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Hijack from Recommended Religious Reading


Cap'n Refsmmat

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Let's start up a reading list of recommended books about religion. So, what books have you read have been thought-provoking, influential, or just downright interesting?

 

I'll start.

 

  • The New Oxford Annotated Bible. I'm not done yet, but the annotations are very helpful and there are collections of explanatory essays and introductions to give background material about the theology and history involved.
  • Lost Christianities, by Bart Ehrman. An interesting introduction into the early variants of Christianity that didn't survive to modern times. The variety is fascinating.

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While you are waiting you can read "Letters to Malcom: Chiefly on Prayer", also by C.S. Lewis. But really any spiritual book by Lewis, though the two metioned here are his most widely read.


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Also, you can read Letters to Malcom on Google Books.

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  • 4 weeks later...
I could recommend the Bible.

 

Why that canon?


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[*]Lost Christianities, by Bart Ehrman. An interesting introduction into the early variants of Christianity that didn't survive to modern times. The variety is fascinating.

 

Most of Ehrman's books are pretty good, but I especially like that one.

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Any particular reason you chose the ESV over others? The Oxford Annotated goes for the NRSV, and I also have the NIV.

 

To be honest, the reason I picked it up was it was the easiest one to integrate with a study bible on my iphone. But after using it a while I rather like it (but I have no better reasoning than that).

 

I quite like The Message too, but I am a little wary of it.

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I read the bible in hebrew with arameic/hebrew/rashi comments. However, when in need to communicate with people who don't know hebrew (no one's perfect), I prefer this version: http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0.htm

 

Side-by-side English/Hebrew bible. Of course, that doesn't include the sequel.. you'll have to find an alternative source for that.

 

~moo

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  • 3 weeks later...
I enjoyed reading The Screwtape Letters. It is written as a series of letters between a senior demon and his apprentice, giving advice on how to ensure the damnation of the "patient".

 

I have only read a chapter or two and I already love the book. Seriously, this is hilarious. (And frighteningly perceptive.)

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  • 2 months later...

'The Jesus I Never Knew.'

 

by Philip Yancey

 

I got this for a buck at the Goodwill Store and it is, hands down, the best book I've ever read. Period.

 

Yancey, who is actually a journalist, goes into great detail about Jesus' earthly background, his upbringing, walk and battles.

 

It really changed the way I think about both- Jesus the man and also Jesus the Son of God.

 

As a scientist, I especially appreciate the fact that he references practically everything.

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  • 1 month later...

I would recommend reading the Book of Mormon. Its like the bible except its location is in the America's instead of Europe.

 

And here I've been thinking the Bible took place in the Middle East.

 

Shows what I know. :D

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That would be the Coran (Koran?) I believe. :D

 

I was being sarcastic.

 

The Bible and the Koran both took place in the Middle East.

 

When the books of the Bible were written Europe was entirely a pagan continent.

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I read the bible in hebrew with arameic/hebrew/rashi comments. However, when in need to communicate with people who don't know hebrew (no one's perfect), I prefer this version: http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0.htm

 

Side-by-side English/Hebrew bible. Of course, that doesn't include the sequel.. you'll have to find an alternative source for that.

 

~moo

 

Wow. To be totally honest, I'm impressed. Most of the people I know who do accept the bible as supernaturally inspired haven't even taken the time to learn Hebrew and Greek Aramaic.

 

Might I ask how you managed to learn both languages? I'm getting at software...in particular.

 

Cheers,

 

 

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

 

 

What are some good commentated versions of the Gnostic gospels?

Edited by Syntho-sis
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Also, it's not "Greek-Aramaic", it's Hebrew-Aramaic. It's one language - ancient hebrew.

I was referring to the "Old" testament, and used the name "bible" out of habit.

I didn't read (and can't speak of) the "original" language of the new testament (Greek mostly, some Hebrew).

 

This --

Of course, that doesn't include the sequel.. you'll have to find an alternative source for that.

 

-- is a reference to the "New" testament, if it wasn't clear. As an Israeli Jew, I've learned (quite extensively) the "old" testament (we just called it "the bible"), which is in hebrew/aramaic and has commentary. The 'new' testament is a whole other business; I didn't really get into that one.

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Also, it's not "Greek-Aramaic", it's Hebrew-Aramaic. It's one language - ancient hebrew.

Pardon? Ancient Hebrew and ancient Aramaic are different beasts. Aramaic appears in a few books of the Hebrew Bible and in the New Testament as the language Jesus speaks (although the authors of the gospels translate him to Greek). The rest of the Hebrew Bible is ancient Hebrew.

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Pardon? Ancient Hebrew and ancient Aramaic are different beasts. Aramaic appears in a few books of the Hebrew Bible and in the New Testament as the language Jesus speaks (although the authors of the gospels translate him to Greek). The rest of the Hebrew Bible is ancient Hebrew.

 

That is true. However, since today we speak modern hebrew, in order to understand context and meaning of some of the ancient words, we refer to the aramaic meaning, since both languages seem to share a lot. I don't know how to speak or write or read aramaic, but when we read the bible, I can't really say it's "Hebrew" as hebrew is known today (or even as it was known 100 years ago), so to make the distinction, we refer to that language as 'hebrew/aramaic'. It absolutely is ancient hebrew, though, you're absolutely right -- and there absolutely *IS* a distinction between the languages.

 

I meant to say that it's ancient hebrew and not greek, I guess I should stop using the two languages together and just say where the words might have similar meanings instead ;) that might be clearer in the future.

 

Are you pulling my leg? Is this true Mooey?

 

Yeah, it's true, why would I be pulling your leg on this?

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  • 2 months later...
  • 2 months later...

I"d recomend the United States and Great Britan in prophecy by Herbert Armstrong. I found it enlightning. I also like the book of Enoch. My favorite Bible is the King James Version because it's poetic and I understand that 80 percent of it is Tynsdale's original english bible. This mans story has been quite the insperation to me. Sometimes I wonder what Stephen "in the book of acts I think" was preaching when they stoned him to death, and sometimes I wonder when they'll be coming to stone me.

Edited by 36grit
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