i'm reading teh kjv bible

[_choof]

I havent read anything out of a bible since I was a teenager, and I'm p sure I was using an niv bible back then for church and youth group and whatever else lol. recently fell down a bit of a philisophical rabbit hole and felt compelled to revisit the bible, but I figured I'd read the kjv bible instead, since that seems to be the most widely respected by far in regards to the bible as an artistic work of english language literature. I'm also interested in the apocryphia, as I had literally never heard about this until very recently (like within the last few months)

o also I'm not religious at all and would solidly consider myself an atheist. I'm only letting jesus come in thru the backdoor

[ositzxz369]

(1.) Instead of reading, have you considered listening to a YT vid of someone reading the bible to you? (2.) What do you mean by saying, "letting jesus come in thru the backdoor" ?

[_choof]

I enjoy reading from physical books, I also have a free monthly credit thing for audible due to amazon prime or whatever so I've been reading along while listening to the audiobook, it's kino. the audiobook doesnt have the apocryphia tho, rip
I told my christian mom that I've been reading the bible and she's pretty excited for me to let jebus into my heart. sorry mom....

[jacobvl39]

Some sections of ritual laws, genealogy, etc. in certain books like Leviticus, Numbers or 1 Chronicles can be quite a slog. A lot of people will get to these points and give up. My advice is don't be afraid to skim or skip some of those parts if that's what it takes to keep going.

[rushyrulz]

from what I recall, the KJV is quite a dry read. As are all holy books tho.

[_choof]

Originally Posted by jacobvl39

Some sections of ritual laws, genealogy, etc. in certain books like Leviticus, Numbers or 1 Chronicles can be quite a slog. A lot of people will get to these points and give up. My advice is don't be afraid to skim or skip some of those parts if that's what it takes to keep going.

considering how repetitive numbers can be I wonder if I could just slap a bit of reverb on the audiobook and play a low drone in the background and listen to it like that lmao

Originally Posted by rushyrulz

from what I recall, the KJV is quite a dry read. As are all holy books tho.

so far so good, it'll most likely vary quite a bit from book to book. numbers sucks ass in every english version of the bible but psalms and song of songs slap

[br1mst0ne]

if you don't want to fall into the current narrative of "ohh those <insert minority here in negative manner>", treat the old testament of the bible as a storybook

idk if i should get into this more though here's a link; even if you aren't a christian (which i'm somewhat atheist but just focusing on other things more than religion atm) it's still a somewhat interesting read
https://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-law.html

[_choof]

I'm treating all of it as primarily a work of fiction, because it is

[br1mst0ne]

valid, i was just accounting for either believing or not believing

anyways hope you at least enjoy the book

[XCV]

Originally Posted by jacobvl39

Some sections of ritual laws, genealogy, etc. in certain books like Leviticus, Numbers or 1 Chronicles can be quite a slog. A lot of people will get to these points and give up. My advice is don't be afraid to skim or skip some of those parts if that's what it takes to keep going.

Ironically, the endless family tree in 1 Chronicles was the only part of the Bible I can remember enjoying growing up in evangelical Christian school. But I'm weird like that.

[aperson]

kjv is probably the most useful for understanding why WASPs are the way they are but probably the worst from a translational accuracy perspective

[_choof]

interesting, what would you consider to be the most accurate in terms of translation, the nrsv?

[aperson]

nrsv is probably more accurate but nasb is probably go to for correctness + ubiquity.

[mellonxcollie]

When I was in Catholic school I always wanted to use KJV because it just made more sense to me. When I'd look up verses online KJV always seemed like the least convoluted. but of course we weren't allowed to use it

How is it after not reading it since being a teen? I'd be in that boat too but honestly I could never ever see myself willingly reading a bible. kinda rather stab myself in the face so I will take your word on the experience

[BruceAdler]

Originally Posted by _choof

I havent read anything out of a bible since I was a teenager, and I'm p sure I was using an niv bible back then for church and youth group and whatever else lol. recently fell down a bit of a philisophical rabbit hole and felt compelled to revisit the bible, but I figured I'd read the kjv bible instead, since that seems to be the most widely respected by far in regards to the bible as an artistic work of english language literature. I'm also interested in the apocryphia, as I had literally never heard about this until very recently (like within the last few months) It sounds like you decided to approach reading the Bible with an open mind, despite your atheistic views. As for reading with an audiobook, it can be a great way to immerse yourself in the text. Sometimes I do the same when I don’t have time to do something. Before audiobooks, if I didn’t have time to read or do something, I used assignment help and nothing else. In assignment help uk, I found all the answers to all my questions. As for audiobooks, I just listened to them when I needed to go somewhere. This way I didn’t waste time and did two things at once.

o also I'm not religious at all and would solidly consider myself an atheist. I'm only letting jesus come in thru the backdoor

The Apocrypha, as far as I know, is a collection of books that are not included in the canon of most Protestant Bibles.

[s1rnight]

i like the esv.

[sweet2kill210]

Originally Posted by aperson

nrsv is probably more accurate but nasb is probably go to for correctness + ubiquity.

Huh, I tried to read through the entire Bible, myself, a few years ago (didn't make it, but got through most of it) and settled on the NIV after researching the differences between each one, personally. I was looking for a translation that read more naturally in English, but also tried to keep the "intended meaning," however that's decided.

If this website is to be believed, though, then it looks like I should've tried reading the GW version?? Perhaps I took other factors into account that I don't remember; I just recall that I used several sources before starting to read it because I overthink everything.

https://beinnotof.com/post/bibletranslations

Sounds like choof already settled on the KJV, but just thought I'd share.

EDIT: Huh, and now I read sources saying the GW version's more of a paraphrase, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[_choof]

whoops, turns out atheist might not be an accurate title. agnostic seems more fitting now. if there's some kinda higher power tho it's definitely not this one lmao. there is some truly heinous shit in here.

Originally Posted by sweet2kill210

Huh, I tried to read through the entire Bible, myself, a few years ago (didn't make it, but got through most of it) and settled on the NIV after researching the differences between each one, personally. I was looking for a translation that read more naturally in English, but also tried to keep the "intended meaning," however that's decided.

If this website is to be believed, though, then it looks like I should've tried reading the GW version?? Perhaps I took other factors into account that I don't remember; I just recall that I used several sources before starting to read it because I overthink everything.

https://beinnotof.com/post/bibletranslations

Sounds like choof already settled on the KJV, but just thought I'd share.

EDIT: Huh, and now I read sources saying the GW version's more of a paraphrase, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

basically what I did first was look online at verses that I am familiar with and compare various translations, and ended up juggling between niv, kjv, and nrsv. niv is the translation that was used at my church and the one I'm the most familiar with, kjv is pretty widely considered to be one of the most important works of literature in the english language, nrsv was a translation I stumbled upon that seems to be used primarily by scholars. thanks for linking this, while I disagree with the whole "walking with god" bit, that graph detailing translations is pretty neat.

I did end up picking up the nasb. I read through several books using the kjv translation but it's honestly a really exhausting read, and I found myself frequently looking up words or phrases that I could kinda parse on first read/listen but wanted to be sure. a bit of an ironic twist I suppose, I'm studying the bible more now than I ever did as a teen rofl.

I genuinely think the niv ruins a lot of the vivid and intense language found in the kjv, and I think this makes sense given the niv is geared towards evangelism. it's palatable and easy to digest in bite size pieces, easy for the pastor to use a few verses from it during sunday service that won't be lost on anyone in attendance. but imo when reading it for not that purpose, it's boring as hell lol. I now understand what ap meant by "correctness + ubiquity."

[rushyrulz]

Originally Posted by _choof

whoops, turns out atheist might not be an accurate title. agnostic seems more fitting now. if there's some kinda higher power tho it's definitely not this one lmao. there is some truly heinous shit in here.

Agnostic is not a descriptor of any position on its own. It's just the scale on which you weigh the ability to know something. If you think it's within the realm of possibility to know {x} for sure, you are gnostic about {x}.

For instance, I am gnostic of meteorology, as I have seen compelling evidence that individuals (not even necessarily myself) are capable of predicting near-future weather patterns. So, while it is not a perfect science by any stretch of the imagination, I am of the belief that accurate, and even near-perfect forecasting is possible given enough time to research and advance the technology that allows us to do so.

Agnostic simply means that {x} is not within the realm of possibility to know for sure.

I am agnostic of the outcome of a fair dice roll. Until after it happens and I see the result, I do not know what the outcome would be.

When you get into the realm of religion, and specifically theism, that's where the can of worms gets opened up. This is why in almost all contexts when the word agnostic pops up, it's in the context of a God belief.



It's my belief that anyone who is gnostic on this scale is disingenuous, or in other words, does not have a sound reason for their belief. (Opinion) There just isn't really enough evidence, if any, to support or completely reject any God claims due to their unfalsifiable nature.

[_choof]

if we're talking about the Big G, I definitely don't believe that exists at all, but if we're talking about god(s) in general, I'm not sure and I don't believe there's any way to know for sure. I'm still trying to figure out how to flesh out what I think in regards to the question of whether a higher power exists or not. atm what I can say is that I don't think any of the named gods that we've come up with throughout our entire history exist, at least as literally portrayed. I don't believe in the supernatural, but if such a thing exists, a higher power that might exist there is inaccessible to us and ultimately doesn't matter because of that.

aside from the unfalsifiability, I'm starting to think it's also incurious to say for certain that god does or doesn't exist lol. idk tho, I still want to read more. especially texts from the other large religions. I've heard the book of mormon sucks ass