference for, that is not what he said.

To the restaurant all the food is good.

[CanniEvergrow]

Parables. Parables are a manual for living. Wisdom is described in parables. Read these dark sayings and study their enigmas. Also I like Paul. So there we go,a li'l somethin old and a li'l somethin new. -Plus-- alot of them seemingly bizzar passages were actual real life occurances set forward into flesh,to be recorded in order to demonstrate figuritivly what the TRUE AUTHER means. In other words, God did make these things happen but not just for their immediant meenings, -they also happened so that they could be recorded and their hidden meanings mite be revealed to us. The jawbone represented something. The foreskins represented something. Just like the name Legion represented something. Enigmas. Flesh and blood enigmas. Blessins on yas all!

[yumyum2k5]

Revelations 5:5

And one of the elders saith unto me, weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

That quote is one that as a rastafari, i hold close.

psalms 19:14
So let the Words of your mouth and the meditation of your heart be pleasing in your sight
oh Fari.


psalms 11:3
When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?

psalms 7:15
He who digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit he has made.


psalms 137:1
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion

All of those quotes mean alot to me but as a rasta i'd say pretty much all of the old testament, psalms and revelation mean the most to me. Especially since king james edited the version of the 'bible' we now know, and as you know its said in the bible that its forbidden to take anything out or to add anything in, and if king james edited the bible he wouldnt have edited for the good of mankind, but for personal gain.

[Varuna]

Old and/or New testament. I haven't read much of the bible at all, just a few hours at a time. If I want to get more into the word, it might be good for me to start with some of the most crucial stuff (although I know it's all important).

Thank you in advance.

Are you seeking a more enlightened Christian perspective? Then, at the very least, read chapters 5, 6 and 7 of the Gospel according to St. Matthew. This is the Sermon on the Mount. It offers a vision of humanity at its most enlightened, a paradigm of benevolent meaning that few people fully grasp within their single human lifetime.

If you are seeking the depths of Judaism, find a Rabbi and ask him (or her) to teach you the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). You can read it yourself, but it only comes alive when inspired, articulate, and honest seekers study it together. I promise you, there is something inexplicably and positively mind-altering in the deeper meaning of the Torah.

Peace and Love

[DonGenaro]

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