Pride

I hit my threshold with that person years ago.

"You will not surely die"--Genesis 3

This was the greatest deception by the accuser.

Really, what consequences could there be?

The accuser is alive and well today.

[img]

You're also one of the ones who refuses tho read all of the Bible and study the Bible aren't you?






Do tell.

You have a bad habit of not moving on and I can tell.

I don't see you moving on from the conversation either... in fact you keep coming back to it, as much as I do. As many times as I have said that you should read it front to back, you have said that you will not.

It is basically the same old story... believers in the bible refuse to read all of it.

And as many times as I here say it, you keep coming back.... and coming back... and coming back... to proclaim that you refuse to read it... all of it.

Yep...

Still, I confess that I am a very bad and terrible man... Someone who tells people to read their own holy book is about as evil as a person can get.



Don't read it... as a christian you should not read it... don't do it... reading it is evil.

I’m just pointing out an obvious thing I see.

Hmmm... still not moving on i see.

Why? Just out of curiousity.

The ESV is the new consensus.

1st time was a sort of feeling of duty as a christian, which I was at the time. I don't think I got much out of it that 1st time.

2nd time was part of studying it, and also a sense of duty as a christian. In part it was to try to really understand it, as the 1st time kind of went over my head. I was seeking guidance from god.

At the end of this reading, some doubt had begun to form... the biggest question was is this really supposed to be factual or is this metaphorical?

After this time I had begun to look into/study the compilation of the bible... the who/what/when/where/why of its writing and compilation.

3rd time was... I suppose one could say that my "faith" had been shaken and I was seeking an answer... or seeking the answer... By the time I had finished it that time, whatever faith I had in the god of Abraham was long gone.

The question is this really supposed to be factual or is this metaphor? had seemingly been answered; metaphor.

But then came another big question if this is metaphor why is there so little "good" in it? Perhaps it is just mythology, and as with all mythology the ancient meanings are mostly irrelevant.

4th time was in part to study it as a comparative theological thing. That is, more or less comparing/contrasting it to other mythologies (Gilgamesh in particular), creation stories, and religions/philosophies (Buddhism and Shinto in particular).


Side note: I honestly don't expect anyone to read the bible as I did. I don't even expect most christians to make it through once, after all it is a very hard read. The prose are terrible.

None the less, it gets my proverbial goat that some many christians like to tell people what the bible says, when the have never even tried to read it. They seem to present themselves as "knowing" what it says (or even as "experts" as to what it says), but have not read it. It blows my mind.

Thanks.

I read through the NIV version once 20 years ago, back when I was still a Christian, but was starting to have theological doubts. So I felt I needed to read through it in an attempt to address those doubts - it did erase them.

I plan on reading through it again, for several reasons...

1. ESV instead of NIV
2. Less biased, and more open minded.
3. In preparation for a study of the religion as a whole - its origins, outside forces that dictated the canon, and opposing viewpoints in regards to the authenticity of Jesus’ divinity. I plan on reading all the “other” gospels (that didn’t make the canon), as well as the works of current researcher Bart Ehrman, who believes that Jesus existed but lays out a very strong reasearched based case against his divinity.

This is in conjunction with learning more about all the major religions and Chinese philosophies. Particularly Buddhism, as I have all the Vinaya Pitaka and Sutta Pitaka lined up ready to read - which will be a very long read and study from the looks of it.

One "last" thought... each time I read it there was also an underlying idea in my head... that is, I did not trust was I was being told about the bible. There are so many branches of christianity, each with their own take on it... on what it means... on which passages are important and what do they tell us...

It became obvious to me at a very young age that at least some of the "teachers" were misguiding people and that many of the "followers" were just drinking the Kool AId.

Marin Luther (and others) translated the bible from Latin into common languages for one purpose (IMO): So that "we" could all have access to it and know exactly what it says and not be duped by corrupt religious leaders. People like Martin Luther literally put their lives on the line so that "we" all have the opportunity to read it.

Yes, when the new millennium roiled around, there was talk of the most influential figures of the last millennium, and Martin Luther was up there - topped only by Gutenberg. He really revolutionized religion and how we follow it, which, in turn, revolutionized world politics.

Speaking about yourself or someone else?