it's late and i should be sleeping
while mindlessly perusing one of my favorite blogs (cakewrecks.com) i came across an old entry that mentioned a memorial for a friend of the blogger whose child had died a time ago. they have a blog chronicling every moment of this child's life. They are also very religious, spiritual christians in the way of people whose faith inspires and helps
( Read more... )
Anyway, if you're interested in reading the Bible, here are some general recommendations to get you started:
1. Read the NRSV (New Revised Standard Version). It's the most historically and linguistically accurate translation available, which I think is very helpful, although due to that fact it does contain gendered language for God.
2. Start with the Gospel of John, the 4th book in the New Testament. It's a concise (by Biblical standards) narrative of the life of Christ. A lot of people start at Genesis because they don't know where else to start, and that's a bad idea. The Pentateuch gets boring fast.
3. Don't bother with those Bibles that offer little boxes with "commentary" on the side... they're theologically biased, especially Zondervan. When it comes to a sacred text, you've gotta think for yourself.
4. If you're looking for comfort in the Bible, I recommend reading Psalms, the Gospels, Esther, and Ruth. Since the psalms are songs, they express a lot of things we feel about life and God while we're going through good times and bad. And the Gospels are great because there are so many stories of Christ showing mercy/ kindness and healing people. Some people recommend reading Job, because he went through some terrible things, but all his friends go on and on about how God abandoned him... he doesn't believe it, but it makes for a depressing middle section to the book. I personally find comfort in reading the books of Ruth and Esther, also fairly short... they chronicle the lives of women who have a rough time in the patriarchal societies of antiquity, but they courageously work the system to accomplish incredible things.
If you decide to pick up reading the Bible, I hope this helps!
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