Have You Read the Entire Bible

[Devadatta]

Originally Posted by Vajradhara

Namaste all,

yes, i've read the Christian Holy Scriptures several times, it is hard to keep count of that sort of thing for me as i tend to cycle through the various religious texts that are in my library.

metta,

~v

Hi Vajra. I'm curious. What are you looking for when you read the bible?

Sincerely,
Devadatta

[Quahom1]

Originally Posted by China Cat Sunflower

Well, have you?

Over and over again. And everytime I learn something new (because as I mature in my faith, that which was cloudy becomes clearer).

[China Cat Sunflower]

Originally Posted by Devadatta

Come on folks, tell me that when you get to that point in Exodus where the enumerations start, Hebrews dividing up the spoils, measuring their ark & temple, setting out the details of sacrifice – one-eyed chickens on Tuesday, three-horned goats on Thursday – that your eyes don’t glaze over? Particularly since this goes on through Leviticus, Numbers...? Deuteronomy picks up a bit since it reads like a summary, but then I get to chapter 12 when it’s going on about demolishing the sanctuaries, breaking the sacred pillars & burning the idols of the peoples the Hebrews have just conquered... I just have to put it aside, maybe for months.

But for me that’s the real difficulty in reading the Bible, particularly the Old Testament. It’s not that it’s too long or too difficult. It’s not even the long tedious stretches one can easily skim. It’s that fierce biblical ideology that made me, the first time I tried to read it, feel like I was inside a steel drum with some crazed prophet beating on the outside with a stick.

Naturally, I recognize the thundering monotheistic G!d as skilful means for the taming of ego, but my anti-authoritarian turn of mind makes me a poor candidate for these particular means. For someone less sensitive to the issue (or maybe more well-balanced!), it’s much less of a hindrance. And for someone actively seeking authority, the Old Testament is truly heaven on Earth.

At the same time, I recognize that there’s much more to the Bible, that it’s great literature; most importantly, that it’s the formative book of Western culture. As someone has already suggested, this is a very rich set of documents that reward close attention.

So for a Westerner the Bible can’t be escaped. If you don’t have some understanding of what’s in it, and what people have made of it, you can’t understand yourself.

So have I read the whole thing? I’ve gone through the Old Testament more or less systematically, reading the narrative and salient parts, skimming the rest. Genesis I’ve read a few times, as well as the book of Job. (I’ve recently started a new read-through, but stalled as I said above at that scene of rape & pillage.)

The New Testament is another story. I’ve read that straight through a few times, and I’ve marked all the passages of significance to me, which I return to now ever more frequently. The Gospel of Love for me is skilful means. The drama of guilt & redemption, the apocalypse & last judgement? Not so much.

(My apologies if I’ve offended. Just offering my honest reaction.)

Sincerely,
Devadatta

One of my main interests is trying to figure out the original intent of the authors/compilers of the OT. So when I'm reading through that mind numbing stuff you're talking about I'm asking myself, "why is this so important?" Sometimes a new and interesting connection will pop into my mind and I'll go "hmmm...", but most of the time I just skim over it.

I think you put your finger on soemthing here, though:

So for a Westerner the Bible can’t be escaped. If you don’t have some understanding of what’s in it, and what people have made of it, you can’t understand yourself.

Knowing what is and isn't in the Bible is a great advantage for a lot of reasons, but it's absolutely essential for deconstructing yourself if you came up in the West.

Chris

[Prober]

Originally Posted by China Cat Sunflower

One of my main interests is trying to figure out the original intent of the authors/compilers of the OT. So when I'm reading through that mind numbing stuff you're talking about I'm asking myself, "why is this so important?" [/size][/font]

It would be interesting to have a Jewish perspective on this.

[Dor]

Originally Posted by Quahom1

Over and over again. And everytime I learn something new (because as I mature in my faith, that which was cloudy becomes clearer).

Amen Brother....Thats why I keep reading it

[Devadatta]

Originally Posted by China Cat Sunflower

One of my main interests is trying to figure out the original intent of the authors/compilers of the OT. So when I'm reading through that mind numbing stuff you're talking about I'm asking myself, "why is this so important?" Sometimes a new and interesting connection will pop into my mind and I'll go "hmmm...", but most of the time I just skim over it.]

Very sensible procedure. My aversions don't change the fact that there are numerous points of interest in nearly every line of the bible, depending on the dispositions of the reader.

Originally Posted by China Cat Sunflower

Knowing what is and isn't in the Bible is a great advantage for a lot of reasons, but it's absolutely essential for deconstructing yourself if you came up in the West.

Exactly. If you don't, no one else will.

Sincerely,
Devadatta

[Tao_Equus]

Maybe I should mention that I have used it in much the same way as I would use the I-Ching. Thats is I have a question or a problem or some descision to make and have consulted it at random in a search for some insight. I remember that on at least one occasion I found it too, tho I cant for the life of me remember the details.

Perhaps not really relevant, but I thought I'd say anyway.


David

[Quahom1]

Maybe, just maybe, we're supposed to adhere to the basic prinicples within, instead of trying to justify our own behaviors, because we want to keep on with our own behaviors, that may conflict with what is in the book...

Then again, that is so passee...

v/r

Q

[littlemissattitude]

You've forgotten a category in your poll:

Major portions of both the Old and New Testaments, in depth, but not the whole thing.

Certainly, if the Gospels and Psalms but not the rest gets a category, this should as well.

[Tao_Equus]

Originally Posted by Quahom1

Maybe, just maybe, we're supposed to adhere to the basic prinicples within, instead of trying to justify our own behaviors, because we want to keep on with our own behaviors, that may conflict with what is in the book...

Then again, that is so passee...

v/r

Q

I may well be a bit dense so forgive me please if i have picked you up wrong. Some people need rules and regulations, books and manuals to keep them on the straight and narrow. And if they seek so shall they find....the straight.... and the narrow.

I am very glad that the Bible, the Torah, the Bhoddisatva, the Tao Te Ching and countless other works exist. Without them how poor, how devoid of richness our world would be. But each and every one is a part of our collective heritage and no individual or group has ownership of them. My belief is that G_d has never written a single word in any book at any time and, at best, that they are all the works of men and women trying to find answers to the same questions that we seek answers to. And I think its ultimately a futile quest, for the big is is just to big an is to know. But sometimes even futile quests are worth it for what you learn along that road.

So I am sorry if my way of thinking, and of looking, is not in accord with yours. I am called here Tao_equus, it was an internet pseudoname i used prior to my discovery of this wonderful site. But tao is appropriate to me I think. I look at 'the way' but I never really expect to know it. But also I never mean to be outright disrespectful and never see myself than anything more than one amongst equals, and here, so often, less. I can take a jibe or 3 however and enjoy yours most thoroughly


kind regards

David

[Quahom1]

No offense taken, Tao. I merely expressed my thoughts on things (just like you).

[path_of_one]

The whole thing, though some parts I've only read once and other parts over and over and over again.

I generally read slowly and with a process of both study with other resources as well as prayer and meditation over certain passages I find difficult, so some books I read years and years ago and haven't had the time to revisit yet. I can't for the life of me do the Bible-in-a-year thing, unless I quit my job and just studied the scriptures all day. I typically read with a four-translation side-by-side Bible, with the Lamsa translation from the Aramaic close by.

My current project is to get back into the Gospels and start writing them down, with my own commentary for myself, in illuminated manuscript form. I love calligraphy- been doing it since I was ten- and I figure this will be a great way to really let it all slowly sink in (takes forever to do the writing and scroll work and paintings!) and a sort of working meditation on Jesus.

If I live long enough, I really hope to do the same thing for the entire NT one day.

I think it's also worth saying that I plan to read the apocryphal texts as well; some I have and some I haven't. I own the "Other Bible" and the copy of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

This is a lifelong work for me, and part of a broader desire to read all the major spiritual texts of the world's religions. I've read all the other founding texts except the Jewish commentaries (midrash, etc.) and the Qur'an, though I've read bits and pieces. And of course I've only read parts of the Hindu texts- the entirety is way too long.

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I won't pretend that my eyes didn't glaze over during parts of Numbers- I had to read in tiny bits or I'd just tune out.