Bible Reading

BaldJean wrote: Utah Man wrote: BaldJean wrote: was an important part of my studies you have a degree in literature or ___________? history, and I specialized in ancient and middle ages. believe me, you can't understand the middle ages without knowing the bible, and for some ancient history the bible is an important source too

^ you're right...

my degree minor is in history.

Utah Man wrote: prog-chick wrote: I've read it all cover to cover a couple of times, and use it as reference frequently. Do you find yourself using it as a reference point towards your friends or "enemies" ?

Niether I think, I don't think I have any enemies, but I find a lot of folk who make a claim to Christianity have some warped ideas, and will interpret and pick and chose to bolster their own needs and opinions, some can generally live in a rather opposite way to the ways taught. 

Generally I am somewhat opposed to organised religion, not because of the faith, but due to what I have seen as the spoiling of faith by the organisation.

Dean wrote: I have read bits of a couple of those (Gospel of Judus and Gospel of Mary Magdalene). With so many of the apocrypha being rejected by the early church, I was curious to see why (and perhaps understand better why) some gospels were included in the NT and why some were excluded.

I've read these texts too........... very interesting, again, the organisation of religion takes away a lot of the true power of faith.

This is why I read the Koran too, I wanted to understand it, it is in parts a beautiful book. I wont pretend to understand it all, but I saw no hatred or violence here. Once again   Organisation of faith creates a human hiarachy, which in turn creates human power struggles,..........


Faith, true personal faith, whatever it might be in can be a beautiful and forfilling thing. It's not about being herded in body and mind like sheep. It's not a shield by which you can live your life as you please but use to protect you or to gve you power over others.

Gosh, that's all a bit serious for a Friday............ maybe I bumped my head!

Utah Man wrote: Logan wrote: Yes, I have read most of my copy of the King James Bible.... Ever tried any of the "newer" translations ? NIV  or New King James ?....

Yes, I have.  Both, but I'm something of a traditionalist, and was raised in the Anglican Church where I became used to the old King James version.  I rarely go to church these days (I miss it as the minister is such an intellectual, yet spiritual), and wouldn't describe myself as religious.  I married an ex-Roman Catholic born-again Christian whom I met while working in Japan, and while wooing her I immersed myself in the Bible (I primarily was using the NIV at that time, but didn't much like it).

Dean wrote: Logan wrote:   And I've read New Testament Apocrypha. I'd like to read more apocrypha... Kind of like prog, I'm more interested in the obscure stuff (texts not included in the bible). I have a general interest in religion, and religious texts. I have read bits of a couple of those (Gospel of Judus and Gospel of Mary Magdalene). With so many of the apocrypha being rejected by the early church, I was curious to see why (and perhaps understand better why) some gospels were included in the NT and why some were excluded.   From the OT era, I've also read The Book Of Watchers from The Book of Enoch, because I was interested in Paradise Lost at the time (the epic poem and the metal band ) and wanted to know more of the Fall of the Angels.

We have shared the same interests.  And I was fascinated by Paradise Lost and sought out materials on that topic.

I've read the whole Bible and parts of the Koran.

I've always been an atheist but I did it for historical, philosophical, cultural and sociological purpose. It's really interesting.

And as Baldjean said, you can't understand a lot of historical periods without a good knowledge of the Bible. I'm an art history major and it's especially true in this field. Most art from the middle-ages and the renaissance were directly inspired by episodes of the Bible.

Bern wrote: Most art from the middle-ages and the renaissance were directly inspired by episodes of the Bible.

In your opinion, would you say that most art, over the past _________ decades, is secularized ?


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Utah Man wrote: Bern wrote: Most art from the middle-ages and the renaissance were directly inspired by episodes of the Bible. In your opinion, would you say that most art, over the past _________ decades, is secularized ? .

No doubt about it if we talk about the Middle-Ages (in Occident). The art wasn't really used for expressionnal purpose ou artistic value in those times. Art works were mainly seen as "trance inducing" mystic objects. The concept of "the artist" didn't even exist at the time. Painters and sculptors for example were seen as artisans. The only purpose of art was religious and spiritual. It led to many debates involving the representation of the human figure in art at the time. A lot of people (iconoclasts) thought that, by possessing a representation of Jesus or any other religious figure, it became a fetish and thus another God that broke the important monotheistic part of Christianity. I'll stop here but I could go on for a long while.

In the Renaissance, a lot of art was secularized too. The context was different though. The concept of artist appeared. So, while the exclusively religious painters still existed, a lot of free-thinkers began to claim their uniqueness as creators. Most people were still fervent believers though. It led to many things. A really large part of the art works were still inspired by the Bible. The main reason is that, at the time, the art market was born. Artists needed a patron to live of their art. While there were some rich merchants or nobles hiring them (Greek mythology scenes were popular among those), the main patron and the most prestigious was the religious authority. That explains the high number of religious paintings. Even by an artist who wasn't that much of a believer. Da vinci for example. Once again, I could say a lot more.

In the 16th to 19th century, there also was a lot of religious art for many different reasons including church patrons, the Academy of arts and what came with it, national prestige, church decoration...

I could have written a book about that question. So I'll stop here for now.

Go ahead if you've got any other questions though. I'm here for you.

Utah Man wrote: This is part of a personal research project. . . . and in case you're wondering: No I'm NOT Mormon.

OK, but we're still wondering how many wives you have.

But seriously, the best and most interesting parts of the Bible are those that many who profess to be Christian choose to ignore.

The T wrote: Yes, and I've also heard Genesis' "From Genesis to Revelation"  (which, incredibly, is much more entertaining)....

Only the parts in 9/8 

Read many sections and am familiar with the more well known stories.