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/lit/ - Literature

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12728004 No.12728004 [Reply] [Original]

Thinking of reading the Bible. What are the most important books of the Old and New Testament I should read?

>> No.12728008

This depends entirely on your reasons for reading it. Can you tell us why you're interested?

>> No.12728026
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12728026

>>12728008
I'm not Christian, but I always wanted to know the Bible, but I don't have time to read the entire Bible, so I want to know the major books.

>> No.12728052

>>12728026
Try Mark for starters. Mark is the oldest Gospel and serves as much of the inspiration in Matthew and Luke. Also check out the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew and the Sermon on the Plain in Luke.

If you're still interested, Acts and the two Epistles to the Corinthians will give you a tour of the early Christian community as they expanded in the years following the death of Jesus and under the leadership of the apostles and Paul.

The most relevant texts of the OT to the NT are probably Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah, and the Psalms. Maybe have a look at the David narrative in the books of Samuel.

This will acquaint you with the plot outline of the Christian story, but you really are only scratching the surface by reading in a vacuum by yourself.

>> No.12728060
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12728060

>>12728052
thank you

>> No.12728062

First four books of the New testament are the gospels which tell of Jesus's ministry on Earth. At the least read Luke because personal preference. Romans outlines a lot of the Christian beliefs.

From the old testament I'd read Genesis to get an account of the beginning of creation. Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes offer great earthly wisdom. I'm not too well versed in the OT desu.

>> No.12728103

Since the OT is basically what the Jews keep, why is it that modern Jews are blamed for usury and debts in general, in books like Leviticus and Deuteronomy there’s the tradition of debt forgiveness?

Genesis and Exodus are the more interesting books. Job reads like a sick joke to make pitiable men feel better about their miserable lot. The NT stinks. I used to find it all so profound, but I kept running into contradictions and just horrible things. From a ancient literature perspective I suppose it can be of interest.
But nothing as good as the Epic of Gilgamesh

>> No.12728114

>>12728103
If you think of YHWH as representing life itself, Job makes more sense. It comes upon us with suffering and there is no reason to be found in it. The little duel between Satan and YHWH is a plot flourish.

What horrible things did you discover in the NT?

>> No.12728823

>>12728004
I really like Job, John, and Revelation

>> No.12729266

>>12728026
Also a non Christian here picking up the Bible.

I made some friends with new neighbors that think the world is going to end sometime this year, our conversations eventually lead to recommendations for where to start, and they recommended I start with John.

I can't remember exactly what they recommended next, we did talk about Revelations but not as a starting point. They also recommended Acts because I like St. Francis of Assisi and he apparently drew a lot of inspiration from Acts.

They also said there is no point in reading The Bible if you don't read it as the literal truth, at least from a "salvation" point of view, but I refrained from pointing out the logical fallacy in doing so.

>> No.12729547

>>12728103
>Job reads like a sick joke
Pay no mind to this siren. Read Ecclesiastes, Job and then Song of Songs after you read >>12728052