Is there any particular version of the Bible I should read?

[Regular_Atheist]

Okay, I’m rather confused. First of all, I live in the United Kingdom, so I don’t know if that makes a difference. According to Julia Mae, this may mean I can get an unabridged copy of the KJV. And, to the guy who offered to mail me a copy of the Bible, that was a nice offer but I’ll have to turn it down. Maybe I’ll head into this shop and ask what they have. I’ve had a look, but it’s all rather confusing and I’m not quite sure what to get. Having said that, they’re probably Anglican so I’m sure that would damage my chances of getting a Catholic Bible. But I’ll certainly look into getting an annotated study Bible, or possibly order from online.

For the record, I’m not looking to convert but just to get a better understanding of Christianity in general. It seems odd to claim something is false without reading the scripture first. Anyway, thanks for the help everyone.

 

[gus]

Go to the UCCB websight
Read the daily mass readings and audio commentary.
The commentary will give you clearer insight into how a Christain is asked to behave.
The readings will get you through much of the Bible.
It has the added benifit of tying the Old and New Testament
together.

 

[FriarDon]

The Church has released the New American Bible-Revised Edition, that is used by all English speaking nations now. This is the translation that is used in Mass and the recommended Bible for English speaking people.

That said, if you are looking for a Bible for research reasons, there are many to select from. The New Jerusalem Bible is a good choice for this aspect.

Friar Don, OBR

 

[Oldtimer_7]

As a former atheist, I congratulate you for your open mind. It is sad to see so many who hold rationalism in such high esteem having closed minds about Christianity and relying on what others say rather than personally investigating. At the least, we will have a common base of experience to build a dialog. One thing to consider is that you are stepping into a conversation that has been ongoing for up to five millenia. What you read has a context that extends far beyond the present. If you are interested in the Catholic Bible, then I would suggest that you consider attending RCIA classes (that is what they are called in the US, I don’t know if they use the same acronym in GB). You do not have to join the Church to attend, but if you decided to (could happen) it would speed up the process. This way you would get an idea of how to evaluate the different things you read and see how they play out in the lives of Christians.

 

[Church_Militant]

Okay, I’m rather confused. First of all, I live in the United Kingdom, so I don’t know if that makes a difference.

That really shouldn’t make that much difference. I get some of my Bibles from Amazon and I know you have Amazon.co.uk so it should work for you as well.

And, to the guy who offered to mail me a copy of the Bible, that was a nice offer but I’ll have to turn it down.

No problem. It was worth the offer.

For the record, I’m not looking to convert but just to get a better understanding of Christianity in general. It seems odd to claim something is false without reading the scripture first. Anyway, thanks for the help everyone.

I like this attitude. At least this way you have some idea of the starting point for most Christians, whether Catholic or non.

I’d like to suggest that you might also benefit greatly from having a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church or the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, though as you can see, both are online at the Vatican website.

I realize that you aren’t looking to convert, but then…who ever is?

I look forward to talking with you again around here and if you have questions you’d prefer to discuss privately, you can PM or e-mail me through CAF here.
Have a good day!
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[Oldtimer_7]

Here is my concern about just reading the Bible to understand Christianity. Imagine for a moment thinking you could know what there is to know about soccer by just reading the rule book. Now consider how different your understanding would be if you went to some games, smelling the beer, hearing the cheers, and enjoying the comradery of fans in a pub afterward. Understanding the rule book would be good, but it would only be the beginning.

 

[babs57]

Might I suggest you get, along with whatever bible you decide on, Jeff Cavins’ “Great Adventure Bible Timeline Chart”. It’s only about $5.00 at amazon or The Catholic Company. You really only need the chart, not the whole study, which is expensive (but very good!)

The reason I suggest it, is that the bible is very hard to read in any kind of a satisfactory way, if you don’t know how it is put together. The books are not in chronological order, necessarily. And you could really get lost in the prophets, if you don’t know who is talking to whom, and why. The chart at least lets you see which order the books go in, and which books should be reading along which other books. (Like, Kings and Chronicles are actually simultaneous. You’ll be saying halfway through 1 Chronicles, “Wait a minute. I’m sure I already read about this stuff.” And Leviticus becomes a little more interesting when you understand that it is basically an instruction book for the newly chosen priesthood of the Levites.)

:coffeeread: This is me reading Leviticus!