/lit/ - Literature

How much of the American population reads books for fun? I don't want to feel bad for starting to read classics so late in life.

>>23183466
Forgot to change my name

>>23181700

4) Marcion of Sinope is credited with assembling the first version of the Christian Bible, from a bunch of separate books that were circulating individually at the time. He was also a Gnostic, and deliberately set out to portray the Old Testament God as the Gnostic Demiurge. Care to comment?
God uses imperfect people to fulfill his purpose. In this case, to preserve the Bible. Not everyone who has worked to preserve and translate the Bible was always correct however.
Martin Luther is undeniably an important figure in the history of Christianity, as he shattered the monopoly the Catholic Church had on all religious matters, and subsequently allowed for other brave men to actually analize what the Bible teached.
Wycliffe's effort to translate the Bible to the Common English for example, or Ulrich's analysis of the Bible were baby steps into the right direction. We don't consider either as proto JWs, but we believe Jehovah used them to allow all people to eventually be able to read the Bible by themselves.
I hadn't heard of Sinope before, but even with his erroneous beliefs, I believe Jehovah used him to preserve His Word
5) Exodus 22.16: Does God really say that the victim has to marry her rapist?
I checked several versions (KJV, ESV, ASV, Reina Valera) and neither says anything about rape. Rather, it says that the man seduces the virgin and then lies down with her (consensually) before marriage. Essentially, he did his bed, now has to sleep in it. No deadbeat parenting in Ancient Israel
In summary, no. There is another part of the Pentateuch where the law specifies as to what to do with the rapist. I can't remember where exactly it is, but it usually involved the death of the man (and/or woman if she didn't report on him)

>6) and 7)
Exodus 12:35-38. They virtually plundered the Egyptians as they were leaving. Not only that, but a "mixed company" of others who weren't Israelites joined them with their possesions as well.
>>23181517
kek, though there are some rich JWs out there as well

>>23181556

1) In Exodus 9.6
This one was actually interesting. I noticed that in our NWT, it says "all sorts of livestock", while others like the KJV, American Standard, and Byington say "All the cattle". I don't know hebrew as to tell you what the original said.
I believe that our version tries to be as correct as possible, while maintaining the original meaning, but I'm sure you don't have such a high opinion of "our" Bible. Anyways, based on the NWT, you can explain this discrepancy by the fact that all types, but not every single type of livestock died, and such, some remained to be then pelted by hail

2) In Exodus 20.3, God says "you shall have no other gods before me". Doesn't that imply there are other gods of his stature?
No, quite related to your third point however,
>God admits to being jealous
Supposing you had a wife/gf. How do you think she would feel if you had an AI girlfriend which you would spend more time talking than your actual GF?
Obviously an AI girlfriend app cannot be compared to your actual partner, as she is actually real. But, would that make her feel any less jealous? On the contrary, I bbelieve she would be mad that she "loses" to lines of code kek
God is jealous in the same way. He is the almighty God, the one and only. And yet, humans pick up a piece of wood, carve it, and call it a god which they worship.

3) >advocates punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject Him.
Those who HATE him, mind you. But yes. This was somewhat prophetical as roughly 3 generations of Israelites passed during the time they were in Babylon and the last few years prior where there was no fixing it.
Also, there are other things that can affect the descendants of someone who has sinned. Since we're fresh on the topic on incest, the genetical problems will probably end his genetic line. Fetal Alcoholism is another "sin of the father" that comes to mind. Did God cause this child to be born with this illness? No

cont.

>>23181352
I am back. Typing during my work break.

Let's see how many can I tackle before I have to go back to work

First off, something I want to acknowledge first is that I feel most of your questions aren't asked in good faith, but rather with the intention to test my knowledge and try to get me into a gotcha or a contradiction. However, I will humor you bu answering at least these ones.
Another thing, is that some of your questions delve into the subject of Gnosticism. I don't know much about it other than it is not exactly a "religion" per se, but it does contain a single, almighty being called the "demiurge" which looks like a lion with a snake body or something. Since I don't know much about it I can't comment on that subject
Alright. Let's see

>So Cain and Abel married their own sisters? Or had sex with Eve and conceived their own wives?
The former most likely. Related to this >>23180086 posted this article
>https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_717.cfm
And honestly, I don't see what did I say that seemed contrary to this. We JWs agree on the fact that Abel was probably centennial, and that he obviously had more brothers and sisters
I also mentioned that being so close to perfection, congenital diseases from inbreeding were almost nonexistent. It's most likely that God added the law against incest to the Israelites due to them being further away from perfection.
I checked our online library, and lo and behold: Where did Cain get his wife from?
>https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2010649

Also
>Your gross "inbreeding" theory isn't universally accepted
>posts article which says they probably married either their younger sisters or their nieces

Anyways. Onto the juicy part

cont.

>>23178425
He's talking to Jesus, as he was already Created. They both worked together in creation

>>23178086
>Can you tell me why JW sends big-titty Mexicans to my door?
Because all JWs must help in our field ministry. Therefore, JWs of all ages, races and sizes can be seen preaching door to door or in our stands.

I can assure you JWs don't have the power you think we have. That's more something I can see the Mormons doing kek.
>How do you guys know what I moved in the day I did so?
Most likely a coincidence, or maybe Jehovah wants you to listen to us.
Depending on where you live, perhaps you will see JWs more or less frequently.

>can you send the big-titty Mexican back... just without her guardian harpy? I've heard JW girls are freaks in bed.
No i cannot and no you won't be getting a one night stand with her as any sexual relationship outside of marriage is sinning for us. Sorry not sorry

>>23177876
The answers for your first and last are the same.

Consider how eveyone before the Flood used to live over 400 like it was no big deal, and had their sons when they were 100 years old. This shows that the early man was not the same as us, probably due to being so close to the first and only perfect humans.
It's quite likely that the conenital diseases associaed with inbreeding came out to be much, much later than in the days of Cain or Noah. Probably in the days of Moses, as it is in those times that Jehovah writes in the Law that one must not lie with their sister or mother. But before that, it honestly was the only way to reproduce

3)

Remember he takes 7 of some of the clean animals instead of 2? (Genesis 7:2), those are most likely the ones he sacrificed. By that time, humans already did animal sacrifices to Jehovah (Abel) so the term "clean animal" probably reers tk those that were used for sacrifices

2.
Honestly good question. Considering the Flood was around 1 year, I wonder if plant seeds would survive that long. God probably did some shenanigans to ensure the survival of plant life.
The interesting thing is that the dove came with a twig in its mouth, implying it found a full grown tree
Good question nonetheless. Might investigate a bit about it

>>22971174
Fiction or non-fiction?

>>22773678
READ.

>>22756943
Bump ;)

>>21739246
I did and I'm just wondering what incelism has to do with this

>>20114541
Only a couple of months?! Incredible. It seems like it would've taken you much longer. Cataloging/transcribing writing advice both past and present is a worthy endeavor, dare I say, maybe even a writing project that could be transformed into the bibliography of a book on writing. Very readable, very 48 Laws of Power: compiling the (literary) wisdom of the ages into one alphabetical compendium designed to be a reference point for aspiring authors. It's an ambitious idea, it would be lots of work, but it has a very good chance of being successful. You should really consider this.

>>20114705
Cute bookshelf, based titles

Where all the Evolafags at?

>>20083389
I can name but I won't do it for personal reasons

>>20077768
R8 & H8

>>19730440

So if i read through most of his oeuvre in english I'll not be mislead by bad translation then?

>>19487074

>The Player of Games
>Through a Scanner, Darkly
Thx, added to my to read list.

>Ringworld
meh, boring over rated, more of a science fanticy than science fiction

>Rendezvous with Rama
>I, Robot
>The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Well worth reading

>Cryptonomicon
>Neuromancer
>Stranger in a Strange Land
>Ender's Game
Hard to beat

>Heinlein, Neal Stephenson
Nearly everything these two wrote is worth reading. Heinlein can be a little derivative if you read a lot of his work.
>Orson Card
Nearly all his sci fi / fantasy is ok, he has some historical shit and Mormon shit that I couldn't get through. His early works are better, some of his newer work lacks soul. I listened to some presentation of his talking about how he's so much better now and how he is perfecting the art of fiction. So much bullshit.
>Asimov, Arthur Clark
I read most their works, it's not unreadable but I didn't think most was quite worthy of the hype.

I would recommend Ursula Le Guin, she was every bit as good and Clark or Asimov, she gets you in characters heads like Card and that's something I rather like.
L. Ron Hubbard is boycotted on principle.

Some decent science fantasy series I would recommend are Dune and John Carter.

The ad for Volume 3

Archived thread with 2 new stories
>>19449534

>>19453928
>Unused prompts
A closet full of skin suits
A dating app with extraordinary risks and rewards
The academy of Paranormal Life Coaching
A man attempts a world record
This will be India in 5 minutes
>The last sheet of paper in the world < Just been eliminated in the dead thread
What? I can’t hear you!
A first responder who summons tornadoes
A grizzled detective goes undercover on 4chan
You reap what you sow
"Please don't forget what I told you"
The location the GPS took them to seems to be a little off
A tapestry constantly being added to
Murder in the Cathedral's sanctuary
The cellar houses wine and... bodies?
Finding a one-of-a-kind book in the library stacks
A co-worker has a hidden talent
A shut-in decides to go trick-or-treating
The best way to die on a dessert island
Horrible timing for a pregnancy announcement
>Swimming through memories< Just been eliminated in the dead thread
A game of twister at a nursing home
There is a ship museum in Utah
A librarian goes blind every Thursday
Someone crashes a child’s birthday party
POV of an alley cat in Istanbul
An unusual item at the bottom of the sea
Pina coladas and long walks in the rain
A gateway opens between hell and earth
a slasher villain's first date
An elevator that doesn't work
A flooded castle, sinking into the mud < Someone has just claimed this one and is now working on it

The scheme is -
When you write a story, you then replace it with a new prompt of your own

>>19453873


The /lit/ Flash Fiction Anthology returns with 50 new stories! Thanks to cover-anon and all the writers for making this happen. Style and theme range greatly from story to story, yet at the heart of each is an artist's sincerity. So take a break with this short anthology; laugh at murder, cry with a condor, then groan about Notre Dame; join the Nevinyrral Production Company's latest escapade, slip into the mind of a painting, an evening in Verona, the beginning of an unlikely friendship.

Which stories surprised you? Do you have a favourite or top three?

>Simian Deluxe
https://archive.org/details/simian-deluxe (epub and pdf)
https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/anonymous-/simian-deluxe/paperback/product-y6z687.html (paperback at the lowest possible price)

>More /lit/ anthologies
Rags and Bones
https://archive.org/details/rags-and-bones
https://www.lulu.com/en/ca/shop/anonymous-/rags-and-bones/paperback/product-9d7gp2.html

Gifts Evil and Good
https://archive.org/details/gifts-good-and-evil
https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/anonymous-/gifts-evil-and-good/paperback/product-mgwkgv.html

>>19148740
Thanks for typing this out. Answers a question that's been on my mind for a little while.

>>19083641
there's pre/non-modal jazz?
i only know like basic bebop shit though so