Does anyone else enjoy reading the Old Testament more than the New Testament?

  • Thread starter Thread starter 7_Sorrows
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
7

7_Sorrows

Guest
For as long as I have been reading the Bible, I seem to enjoy the Old Testament more
than the New Testament. I probably have been reading the Bible for 52 years - since I was 13. I believe the New Testament and I do have my favorite parts, but I love the history and stories of the Old Testament - the Psalms, Proverbs, the Prophets.
I was wondering if anyone else felt this way. I believe salvation is from the Jews and I guess I enjoy finding correlations between the Old and New Testaments.
I hope there is nothing wrong with this preference.
 
The Jewish scriptures are indispensable. There are over 3,000 people mentioned in the Bible and it’s tough for me to hang on to that many.

Just yesterday, I read an essay by somebody who was discussing Genesis 1 - 3, and I had a new insight into it. As much as faith is such an important virtue in the New Testament, it seems that it should be in the OT as well.

What I saw was Genesis speaking not in words about faith so much as in the story line itself.

When God creates a mate for Adam, we see the NT principle that God knows what we need even before we ask Him for it. God “sees” that it is not good for the man to be alone. But, not in words of the text, but in the image that it creates, we see that Adam should have learned to have faith and trust in God, to help preserve him from sinning so soon by eating the forbidden fruit – Adam should have known that God would provide his needs, before the temptation by the serpent shows up and pride is fanned into a major obstacle.

Then, that lack of faith in God seems to lie in subsequent stories about the increase in sinning in the world.

I’ve been hunting for “faith” or the lack thereof in the OT. The idea of faith unlocks some of the Genesis stories for me.
 
I love the Old Testament. I never tire of the stories of Exodus, King David, King Solomon, the prophets, the psalms, etc. Such beautiful stories so full of vivid images. One reason why I love the Office of Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours.
 
I do love the OT but I cannot claim to love it more than the NT. About the same. Though, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Kings and the Psalms - I have great affinity toward.
 
Not more, no.

It would be like enjoying reading “The Hobbit” more than "The Lord of the Rings’. “The Hobbit” is a great story and the events foreshadow what will happen in “The Lord of the Rings” and give a lot of great explanation and backstory to flesh out the narratives at the Council of Elrond, and a lot of "The Hobbit “is more accessible to say younger children or to those who don’t want to wade through a ‘long story’. BUT"The Hobbit”, though it can stand alone, would not be nearly as ‘important’ or enjoyable without "The Lord of the Rings "to follow. “The Lord of the Rings” could make it ‘by’ with only the bare bones of "The Hobbit’s narrative and still be as powerful, but “The Hobbit’ makes it more interesting and 'present.”
 
Tantum_ergo said:
Not more, no.

It would be like enjoying reading “The Hobbit” more than "The Lord of the Rings’. “The Hobbit” is a great story and the events foreshadow what will happen in “The Lord of the Rings” and give a lot of great explanation and backstory to flesh out the narratives at the Council of Elrond, and a lot of "The Hobbit “is more accessible to say younger children or to those who don’t want to wade through a ‘long story’. BUT"The Hobbit”, though it can stand alone, would not be nearly as ‘important’ or enjoyable without "The Lord of the Rings "to follow. “The Lord of the Rings” could make it ‘by’ with only the bare bones of "The Hobbit’s narrative and still be as powerful, but “The Hobbit’ makes it more interesting and 'present.”
Click to expand...
I agree.
I think. :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
 
No. worth reading OT once then move on to the New Covenant Who is Jesus.

PS I must admit here that it was only when I did a very detailled OT Bible Study OT course having been asked to do so, well on in life, that I realised how many mothers had been involved in the 12 tribes of Israel.

Such was my staid Anglican Sunday School raising… and yes I was shocked and left OT values behind for simply monogamy 🤷
 
7_Sorrows said:
For as long as I have been reading the Bible, I seem to enjoy the Old Testament more
than the New Testament. I probably have been reading the Bible for 52 years - since I was 13. I believe the New Testament and I do have my favorite parts, but I love the history and stories of the Old Testament - the Psalms, Proverbs, the Prophets.
I was wondering if anyone else felt this way. I believe salvation is from the Jews and I guess I enjoy finding correlations between the Old and New Testaments.
I hope there is nothing wrong with this preference.
Click to expand...
I did. The only parts of the NT I would say I enjoyed are the three synoptic Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles and Revelation.

But the OT from Genesis through Nehemiah, (RSV order), plus Tobit, Esther, Judith, and Daniel are extremely engaging (even Leviticus is quite enjoyable in its own way), while skipping some fun stuff like the census data in Numbers and Chronicles.
 
The New Testament seems a lot more relevant to my life. So most of my reading is there.
 
7_Sorrows said:
For as long as I have been reading the Bible, I seem to enjoy the Old Testament more
than the New Testament. I probably have been reading the Bible for 52 years - since I was 13. I believe the New Testament and I do have my favorite parts, but I love the history and stories of the Old Testament - the Psalms, Proverbs, the Prophets.
I was wondering if anyone else felt this way. I believe salvation is from the Jews and I guess I enjoy finding correlations between the Old and New Testaments.
I hope there is nothing wrong with this preference.
Click to expand...
I like reading the OT more, too. Part of the reason is that there’s so much vivid poetry in it. But St. Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 13 is unsurpassable, IMO, in depth, simplicity, and eloquence.
 
Thank you all for your replies. I agree with one poster who described the vivid images in the stories of the OT and also the unforgettable people.

I just saw an article last night from a newsletter I receive online from Christianity
Today and the title of the article boldly claimed The Old Testament Is Dying. I kind of laughed to myself because I think of the millions of Catholics who attend Mass every Sunday and our first reading every Sunday is from the Old Testament! And even though the Jewish people don’t call it the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible is certainly relevant to the Jewish people around the world. I don’t think the Torah is dying.

I am not sure if Christianity Today is more of magazine for Protestants, but I thought
it was a strange claim.
 
7_Sorrows said:
Thank you all for your replies. I agree with one poster who described the vivid images in the stories of the OT and also the unforgettable people.

I just saw an article last night from a newsletter I receive online from Christianity
Today and the title of the article boldly claimed The Old Testament Is Dying. I kind of laughed to myself because I think of the millions of Catholics who attend Mass every Sunday and our first reading every Sunday is from the Old Testament! And even though the Jewish people don’t call it the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible is certainly relevant to the Jewish people around the world. I don’t think the Torah is dying.

I am not sure if Christianity Today is more of magazine for Protestants, but I thought
it was a strange claim.
Click to expand...
Also, the core of the Church’s official prayer is Old Testament, specifically, the Psalms, and will always remain so.

Those who somehow claim that the Old Testament is now irrelevant or that the New Testament supplants it are not thinking with the mind of the Church. The Church sees the Old Testament as an essential, indispensable part of salvation history, and even as it uses Old Testament Psalms, she always reads them in the light of Christ.

Those who say they don’t read the Old Testament are missing out. A lot.
 
porthos11 said:
Also, the core of the Church’s official prayer is Old Testament, specifically, the Psalms, and will always remain so.

Those who somehow claim that the Old Testament is now irrelevant or that the New Testament supplants it are not thinking with the mind of the Church. The Church sees the Old Testament as an essential, indispensable part of salvation history, and even as it uses Old Testament Psalms, she always reads them in the light of Christ.

Those who say they don’t read the Old Testament are missing out. A lot.
Click to expand...
👍 I agree wholeheartedly! Well said!
 
I never said I didn’t read it. I don’t particularly ENJOY some of the OT books.
Isn’t the query “enjoy?”
 
I “enjoy” (to use the OP’s term) the historical books that follow Jacob, Moses, the kings, etc. The Psalms are also nice for me; I often wonder what the music sounded like. The major prophets are interesting for me too but the minor ones (except for Jonah) not so much. Mainly bc I kept getting them all confused!

I enjoy all the NT except for the letters of St Paul. I feel terrible saying that but that’s how I felt since I first read the NT decades ago; there’s certainly many excellent and important passages there but I’ve never warmed up to him… I wish we could have heard more from the others but that’s how God wanted it. The book of Apocalypse is beautiful and mysterious. I particularly like the promises and the trumpet sections but there is always something about that final book.
 
After Leviticus i started getting lost whilst listening to Numbers, but the old testaments is filled with many stories i was familiar with as a child and hopefully i will get back to it later, it’s a very important book for us Christian’s.

I actually started listening to the Bible from Genisis (which i don’t recommend) as a Christian, i would definately recommend starting with the new testament, the old testament is a lot to diguest for a beginner.
 
amsjj said:
I “enjoy” (to use the OP’s term) the historical books that follow Jacob, Moses, the kings, etc. The Psalms are also nice for me; I often wonder what the music sounded like. The major prophets are interesting for me too but the minor ones (except for Jonah) not so much. Mainly bc I kept getting them all confused!

I enjoy all the NT except for the letters of St Paul. I feel terrible saying that but that’s how I felt since I first read the NT decades ago; there’s certainly many excellent and important passages there but I’ve never warmed up to him… I wish we could have heard more from the others but that’s how God wanted it. The book of Apocalypse is beautiful and mysterious. I particularly like the promises and the trumpet sections but there is always something about that final book.
Click to expand...
Check it out:

youtube.com/watch?v=kiA86HI-GLU
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top