The Bible is 2000 fucking pages...?
>>25274802Just watch Veggie Tales instead.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByD0GdyEekc
>>25274802You're surprised that a collection of over 60 books compiled over hundreds of years is 2000 pages? In Search of Lost Time is longer than that. Besides, you're not meant to read it consecutively.
NTA but how would you anons guide a non-Christian (like me) to tackle the Bible? I recognize the enormous influence it has on Western literature and know that I’ll have to get to reading it sooner or later should I wish to gain a greater appreciation for other Western works (The Divine Comedy for me, chiefly, it’s been on the top of my bucket list since forever).
>>25274907Pentateuch and Gospels are at the beginning of the OT and the NT and that's where you start.
>>25274802Just read the God Delusion instead, it's much shorter and more valuable
>>25274915Dawkins would quite literally disagree. He is always stressing the historical and literary value of the Bible.
>>25274907I think a good way to start off reading the Bible would be something like:Luke (clearest narrative of the gospel imo)Romans (fundamentals of Christian doctrine)Genesis and Exodus (foundational parts of the whole book and very famous, and also fun, stories. read at least to Exodus 20 if you want to be lazy)Psalms (one of the absolute best parts of the book. All of them are brilliant but maybe try reading psalms 23, 44, 51, 88, 104, 141, 137, and 139. some of those are very famous ones, some just my favourites.)Ultimately the whole book is important, and enjoyable, but these are a good few books to get a good foundation in the Bible. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of other books which are essential for a basic level understanding (all four gospels, Galatians, etc.) but you can't go wrong reading these few first. As for translations, the following are good: ESV, RSV, NIV, NKJV. Most mainstream translations you'll find in a typical bookshop will most likely be acceptable. Read KJV if you don't mind olde timey language but desu it does make an already difficult book yet more difficult to read. Also, enjoy it. The book really is a masterpiece whether you're religious or not.
>>25274907GospelsFollow up with Genesis + exodusThen rest of new testamentThen skip around to whatever seems interestingPsalms and prophets are must read, wisdom and proverbs too, job and ecclesiastes get a lot if buzz, i like ruth
>>25274911>>25274915>>25274941Much appreciated bros. Gonna start with and at least make it through Genesis and the Gospels. Though if you don’t mind me being tangential, what other parts would you recommend reading before getting to the Comedy? I heard somewhere that the themes of Ecclesiastes is heavily discussed in the poem.
>>25274966Ecclesiastes is very beautiful, especially in the KJV translation. Same for Job and Song of Songs and many of the prophets like Isaiah, Daniel, Jonah, etc. which are also classic stories. Don't worry about completionism or trying to get every reference Dante makes to the Bible, just read the latter for its own sake.
>>25274802If you're genuinely interested in reading it just go 3-4 chapters every night. Every chapter has its own moral and it's a surprisingly rewarding read once you get into a good rythm.
>>25274966if you're trying to prime yourself to get every reference in Dante then I've got to say it's pretty much an impossible task, but you can still appreciate the brilliance of the poem without getting the million references he makes. Especially references to contemporary figures and events that nobody outside of Dante scholars really remembers now.
>>25274802>>25274907Read abridged Bibles from centuries ago that guide you through every event that happened and the lessons you should extract from them. Then read the New Testament (it's short). You now know your Bible better than 99% of people. You can read the OT over many months/years here and there.
>>25274802if you want it abridged, Php is the highlight reel
>>25274802it's like 3500pages on my kindle
>>25274802And a majority of them are shit
>>25274973Is isnt a story, but Jonah is a short story and Dan is sort of a novella. story mode is 1Sam 2Sam 1Ki 2Ki Jn Acts
>>25274802yeah, it's been a while i've been stuck on it. reading the KJV takes a lot of time. i'm hoping that the New Testament portion is more interesting but some cool stuff has happened so far in the OT.
>>25274802XNITY PRIMERhttp://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1a-9eWjZWH-6uUOcRFJ4hFsgB2vOhdZZfgoogle drive easy to use interface...read moar discern moar and chinks are insects so
>>25274802Don't worry, the church has read it for you.And you can surely trust a priest, right ... ?
>>25274907You should read MatthewJohn Luke ActsRomansJohn 11 Peter2 PeterGenesisExodusUse the RSVCE or Douey Rheims [old english]
