The Bible

In what way is it shallow? I'm advocating for reading the whole Bible, and reading it deeply and critically: by reading the best available scholarly editions, by reading it alongside critical commentary, and by reading it alongside other contemporaneous works of fiction. It seems to me that's a reasonably deep perspective. The shallow perspective is the one usually practiced by Christians: reading the bible piecemeal, cherry-picking passages, reading it in isolation from other fiction of the time, and reading it uncritically as an ethical manual.

The Bible

As an atheist, I couldn't agree more. The fastest way to become an atheist, as it's often pointed out, is to read the Bible, which explains why about 95% of the Christians I've known have never read it. When asked, they say things like "the _whole_ thing?" or "cover to cover?" as if it were the unabridged Oxford English Dictionary, instead of just a single volume. As a work of literature, with an unparalleled influence on Western culture, it's required reading for anyone interested in literature, philosophy, history, or related disciplines. As a blueprint for how to live your life, however, any reasonably ethical person will find its teachings to be at odds with modern ethics. More often than not, it's morally repugnant, and unapologetic about it, too. You won't hear about how backwards its morality is by going to church, though, and so you need to read it for yourself. Even Jesus, one of the most upright citizens in the book, is revealed to be as full of hate and vengeance as he is a "prince of peace."…

The bible

The bible obviously

The main cultural touchstones are disproportionately concentrated in a few books too, you can get a lot of them with just a dozen or two hours of reading. Genesis specifically is packed with common references, can be read in a few hours, and is fairly engaging and accessible as a coherent piece of literature in its own right. Ecclesiastes is like five pages and possibly the most quoted thing across european cultures. So many literary references and even common idioms come from there. After that any one synoptic gospel + john + acts will set you up to catch a lot of christianity-specific cultural references. And then revelation imagery comes up a ton in pop culture, music, film & tv. All of what I mentioned is about the length of a medium-short novel and would set you up to catch probably the majority of allusions to the bible. You'd be missing some major stuff like moses, david & solomon, plus a bunch of misc but influential stories like jonah & the whale, samson etc. But for bang for your buck it would get you pretty far.

The Bible (preferably decent literal translations like ESV/NASB/NKJV instead of "dynamic" translations like the NIV/GoodNews/TLT/etc.) PS: there is a good difference between religion and true Christianity, which involves relationship, not religion/religious behavior

You are asking this question on Pentecost Sunday, observed by many Christians. Today we celebrate the arrival of person of The Holy Spirit, who supernaturally empowered Jesus's disciples in Jerusalem, following his death. You can read about this in the book of Acts in the Bible. As you study I would encourage you to pray. If I was interested in learning to drive, I just wouldn't read about it :-)

The Bible

The Bible, directly and indirectly, is one of the major contributor to Western Civilization. While most of them has been secularized, large amount of ideas that we take for granted or consider common in the Western Civilization, such as equality of all man and inherent dignity of human, could be traced back to The Bible. A good understanding of The Bible would give you an understanding on the process of how Western Civilization is formed as it is today. Stanford Western Culture class had Book of Genesis and New Testaments as part of required reading [0]. [0] https://web.stanford.edu/dept/news/stanfordtoday/ed/9705/970... (https://web.stanford.edu/dept/news/stanfordtoday/ed/9705/9705ncf1.html)

The Bible is not exactly .. readable? Embarking on actually reading it all the way through and understanding the references is a serious project of literary archaeology, even armed with a concordance and a Greek lexicon. Then you run in to the various hapax legomenon: the words for which we have exactly one example in one sentence in the Bible, and are forced to guess the meaning of the word from context. Then three years later you emerge blinking into the sunlight with a deep understanding of the spirituality of the European Iron age .. then what?

Meditations - Marcus Aurelius Republic - Plato Laws - Cicero National System of Political Economy - Friedrich List Man and Technics - Oswald Spengler The Bible

This has been a year of re-reading for me, so this is a timely question. I can't pick just one at the moment, but I'll split a couple of top choices via genre. (Also worth noting that in the end, my final choice would probably be the Bible.) Fiction: The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers Angle of Repose - Wallace Stegner Non-fiction: In Good Company - Stanley Hauerwas Into the Silent Land - Martin Laird

The Bible

There are countless opinions/suggestions on how to read the Bible (and the same applies to the Qu'ran for example). If you are totally new to the Bible the important thing is probably to try and get enough from it at the start that you'll be interested enough to continue. I've read it through many times and some/much of it is pretty impenetrable, obscure, and even dull. So from this perspective, and note that this isn't a great sequence theologically, I'd go with the book of Acts, the gospel of John, the books of Proverbs and Psalms, and then the letters of John. As for which versions of the Bible, avoid older ones like the King James (KJV, NKJV) or Revised Standard (RSV, ASV, NRSV); the archaic language and structure will be off-putting. I'd perhaps go with the Contemporary English Version (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts+1&version=... (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts+1&version=CEV)) but the linked page will let you see the various translations of the same text using a drop-down.…

First and foremost: The Bible. Not the watered down "everybody goes to heaven" theology that most people subscribe to, but rather an evidence based approach that uses the Bible to interpret itself as it was designed to do. Secondarily, this book saved my life in the sense that it helped me understand my depression, a clinical depression so deep that my psychologist had never seen such a thing previously: Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - Stephen C. Hayes https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0054M063A/ Its scientific approach to understanding our own thought patterns gave me control- coping mechanisms- for dealing with my own feelings instead of ignoring ("Burying") them and letting them slowly destroy me from the inside out.

I’m not disputing the historical significance of the Bible. I’m disputing the need to learn it to understand modern literature. And again I reference that generations of kids have managed just fine without reading the Bible. It is entirely possible to explain as phrase without reading its original source material. To give another example of this: Star Trek does exactly this with Picard and others referencing Moby Dick. I understand exactly what that dialogue is about and yet I’ve never read that specific book.

It's a collection elaborated over thirteen centuries. I think having in mind the shifting context of writing and the various forces bearing on it make it a far more compelling text. Otherwise a lot of it just reads like out of date mythology and antiquated propaganda. You can see the evolution of Canaanite polytheism to Jewish monolatry and monotheism over time, the political conflicts between the groups of the region following the Bronze Age collapse, the conflicts between Canaanite polities, the retcons to invent a unified Kingdom of Israel, the creation of a literate orthodoxy with the Babylonian exile etc. And that's just the Jewish stuff. The dynamics of Late Second Temple Judaism and Early Christianity are also fascinating.

the bible

Agreed with this one. But whole chunks of it are incredibly boring. So not one to be read cover to cover. I wonder if someone could point to an annotated bible or even a text book on the historical and culturally important points that are central to the bible.

The Bible

the Bible

Structured Programming notes by Dijkstra oh and The Bible

Fooled by Randomness - Nassim Taleb Letters from a Stoic - Seneca The Bible Beyond Good and Evil - Nietzsche Psychological Types - Carl Jung

The Bible (Old and New Testaments), An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, The Constitution of the United States of America and Jonathan Livingstone Seagull.

Which is actually a pity. The bible is at least as full of pithy quotes and genuinely helpful, thoughtful points to consider as the usual self help books. It's definitely worth a read, but so is a lot of Greek philosophy, poetry, other religious texts and a bunch more. Hence the original question that spawned this whole thread! There is original, thought provoking content being written all the time. This HN post has already given me a few recommendations for finding it, both in fiction and non-fiction.

We share some favorites. 20000 leagues under the sea by Jules Verne was my introduction to science fiction and I also enjoyed Mysterious Island (which overlaps, but is less science fiction). I had forgotten James Fenimore Cooper, and I have forgotten almost everything about the books, but yes, these were in the school library too and I read them. (we had no TV when I grew up so I read a lot, mostly books in the styles mentioned above but also historical books and fiction from the WWII, but obviously none of these are over 100 years old.) Also the Bible, it might not be highly regarded here, and I'm obviously biased, but as someone who reads other texts as well I think a number of people here could find parts of it interesting, especially contrasting it to what school and others might have told you. (Spoiler: besides the endless listings of who was who that most people will learn to skip, the full version is also a lot messier than what anyone working in school or wanting your money will tell you ; )

The Bible. Mysterious Island (1874), Around the World in Eighty Days (1873), and other books by Jules Verne. Books by James Fenimore Cooper. The Sea-Wolf (1904) by Jack London. The Count of Monte Cristo (1844) by Alexandre Dumas. Oliver Twist (1839) by Charles Dickens.

The Bible

I suggest starting at the beginning, Genesis chapter 1, and really dig into just that 1 chapter for a while and try to figure out what it's really about. Remember that it was written to a different culture, a different time, in a different language, and not at all for the purposes that a lot of modern readers want.

I was wondering how comforting reading The Bible (as a cultural catholic) could be, so I dipped in to the first book which came to mind: --- Satan Takes Job's Property and Children 13 Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 14 and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants[c] with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 16 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 17 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 18 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 19 and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four…

The Bible, Hobbit, LOTR series, Narnia, Catcher in the Rye, 1984, Papa Hemingway, these are all books that I’ve had to buy multiple times because they fall apart over the years. Never realized until just now how many comfort books I have...

Minus the Revelations book, it's great.

It's hard for me to see why this logic points to the Bible and not the Odyssey or the Iliad, about which we could say much the same things (especially the Iliad, which shows clear marks of some parts of the story being much older than others). Or frankly any very old text with pre-literary roots. I am certainly pro-Bible, but in the terms you're putting it here it doesn't seem especially compelling.

I may get flak for this but... The Bible. Immensely useful in a variety of areas in daily life. Even secular readers praise its poetry and purpose. I prefer the English Standard Version. Readable yet accurate.

The bible

The Bible.

As the Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth "The Bible", changes the way I look the world by showing more love and more compassion.

1. "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey. Taught me how to be more productive and simplify thinking about productivity. One of the books I re-read every year. 2. "The Bible" - I am not too religious, but I am a spiritual person. I find the new testament to be a good blueprint on how to live a righteous life. 3. "The Pragmatic Programmer: from journeyman to master" - such a timeless classic. Just get it...

1. The Bible. It encourages me to live in a way that's also good for others, especially when I'm feeling selfish and cynical, and it teaches me how to interact with them in a healthy way (e.g. the book of Proverbs). 2. The Elements of Style. I always enjoyed writing, but at first school taught me to write in a flowery, longwinded way. This was the book that cracked the code for me to good writing. It dispelled a lot of self-serving and ultimately self-defeating habits and paved the way to clean, helpful English. When I finally got into programming in my late twenties, I found that many of the same principles make good code. 3. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. This is like the Elements of Style but for graphs. Again, it encouraged me to cut through the hype and deliver the content as clearly and succinctly as possible --- to serve the reader, not stroke my ego.

The Design of Everyday Things. Probably the quintessential book on design, the basic premise is that if you can't figure out how a thing works, it's not your fault. Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down. About the engineering of various things, mostly buildings. Highly recommend. The Elements of Computer Systems (better known as NAND to Tetris). Describes a computer from the bottom up. A History of the Arab Peoples The Quran The Bible Space and Time in General Relativity by David Mermin Feynman QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter

The Bible, definitely PS: Proverbs 22:29 is a motivation for me to always improve my craft Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before obscure men.

The Bible. No wait, don't go. I'm serious here. Read Proverbs -- from a purely atheistic mindset if you must. Very practical business and life advice if you're willing to hear it. Read Ecclesiastes. Don't spend your life chasing after the wind -- you can't take it with you. Read Romans 12:9-21. Do what it says for a week. Read about Jesus washing His servant's feet (John 13:1-17). Serve your team/family, put them first. It's confirmation bias, but I'm continually amazed how the "next new business/life strategy" was already written ~2-5 thousand years ago. (edit: Romans reference fixed, thanks)

The Bible, since 0.

Dive into the classics. John Cowper Powys may help you to plan a great journey : http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/12914/pg12914.html (Despite a few bizarre choices. Paul Bourget, seriously ?) If I had to choose myself : Homer (The Iliad and the Odyssey), the Bible (David's psalms and Job's book), Augustine, Dante, Saint Simon, Shakespeare, Rousseau, Dostoievsky, Proust, Céline. Aparté : If you like ambitious history with economic insights, I would strongly suggest to read Fernand Braudel works. He wrote three fantastic triptychs : - The Mediterranean: And the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II (his thesis) - Civilization and Capitalism, 15th-18th Century (the best history books I've ever read) - The Identity of France

Personally for me The Bible is and has always been. I'm not a religious fanatics but The Bible has taught me how to live life no matter how hard life is so that's good enough for me. Lately I've been reading old books as well from Og Mandino. Ditto with technical books: books from the 70's, 80's, 90's are quite good. The rest are... "OK".

I do. The Bible has changed more lives than any other book, movie, or song you can name.

The Bible: Ecclesiastes - For Humans Starting From Scratch by Wes Moss - For Entrepreneurs

These books, although some now I might not endorse some of their teaching but they have help me to see the world in a different light: The Mystery Method - Erik Von Markovik[Social Engineering at its best] Rich Dad Poor Dad: Guide to Investing - Robert Kiyoski The Thoughtworks Anthology: Essays on Software Technology and Innovation (Pragmatic Programmers) Bible - First class book in teaching how to behave towards others, especially proverbs. Tao Te Ching - For this two verse you should read it: "When people see some things as beautiful, other things become ugly. When people see some things as good, other things become bad. Being and non-being create each other. Difficult and easy support each other. Long and short define each other. High and low depend on each other. Before and after follow each other" Cyropaedia - "Along with the The prince this book was required reading by all former statesmen."

Irrational Man is a good introduction to existentialism and he has a very readable overview of philosophy from the Greeks until now. This is will largely be ignored on this tread, but The Bible is a source of philosophical thought for millions of people. You can get a clear picture of the central theme by reading the book of John.

(Your reply brings to mind another book I should have mentioned - The Order of Things (Les Mots et Les Choses) by Michel Foucault.) If philosophy is the drive to understand the human condition, I don't think any philosopher can or should ignore the Bible. Athens, Rome and Jerusalem are where the Western mind was born it has been said. And there is nothing to stop you approaching the Bible as it were hermeneutically, ie. in the same way you might treat the Greek Myths. I find it fascinating myself - from the "ex nihilo" of Genesis, through the "de profundis" of the Psalms, to Job's "Why?!", not to mention the Christian New Testament - and I think it will be read (by philosophers) long after many books in "The Philosophy Section" have been forgotten.

The Bible, Wild at Heart, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Songs for Martha <-- I have an autographed copy, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Rainbow Six (and most other Clancy books)

The Bible Autobiography of Ben Franklin Mastering the Winds of Change (solid self-improvement book)