"Bible Basics"

[bullsfan009]

Hello everyone. I'm starting this thread to compliment the "Biblical Debates 2005" one, because that has become very technical and I believe isn't reaching out to those who don't have a basic knowledge of the Bible. So hopefully, in this place those of you who are interested to learn the very basics of the #1 most widely distributed book of all time, can and will. Now here are some rules/guidelines/notes before it starts:

I'm not smarter, better, or more holy than any of you out there. If I thought to be, than I surely wouldn't, anyway.
Anyone who wants to introduce topics, discuss anything related to the Bible, add/correct information, etc. please do so.
Everyone in this thread needs to be open-minded, and tolerant of everyone's beliefs. This especially goes for me. If I'm being hypocritical, unfair, biased, or anything else, the best thing to do is help me out and let me know so I can change for the better
I'm 18 years old- I don't know everything. There are probably those of you who know more than me about the Bible, so please share that knowledge and correct me if I'm wrong anywhere too. This will be a learning process for me, too...
You may be asking yourself, "Why do I need to know about the Bible?" Well, here are some reasons:
1. As mentioned above, the Bible is the #1 most widely distributed book of all time.
2. It is also the #1 selling and #1 most printed book of all time.
3. It has been translated into many, many languages over the years.
4. It continues to be a best seller every year.
5. It is the foundation of 2 of the world's biggest religions: Judaism and Christianity.
6. The birth of Jesus, as recorded in the Bible, has split time into A.D. and B.C.
7. Literally, billions of people have read this book.
8. BECAUSE OF THE MAGNITUDE & IMPORTANCE OF THE BIBLE, IT IS EITHER THE SOURCE OF THE GREATEST HOAX IN HUMAN HISTORY OR IT IS THE WRITTEN WORD OF GOD. Each individual must make that decision (unless you are "Agnostic," which means you don't/can't know) in their lives. But first don't you think it'd be good to know the basics of it before you make that judgement


----------------so here we go-----------------

[Filip]

1. As mentioned above, the Bible is the #1 most widely distributed book of all time.

That's not a reason.

2. It is also the #1 selling and #1 most printed book of all time.

That's basicly the same statement as the first.

3. It continues to be a best seller every year.

Here we go again.

4. It is the foundation of 2 of the world's biggest religions: Judaism and Christianity.

Why if I don't give a shit about Judaism and Christianity?

6. Literally, billions of people have read this book.

That's the forth time you mention it's popularity. Just because something is populare dosen't meant it worth getting into. Otherwise we would all listen to Britney Spears.

BECAUSE OF THE MAGNITUDE & IMPORTANCE OF THE BIBLE, IT IS EITHER THE SOURCE OF THE GREATEST HOAX IN HUMAN HISTORY

That's a good reason though

[bullsfan009]

The Bible has many versions/editions today. They all are in essence the same, and the majority of differences are in style of language and wording. There are also some versions that are very different, and those are usually from authors/committes who are putting their own spin on the Bible. Examples of this are "The Gospel According to Jesus," by Stephen Mitchell, and the older "Jefferson Bible," by Thomas Jefferson (yes that same "founding father" Thomas Jefferson). Jefferson literally took a Bible, got out some scissors and a jar of paste, and cut out only the passages which he considered to be authentic, and put them together to make the Jefferson Bible. I've never read it, only heard about it. All in all, there are dozens of versions out there, maybe hundreds, I don't know.

For the sake of sanity, I want to use just the most widely accepted versions of the Bible when I describe it, like the King James Version and New International Version.

So here are some basics about the Bible:
It is composed of two parts: the Old Testament, and the New Testament.
There are 39 "Books" (chapters) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, and the same text is divided into 24 books in the Hebrew/Jewish Bible (which is called the "Tanakh"). There are 27 Books in the New Testament.
As far as religion goes, just the Old Testament is considered to be the Jewish Bible, and the combination of the Old and New Testaments is considered to be the Christian Bible. The Bible is very unique in this way- two major religions from one text.
The Old Testament is the result of a thousand years or more of oral and written history passed on. In the New Testament, people read from the Old Testament ("the Scriptures"), meaning it was already to a point where everything had been collected and written down in one document. All of this was first written down in Hebrew.
The Old Testament books all have unique histories of their own, and weren't written together, so far as I know. I suppose this is why they are called "Books" and not "Chapters."
The New Testament was written sometime from 50 A.D. to 150 A.D. (keep in mind, not all at once), in Greek. There exist about 5000 complete, partial, or fragmentary ancient manuscript copies of the New Testament- the original copies of the books & of the entire Bible have never been found.
The oldest "piece" of the New Testament that has been found is a fragment of the Gospel of John dated A.D. 120-140.
For both Testaments, the material that eventually became a part of the Bible were not the only writings of the Jewish & early Christian communities. Many of the Bible stories were retold, and imitated/altered/added to over the years. Much of the extra literature of the early Christian communities that has been found has been published as the New Testament Apocrypha. They are not regarded as having the same authenticity and authority as the Bible.
All of the texts which became the New Testament were evaluated for their believed authenticity and accuracy before they were accepted as scripture.
It is believed that by A.D. 200, 20 of the 27 New Testament books were accepted.

All of the books & words, really, of the Old and New Testaments have been analyzed & scrutinized by countless scholars, historians, and theologians for their accuracy & authenticity for many, many years. With many disagreements, I might add.

[J@3]

I bet God's raking in the royalties from that one.

[Andreas Dahl]

May I ask what the reason of this thread is that differs from the "Bible Thread"?

[Cloudy]

Probably this is all about Basics..lol
I gotta say #8 is right...

[bullsfan009]

Yeah that's the reason.

To Filip: Yes, I was sort of repeating myself there, but I was trying to set up #8 with reasons, to explain why it's important to know about the Bible. But yeah, I know, not everyone will care, and that's totally their right .

To Jae: I don't understand what you were talking about.

To Andreas Dahl: I mentioned it at the beginning- the Bible Thread is very technical and advanced now, so I wanted to (for myself too) balance it out with looking at the basics too. COOLmac & I are cool on this.

To Cloudy:


Hopefully more coming tomorrow...

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

Well , if the Bible is correct, than it's the source of all human truth....

If it is a hoax, than it's the most dangerous misconception of all time... leading people to waste their lives chasing fake ideals...

There is no gray path here friends... that's why believing or not believing is a big decision, if one can actually say that we choose what we believe in...

[Indy]

I think the bible is complete horseshit. I believe anybody who says they live their lives based off the bible have some serious problems.

The bible encourages people to leave their families, to forget everything they know and just believe in god and trust Jesus Christ as your savior. Isn't that what cults do?

[Jackal]

If you don't like the Bible, that's fine. But to say something like that, that's just downright rude.

He's shown nothing but respect to whomever doesn't believe, show him the same amount of respect by not bad-mouthing whatever it is he believes in.

[Mazzocchi]

Dont like the bible?

Just incase you get confused easily.

[Strike Freedom]

It was strange why the Roman Empire tried to confiscate all the bibles in the "dark" ages.. after the age of NT till 1400's ? or earlier.

[Mentally Hilarious]

What intrest me is that people interpret it to be the word of god, yet it has been translated by despots many times, and one could be wary about it being done for the good of the despot himself.

Anyhow, rubbish or not, to be fundamental about it seems naive.

[cyanide]

I don't think the importance of either accepting it as the "Word of God" or "as a hoax" is the purpose of the Bible, but to show morality and universal truths that reflect our lives and the way we live. The story of Jesus isn't just about him getting killed and his ressurection is proof that he is God, really, I look beyond that to the fact of how Jesus treated others and looked toward love and forgiveness which the world could really use.

It was strange why the Roman Empire tried to confiscate all the bibles in the "dark" ages.. after the age of NT till 1400's ? or earlier.

Yup, I think there were about a hundred different gospels that are now destroyed at, I believe, the Council of Nicea, and became the Bible as it is today in that order, even though several of the books are not in chronological order.

[FendeR`]

I know for sure that I don't agree with people who give up their civilized lives and their families, etc. to worship what religion/God they believe in. But I do believe somewhat in a God, just not with a whole scenario about what he's done and stuff like that.

[Ruff Ryder]

I think the bible is complete horseshit. I believe anybody who says they live their lives based off the bible have some serious problems.

The bible encourages people to leave their families, to forget everything they know and just believe in god and trust Jesus Christ as your savior. Isn't that what cults do?

If that is what cults do, then what is the difference between a religion and a cult? "Seek first the kingdom of God, and all things will be added unto you." Where are you talking about where it encourages you to leave your family and forget everything you know?

Everyone in this thread needs to be open-minded, and tolerant of everyone's beliefs. This especially goes for me. If I'm being hypocritical, unfair, biased, or anything else, the best thing to do is help me out and let me know so I can change for the better

You're doing a real good job there.

[shadowgrin]

I bet God's raking in the royalties from that one.

Maybe an EXTREME version of the Bible will be released soon to earn more converts!

8. BECAUSE OF THE MAGNITUDE & IMPORTANCE OF THE BIBLE, IT IS EITHER THE SOURCE OF THE GREATEST HOAX IN HUMAN HISTORY OR IT IS THE WRITTEN WORD OF GOD.

How about the Koran? Muslims believe the same too, that's why they don't allow translations or variations to be done to the Koran.

[bullsfan009]

Well , if the Bible is correct, than it's the source of all human truth....

If it is a hoax, than it's the most dangerous misconception of all time... leading people to waste their lives chasing fake ideals...

There is no gray path here friends... that's why believing or not believing is a big decision, if one can actually say that we choose what we believe in...

Hello again Mr. Dweaver- I agree with you here.

The bible encourages people to leave their families, to forget everything they know and just believe in god and trust Jesus Christ as your savior. Isn't that what cults do?

You are right to an extent, Mr. IndyPacers67. In the Bible Jesus does say, "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will recieve a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life." Yet Jesus also preaches many times on the value of money, being a good parent and spouce, and many different people in various occupations. He never expressed a desire to the general public to physically leave everything and follow him- he only sought out certain specific individuals during his day. And these people had a purpose: they were the ones who spread the Christian message after Jesus' death.

What intrest me is that people interpret it to be the word of god, yet it has been translated by despots many times, and one could be wary about it being done for the good of the despot himself.

Anyhow, rubbish or not, to be fundamental about it seems naive.

Yes it does- also, the Bible was copied and translated by hand for many years by humans- there's got to be some margin of human error in there. Although it is interesting and amazing that the ancient manuscripts that have been found in various languages are extremely similar in content. The scribes back then were careful about their tedious work, especially because they believed the text to be sacred. It's pretty much accepted that the current Bible is very close to the original Bible- the question is is the original Bible accurate...

It was strange why the Roman Empire tried to confiscate all the bibles in the "dark" ages.. after the age of NT till 1400's ? or earlier.

I've never heard about that- Christianity was the official religion of Rome by A.D. 400, wasn't it? After Constantine? What was their reason for confiscating the Bibles?

I don't think the importance of either accepting it as the "Word of God" or "as a hoax" is the purpose of the Bible, but to show morality and universal truths that reflect our lives and the way we live. The story of Jesus isn't just about him getting killed and his ressurection is proof that he is God, really, I look beyond that to the fact of how Jesus treated others and looked toward love and forgiveness which the world could really use.

The message becomes tainted in people's minds, however, if they feel that the Bible is nothing but a hoax. I personally agree- as far as the message goes, it's irrelevant whether or not the Bible is the Word of God or a hoax. The message is there no matter what, and people have to decide for themselves if they agree with it. On earth, I believe in separating the man from the message. For example, if Hitler says "Killing is wrong," does the fact that it came from someone who murdered millions make the statement any less true? No it doesn't.

How about the Koran? Muslims believe the same too, that's why they don't allow translations or variations to be done to the Koran.

Good point here- I must admit I don't know much about the Koran's contents, but I do know that Jesus is seen as a great teacher (but not God) by the mainstream religion of Islam. Another thing: it is believed by Muslims that the Koran is the literal word of God as told to Muhammad, who just wrote it down. I'm not sure how you could go about proving/disproving that. The Bible at least was written by many different people & sources.

[Cloudy]

Did Moses write Genesis, the Book of Creation?
The creation is kinda crazy...imagine that we're all related... Adam and Eve!!

[Matt]

Please, the people that are just gonna insult the Bible just leave your comments to yourself unless you know the Bible in it's ENTIRETY not just parts that you choose to pick on.

God encourages families, in fact your purpose in life is to be either a servant of God (priest or nun or other religious) or set up a family and have as many children as you can sustain.

[Indy]

If you don't like the Bible, that's fine. But to say something like that, that's just downright rude.

He's shown nothing but respect to whomever doesn't believe, show him the same amount of respect by not bad-mouthing whatever it is he believes in.

I am being tolerant, I'm reading everyone elses posts, I'm not being disrespectful. I'm voicing my opinion that I think the bible is a very offensive and piece of shit book. I have explained my ideas to my uncle who is a priest, and I have explained my ideas to many people, and used no different language then I am now, and none of them found it offensive. Just because I have strong anti-bible ideas doesn't mean I'm being disrespectful or rude.

[Andreas Dahl]

Believe it or not, you calling the bible a "piece of shit book" and that it is "complete horseshit" is rather disrespectful and rude.

[Indy]

Believe it or not, you calling the bible a "piece of shit book" and that it is "complete horseshit" is rather disrespectful and rude.

That is my belief. This thread is for people to express their beliefs on the bible.

Fine, I won't use anymore swear words in this thread.

However, I won't back off of my belief that the Bible is a horrible piece of writing which started a religion that I think is hateful in many ways.

[Jackal]

As Andreas said, calling it a piece of shit is offensive, it may not be to you or to your priest, but it could be to someone else.

Express however it is you feel about the bible, just try to keep in mind there are people that are quite sentimental about it and try not to use offensive words given it is a delicate area with many people. I'm sure you wouldn't say something like that amongst a group of church going people, as saintly as they may be, they'd kick your ass.

In short, keep the offensive words out and express whatever it is you have to express without using them.

Oh, giving some reasons as to why the bible is so bad would be nice to, it'd make for good discussion I reckon. Not from me though, I've never read the bible & I doubt I will.

[cyanide]

However, I won't back off of my belief that the Bible is a horrible piece of writing which started a religion that I think is hateful in many ways.

I'll respect your beliefs, but I'll agree that religion can be used to manipulate and control people, but in many ways, especially in the New Testament, there are a lot of moral aspects. The problem is, some people tend to take the Bible literally, and that causes a lot of problems. In history, the Bible have been used as a tool to gain power and control, but don't blame the Bible, blame people - for using it as a tool of power, and for those accepting it as a tool of power. The Bible has been misinterpreted for so long now, I can tell you that, but I find some parts of it very enlightening, but I read them as metaphors - not literally - so I can see the message behind the story.