The "Good Book"

[Lukaris]

You have yourself labeled as a humanist & perhaps you may want to start with the Jefferson Bible (a compilation of Gospel passages by Thomas Jefferson who was not Christian) http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/JefJesu.html Then consider pondering beyond Jefferson's concept of Christ and consider the divine concept of Jesus Christ & see where our saviour summarizes the Old Testament (OT) in Matthew 7:12 & Matthew 22:37-40. To summarize the OT, you may want to read Romans 1 & 2 (which summarizes the outcome of the fall of Adam & Eve & sin) and Acts 7 (quick overview of much OT )history). Then read the Gospels (esp Matthew 5,6,&7) & consider that Jesus Christ is Son of God & see if you have a change of heart. Reading the books of Ruth, Jonah, Ecclesiastes, & Psalm 119 can be a good start to gradually ease into the OT. From here some pastoral guidance would be helpful.

 

[DarkProphet]

You have yourself labeled as a humanist & perhaps you may want to start with the Jefferson Bible (a compilation of Gospel passages by Thomas Jefferson who was not Christian) http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/JefJesu.html Then consider pondering beyond Jefferson's concept of Christ and consider the divine concept of Jesus Christ & see where our saviour summarizes the Old Testament (OT) in Matthew 7:12 & Matthew 22:37-40. To summarize the OT, you may want to read Romans 1 & 2 (which summarizes the outcome of the fall of Adam & Eve & sin) and Acts 7 (quick overview of much OT )history). Then read the Gospels (esp Matthew 5,6,&7) & consider that Jesus Christ is Son of God & see if you have a change of heart. Reading the books of Ruth, Jonah, Ecclesiastes, & Psalm 119 can be a good start to gradually ease into the OT. From here some pastoral guidance would be helpful.

That's a complex path to follow, I wonder if anyone would come up with that on their own.

 

[salida]

Have you used this method? You read it like you would any book.

Biblical Principles for Interpreting God’s Word


1) Follow the customary usages of the language.
2) Commit no historical or cultural blunders.
3) Make Christ central in all interpretations.
4) Be conscious of context.
5) Interpret by the analogy of the faith.
6) Recognize the progress of relevation.
7) Grant one interpretation to each phrase.
8) Choose the common sense alternative.
9) Never invent explanations to silent areas of scripture.
10) Never theorize to accommodate man’s views or religion or modern science.
11) Never base a doctrine on one passage of scripture.

Allegory – Taking the literal meaning off story, discourse, or something written and giving it another spiritualized or non literal meaning.

Analogy – Similarity between things partial resemblance. Comparing something point by point with something else noting its similarity. As applied to Bible study, it means the scripture are alike and do not contradict each other.

Context – The parts of the book, passage or verse, which shows the whole situation and relevant environment in which it is found.

Expository – Setting forth facts, ideas and an explanation from a detailed examination of a passage.

Exegesis – Critical analysis or interpretation which seeks the meaning from the passage and does not impose meaning on the passage.

Interpretation – To arrive at the original meaning the writer intended when he wrote the words.

Syntax – Syntax is the study of the word in is grammatical setting showing its relation to other words.

 

[ebia]

I'll be the first to admit that I never read through the whole Bible. I did try to read through it but it was just so boring and full of plot holes that I just could not get through it. I did manage to read the book that I was named after but it was arduous. Why is the "Good Book" so poorly written? Or is that just a symbolic title?

What's boring and what's not tends to be culturally dependent. To any given culture the bible will contain some bits that are boring, some bits that are exciting. Hopefully the overaching meta-narrative is interesting to all.

What's boring and what's not says at least as much about the reader as the text.