Have you read the Bible?

[Trek]

I'm talking cover to cover. The whole thing. Didn't have to be all in one sitting or all in one week, but you actually worked through the whole book beginning to end. Referencing it from time to time doesn't count.

It's not a question about religion, simply if you've read it for any reason. Maybe read it as literature, maybe to learn about a faith other than yours, maybe for a school project or whatever.

So, cover to cover, have you read it?

 

[kowski]

no

 

[FUEGO]

Tried but failed. Probably had to do with it being the KJV and the archaic words. I was mostly reading it from the point of view of it being a historical text. I did manage to read an interesting book about the bible dealing with such things as how it was written, by whom, transition from oral tradition to written tradition, the many different versions used by many different denominations of christian faith, etc...

I think this was the book.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

No

 

[Goonie]

I'm talking cover to cover. The whole thing. Didn't have to be all in one sitting or all in one week, but you actually worked through the whole book beginning to end.

So, cover to cover, have you read it?

Yes, but it took several years to do.....especially when I'd get to the genealogies! Would have been an easier read if all those Old Testament folks had easy names like Sam, Pete, George, Elmer, and that sort of thing...and they lived in towns like Chicago, Dodge City, Houston, Hooterville, or places like that!

 

[Rustic23]

I was assigned temporary duty to Zaragoza, Spain. Got a copy of 'The Living Bible' read it cover to cover.

 

[W2R]

I did that in eighth grade, on my own because it interested me (both as a religious and historical document). I was going to the big kid/preteen version of Sunday School and felt like I was big enough to read the Bible. My parents never would have done such a thing, since church was pretty casual for them. So, maybe this was my version of a teenage rebellion.

Thank goodness, I had a King James version. People may differ on which translation is most correct, but I don't think anyone would argue that the King James version contains some of the most inspiring and beautiful passages ever written in the English language.

Still, Leviticus was pretty tough to get through, not to mention Numbers. I was amazed at the Song of Solomon, felt unsettled by Ecclesiastes, and found the gospels very inspiring and moving.

I'm glad I read it, even though I turned out to be agnostic for the past 40 years.

 

[HFWR]

I've read a fair amount of the New Testament, but the Old Testament is, well, too old...

Too many begets and smotes...

 

[Orchidflower]

No...and never will.

 

[Rustic23]

Orchidflower,
Interesting. So you are not a history buff? I went to a Church affiliated college. Two semesters of 'Study of the Bible' were required. Both dealt with the Old Testament as the 'History of the Jewish People'. I found it interesting as it was taught as a history course with religion as the glue that held the story together.

 

[Coach]

I haven't read it. I keep thinking it would be a good idea, but I never get to it. Same way with the Koran.

Coach

 

[Keim]

Read all of the Old Testament. Required reading for a class I was taking at the time.

 

[W2R]

You know, its as though Trek read my mind. I have been thinking of actually buying a King James version of the Bible and reading it again.

I'm STILL not religious. I am a spiritual person, though, and I find the Bible to be intriguing. So much of who I am, as a person and as an American, comes from the Bible. It's intrinsic to our culture and heritage, whether we are Christians or not. I learned a lot, and really there are a lot of interesting stories in it too.

 

[Gumby]

It's intrinsic to our culture and heritage, whether we are Christians or not.

I think one ought to read the Bible just as one ought to read Shakespeare (not all, but many of the plays). These are foundational documents for our culture.

 

[yakers]

Read the whole thing a couple times and a (very) few parts have warn pages. The edition may matter, my Episcopal practice favors the KJV but for the OT I prefer a new age version. So much 'smiting' in the OT but essential to understand some of it as the context for the NT. I know the question is quite open and not requiring a religious response but it is not unreasonable that that could result... So...my reading is not to to understand the words but to get through them to understand Jesus.Sort of like reading about a coach that tells some kids to work harder and some to take a break; he should know what each one needs. You don't want someone just making an absolute rule from his advice to one party even if they quote correctly.

 

[73ss454]

I've read the whole New Testament. I don't think I could read the Old Testament.

 

[Maurice]

I read the hebrew bible, the christian appendages, and the koran.


All in university.

 

[CyclingInvestor]

Read it once, several decades ago. I remember the OT seemed more interesting than the new one.

 

[Maurice]

Read it once, several decades ago. I remember the OT seemed more interesting than the new one.

Agreed. That god character was my favorite, talk about attitude! Never a dull moment.

 

[calmloki]

Bits and chunks - a tad in the Greek, which was enough to make one realise that translation is the very devil.

 

[Shawn]

I've read about half in a cover-to-cover sense. That includes both the King James Version and the Living Bible. It's a foundation of our culture. There's a lot of financial wisdom, like how much interest to charge "your neighbor" in business transactions. I especially like Proverbs. Lots of helpful tips.

 

[brewer12345]

Uh, not sure about cover to cover, although eventually I will find the time. It took pretty much an entire school year to get through the Pentateuch, since when you study the bible under the Jesuits, you STUDY. I think I read more of what St. Jerome had to say about the text than actual text itself that year. But I learned an awful lot.

 

[Khan]

Yes.

Read the King James version at age 16 or so. Also read complete versions of Greek and Norse mythologies.

They are the basis of much European/Western/Modern thought/philosophy and there are many nuggets of wisdom therein.

Solomon's proverbs are especially ageless.

 

[jambo101]

I like Revelations the best its kinda like 2000yr old Sci-Fi.

 

[SecondCor521]

Bits and chunks - a tad in the Greek, which was enough to make one realise that translation is the very devil.

Can you clarify what you mean by this?

I've read the majority of the Protestant Bible in English; I've skipped the boring parts like the geneologies. I've also read several NT books in NT Greek. I also authored my own translation of the majority of the book of Revelation. My experience was that most of the English translations (of the NT, at least) were accurate. I didn't like the paraphrase versions much, but that I think is personal preference.

2Cor521