How should I best go about this? I want to learn about the history, meaning, lessons and literature. If I read the old testament is it necessary to read the new one?

Which version of the old testament should I read?

Should I read 'The Bible for Dummies' or 'Asimov's Guide to the Bible' before or after I read 'The Bible'?

Or should I just go to the bible study group on campus, or would I be unwelcome?

Thanking you

Yeah join the bible study group and blog about your experiences. "Too many questions Knucklehead. Not enough praise."

If I went to a study group I wouldn't be disrespectful. I'm not going there to disprove everything. I just want to learn about the book because I miss too many references in popular culture knowing nothing about it. Is there such thing as an objective study group or will they try to push their own agenda.

Start with the first 4 books of the new testament, this is the majority of what the faith goes on, principle wise. This is the life of Jesus and the apostles, and the red letters are the teachings of Jesus. Even now as an atheist I still like a lot of this stuff because its mostly about living a humble life and being a good person.

Then pick up psalms and proverbs. These are about wisdom and prayer. Once you've been through all that, then its okay to hit the old testament and read genesis and exodus, that's where the ten commandments/creationism/noah's ark is all at. This stuff is where it all falls apart, imo. But the gospels in the new testament are ace for any human being if you stick to the red letters and ignore the stuff about being the son of god, etc. If you wanna see the apocalypse stuff, its all in revalation, beware trying to discuss any of it though, everyone will go into a tear about symbolism and have 90 interpretations of it.

Also, as far as versions its a preference thing. If you'd rather see "verily verily I say unto thee" then the King James Version. If you'd rather see "I tell you this now" then the New Intl Version is the way to go. The above examples would be the same line between versions. KJV is like shakespearean jesus, NIV is closer to the way normal people speak. Its a preference thing really.

I have a hard time imagining an objective bible study group. You'll be among people who believe they're reading a divinely inspired text, and their main goal in life is to meet the author after they die. Their agenda once they find out you're an atheist will be to save you, so you'll get to meet the author too. I mean who wouldn't want to meet the author of this wonderful book that contains the most important truth in the universe?

The best people to study the bible with is faithful people but not everybody has the same degree of learning or credentials. But the faithful are the ones that try to be the experts so go with the expertise.

Before picking a group the very first thing you want to do is examine the fruit. The fruit in this case will in particular be the character of the leader of the group (examine the activities they engage in also it tells you if they are backsliding or not). Does the leader show the Christian virtues such as charity, patience, fortitude, etc. Look around you at your friends and try to identify who is the best Christian and find out where he goes or what he does to study the word (that is sometimes a good lead).

Some examples of virtues to look for:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_virtues

Sometimes the group itself will make slower progress than an individual can. I would stick with the group so you can experience their fellowship and pick up insights. In the meantime you can also buy a bible that has a reading syllabus so you can read the whole 66 books of the bible within a year. Some bibles have a reading schedule to follow in the back of the book or you can probably find a recommendation for this online. At first until you adjust to the style the reading is slow going but if you stick with it and finish the whole bible you should get results. Most people pray before reading to put them in the proper frame of mind and spirit to receive the spiritual insights.

e-sword has a sight where you can download a lot of bible tools for free.

Splendour is making my point about what you'll experience in a bible study group better than I ever could. Which makes sense. I've never attended a bible study group.

Yes I am. But your point is perverse.

The children of God are the ones trying to live up to him not the ones that dismiss him.

If you want to be a poker pro do you take directions from somebody who plays no poker or do you look for a miniature poker god to emulate. We ghost the great players.

So ghost the best faithful people if you want results.

Just as long as you remember: nobody plays flawlessly all the time. That's the ideal.

I didn't know there were so many defintions for perversion:

per⋅vert  /v. pərˈvɜrt; n. ˈpɜrvərt/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [v. per-vurt; n. pur-vert]
–verb (used with object) 1. to affect with perversion.
2. to lead astray morally.
3. to turn away from the right course.
4. to lead into mental error or false judgment.
5. to turn to an improper use; misapply.
6. to misconstrue or misinterpret, esp. deliberately; distort: to pervert someone's statement.
7. to bring to a less excellent state; vitiate; debase.
8. Pathology. to change to what is unnatural or abnormal.
9. to convert or persuade to a religious belief regarded as false or wrong.

noun 10. a person who practices sexual perversion.
11. Pathology. a person affected with perversion.
12. a person who has been perverted, esp. to a religious belief regarded as erroneous.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Origin:
1300–50; (v.) ME perverten < L pervertere to overturn, subvert, equiv. to per- per- + vertere to turn; (n.) n. use of obs. pervert perverted

Related forms:

per⋅vert⋅er, noun
per⋅vert⋅i⋅ble, adjective
per⋅vert⋅i⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun
per⋅vert⋅i⋅bly, adverb


Synonyms:
2. seduce, corrupt, demoralize. 3. divert. 4. mislead, misguide. 7. pollute, defile; impair, degrade.


http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pervert

If all you're interested in is the history and lessons focused on in the bible, I don't really think it's necessary to read the book itself. Plenty of books like the ones you mentioned can cover it with added detail. Then you can look up specific parts that you want to get more in depth.

If you're looking to learn about the morals of Christianity, the Jefferson Bible does a nice job of laying them out without the religious overtones.

http://www.amazon.com/Jefferson-Bibl...1993068&sr=8-1

Then you're not really reading the original.

The original is the book of salvation.

If you don't want to receive divine grace then by all means sidestep it.

But don't think you examined the bible. Jesus and the Word overlap considerably.

Reading someone else's interpretation is to miss the personal experience.

If you're still an atheist after you read it, you aint reading it right.

LOL...I have faith in you Steve you are such a good person you are going to read it right some day.

God bless you til then.

Listen to it instead of music for a couple of weeks. If you like a single book or chapter, take the time to read it. Get cliff-notes from wikipedia to flesh out your understanding. Some of the stories are pretty good, and there are some great logical fallacies in there too, if you like that kind of thing (it's a bit like spotting bloopers in films, but easier).

Once you feel confident you've covered the lot, dismiss the whole experience and try and recover the brain-space by playing su-doku or something else more productive.

That's actually the whole point of the Jefferson Bible, to remove the religious connotations and only examine the moral code. It's made up of solely biblical text, I'd call it an examination more than an interpretation.

Since it sounds like OP wants to study the bible more for it's historic and cultural value than to gain religious insight, I thought it'd be a good recommendation.

Then Jefferson cut the spiritual heart out of the bible.

I see no reason for anyone to read the bible if he isn't seeking to have the eyes of his heart opened.

For an atheist to read it is really only valid for one of two reasons: 1) he's trying to find God or the path to eternal life or; 2) he's already rejected him and is trying to disprove God but that's a wasted effort. Faith isn't falsifiable.


Any other reason is a detour.

Then you're being closed minded. Lots of people like to read religious texts as they are invaluable as pieces of history. Very few other works reveal so much about how beliefs shaped societies. I know many non-Christians who have read the bible for study, just as I know many non-Muslims who've read the Qur’an (many of them Christians who wanted a better understand of Muslim faith and culture)

I'm a former Christian, and while I no longer practice any religion, I still read certain books of the bible as I feel they do offer one of the best moral codes mankind has ever come up with. Despite what you find as "valid" reasons, in actuality many people read the bible for many different reasons.

I'm sorry if my reason for reading the bible is "invalid" to you. I have no interest in finding god or disproving god. This additude is why I probably won't go to a study group.

I just want to read the most popular and most famous book in the world as much of our language and culture is based off it.

I will take jd_poker's advice and listen to the thing. I'll also buy the King James Study Version as the text is more poetic and old, but I'll listen to the NIV version so I don't get lost.

I want to have at least read the whole thing so I can understand it fully then I may purchase a bible guide.

If all you did was commit to reading the bible for one uninterrupted hour a day it would change your life. Not even study it, just read it like any novel, and flip to something else if you get bored or find your mind wandering. There is something different about the bible and it's not hard to identify once you get into it. Good luck, and beware the sudden desire to sleep when you open the book. That's no accident or coincidence.

I second this. Listening is great because you can do it while working out, commuting to work, etc.

I listen to this guy (Bible Podcast) because he seems to really understand what he is reading so he uses proper accentuation, tone, etc.

It's free and you can subscribe via Itunes for simplicity.

T

Knucklehead,

I'd also recommend the following:

1) I read from the NASB which has study notes at the bottom. I find these immensely helpful. The notes at the bottom will often clarify cultural references and also sometimes point out another book in the Bible with a similar passage/story. They are huge IMO.

2) I'd recommend starting with the NT because it will read easier and seem easier. The OT is wonderful, but it can easily be confusing if you don't know the context. For example, in some books of the OT the Israelites have a kingdom and are defending it, in others they are captives in a foreign land, etc.

My favorite NT book is Ephesians but if you want to start at the simpliest point I might start with the letters of John (1 John, 2 John) and then perhaps the gospel of Luke.

3) As you read and feel more comfortable, I suggest letting God be your guide. I'm a Type A structured person so I naturally want to read sequentially as if I'm reading instructions or something. I don't think this works near as well as reading a book, seeing a reference to another book, feeling drawn to see what that's about, then reading the other book and continuing as such.

Last few points:

4) I try to read at the point of the day that is quiet and I can focus (for me early morning). I think that will help enormously because of #5 (see below).

5) The Bible is written for transformation more than information. It's not a history book or a science book. It's a way for God to communicate with you personally.

heh, each person is different...just because it gave you a tingling feeling in your panties doesnt mean it will do that for everyone...

i listened to the Books of Moses on audio tape recently and it just made me think that anyone who finds this a useful book to living is very misguided...horribly boring, horrible advice, horrible morals, horrible characters...waste of time imo...

Thanks for this. I'm kind of worried about the NET translation tho.
From the site you linked:"The New English Translation was the first modern translation of the Bible to follow an open-source model"

I can't really find any objective reviews on this translation. I hope it doesn't have an agenda or any censorship.

I will also follow along with a study bible that has notes. So whenever I find an interesting quote or passage I'd like to remember, I'll read the study notes, highlight and try to memorise that passage.