Comment by James C Schultz on 6th mo. 18, 2014 at 9:53am

I forgot to add the most important part.  Don't watch TV for at least a month if not a whole year.  Cut back on reading newspapers for books for a year unless you get a leading to do so.  You want to cut back on the number of voices you are listening to.

Comment by Forrest Curo on 6th mo. 18, 2014 at 11:49am

I don't think there are too many clean amplifiers for the Bible; better to stick with an acoustic version to avoid feedback noise & other distortions...

And a 'one-year' program, arrrgh! Take as long as it takes; this isn't about divine class credit. (But do keep going. Skip where you need to; some of this is simply Not Written To Us.)

Praying for light on what you read, yes!!!

Concordances might be helpful for locating a passage -- but the assumption that the same word in two different places will mean the same thing -- is spectacularly bad!

God as "Author" of the Bible is kind of a stretch... except as God is also the Author of economics and malaria.  The truth of it? -- Well, God has obviously influenced this book [and its history] to give us clues about God's ultimately benign intentions toward us;  but even a cursory reading suggests that He gave equal time to the opposition -- or rather, let the direct human writers describe their various Encounters far more from their standpoint than from God's.

We really need to come to terms with this anthology -- and not in a marginal way! We really don't think like the authors -- While much of the time that is a very good thing, it isn't the whole story. Many distinctions between their politics and ours are far less significant than we imagine... while our claims to understand 'the universe' better -- just mean that moderns generally cling to a very narrow idea of what our universe contains & how it works.

If you're paying close attention to what God is telling you through a passage, about a passage, as you read it -- That's the point, isn't it?

[Just say "No!" to oversimplification!]

 

Comment by Rick Massengale on 6th mo. 18, 2014 at 11:52am

Hello James,

Very good advise.  I find "The Companion Bible" by E. W. Bullinger one of the best study bibles out there.

Comment by Jim Wilson on 6th mo. 18, 2014 at 1:13pm

James:

Excellent suggestions.  I read the Bible on a daily basis and I think your suggestions will be helpful.  I particularly appreciate your note about knowing the Author.  My feeling is that this will lead to a sense of humility.  Often I have encountered passages in the Bible that I found either troubling or baffling.  When I recalled the Author I was able to simply let them be.  Perhaps understanding would open in the future, perhaps not.  But it allowed me to proceed without getting irritated or hyper-critical, which is the tendency that I think we moderns have towards a work like the Bible.  It's kind of like listening to a complex piece of music: there may be parts of the piece that I don't quite grasp, and other passages that I find immediately accessible.  If I relax I can let those passages that don't speak to me clearly simply go by, and feel grateful for those passages that are open to my understanding.

I also like the practicality about your suggestion regarding mass media.  This kind of framing for reading the Bible I found surprisingly helpful; it just reduces distractions and the tendency of the mind to scatter.

Jim

Comment by James C Schultz on 6th mo. 18, 2014 at 2:19pm

I have found that a lot of the "hard" passages are the result of a perspective based on our limited understanding.  Also we have to recognize that portions of the bible are historical records meant to give us background and/or lessons on how we can get into trouble when we follow our own thoughts of how to do things.  If we are going to be a people who claim belief in a continuing revelation we have to judge the bible in that context.  Let's face it.  It all comes down to Agape love and free will.  If something doesn't align with that then we don't yet understand something about the passage or Agape Love or the consequences and/or purpose of free will.

Comment by Forrest Curo on 6th mo. 18, 2014 at 2:34pm

It's definitely an odd mix: ancient legend, court propaganda, prophecies addressed to political entities that don't exist anymore, some wonderful devotional poetry -- and theologically-distorted lives of that man Jesus who really does reveal some profound insights about what God is doing with us & why... sometimes quite clear even to us, sometimes addressed to his contemporary culture, which we typically don't comprehend well at all. And Paul's theopolitical missles against his various opponents in the church, etc. And Revelation, one heavy & potentially disorienting dream...

Comment by Forrest Curo on 6th mo. 18, 2014 at 3:39pm

Why it's important: "No doubt religion is a subject most delicate to touch. The less spoken the better. Yet no one can live with food and without water, and so no one can live with only an esoteric ideal and without a religion. When someone says, 'I will only live in the esoteric ideal and without the outer religion,' that person may just as well say. 'I will live in my soul and not be conscious of my body.' " [Hazrat Inayat Khan]

That seems to be what happens to modern Quakers who try to get along without connecting to our messy past. Yes, God is available here and now without all that confusing ancient material, and always was. But that's too much like sitting in class without having done any homework...

Comment by Rick Massengale on 6th mo. 18, 2014 at 4:00pm

It is interesting to read with a "Strong's" concordance.  Even "Nachash" translated serpent can be translated "shining one" or " hissing one".  And to "eat fruit" can be translated into ... well..??

Comment by James C Schultz on 6th mo. 18, 2014 at 4:08pm

Since Lucifer is referred to as an Angel of light "shining" one seems appropriate.  The Amplified bible is a lazy/poor person's substitute for Strongs which is I why I suggest it as part of your collection.

Comment by Rick Massengale on 6th mo. 18, 2014 at 4:17pm

I have it . Lazy/Poor ?

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