Why do you read the Bible?

[adamhovey1988]

This question is for both Catholics and Non-Catholics. For me, it’s to grow deeper in my relationship with God. What about y’all?

 

[tweedlealice]

Salutations,
When you turn your life over to Christ, we are to grow to be more like Christ than us.
The Bible is the road map to heaven. Would you go on a journey without a map? We are here on earth for a short time. Jeremiah 29 / 11 states,"I HAVE A PLAN FOR YOU. IT IS A GOOD PLAN. IT HAS NO EVIL. IT HAS A FUTURE AND A PURPOSE. YOU WERE BORN TO DO WORK IN GOD’S KINGDOM.
May God give you wisdom to see the path He wants you to travel.
The Old Testament gives us secret codes of the Messiah coming. Abraham sacrificing Isaac was a test not just to see if Abraham would trust God to give him a nation larger than the sands of the earth. It was a clue that God the Father would ask and send His Son to die for us.
The Tabernacle in the wilderness has meanings. I can’t recall the meanings of the 7 coverings but inside, it was shaped like a cross. The acacia wood was all that was around.It made the walls. Gold was hammered over the wood to make the walls BUT THE GOLD COULD NOT TOUCH THE EARTH. THE BASEBOARD WAS SILVER WHICH SYMBOLIZED JESUS WHO CAME DOWN TO EARTH.One entered the walled area to find the sacrificial altar.The best animal was to be brought. Back then, someone would try to sneak in a blind sheep. God was not happy. The High Priest would wear a white robe. As he entered the tent, he would take the sacrificial blood w him. To his left was the candelabra w almond shaped holders. To the right was the show bread table w 12 loaves of bread for 12 tribes of Israel.
Then the Rabbi would light the candles. He would carefully place the blood near the curtain that protected the Ark of the Covenant. The Laver bowel/tub was there. The priest had to bathe and make sure he was clean outside and inside. He had a rope tied to his ankle, because if he kept something impure in his spirit, he was struck dead in the Holy of Holies. They would need the rope to pull him out. If all went well, he would take the sacrificial blood and pour it on the Ark of the Covenant. This was the day of Atonement. ROSHASHANA. IF YOU DRAW IMAGINARY LINES FROM THE ALTAR TO THE Laver, to the Ark, you have a vertical liine. If you draw a line from the candelabra to the show bread table, it is a horizontal line. Hence God’s secret code to us.
God could not come to earth but His Son could. jesus was silver. The way the furniture is laid out, it makes a cross.
The OT has some heavy stuff in it. I had to stop reading it for awhile.The New Testament is where Jesus shows us the Father who loves and forgives us. Some chapters overwhelm you w God’s love. Read Ephesians Chapter 3:verses 14 to 21. Elizabeth Barrett Browning plagerized her love sonnet.
“PAUL FALLS ON HIS KNEES TO PRAY TO THE LORD THAT WE SHOULD KNOW GOD’S LOVE FROM ITS HEIGHT, TO ITS BREADTH, TO ITS WIDTH, TO ITS DEPTH.” This is not an exact quote but I wanted 9ĺyou to see some of it.I feel God’s love bathe me when I read that. Matthew 11: “Come to me all ye who labor and I will give you rest…” He will help you with decisions through HIs word.May you enjoy your journey w Jesus and His map.
in Christ’s love,
Tweedlealice

 

[LethalMouse]

1. To understand.
2. At times in my life to confound “religious people” who have no idea what they are talking about.
3. To win arguments.
4. To evaluate what is true.
5. To double check the 4 above.

 

[RPRPsych]

To refute the old canard that Catholics don’t read their Bibles.

(Also, I’m a Bibliophile and have quite a collection of them. )

 

[Dorothy]

It helps me to see my weak points, and causes me to desire to follow the Lord more closely.

Lectio Divina helps with that. Meditating and pondering A few verses of the bible brings the situation into the present, and then I can apply it to myself and see where I fall short.

There are suggestions on how to do this if one does a search, and if they stay with the practice of it, it can be very fruitful.

 

[Neofight]

To Pray.

We talk to God, and either never listen, or claim He doesn’t speak to us. But He does. He speaks directly to each and every one of us through scripture.

Lectio Divina is a wonderful practice!

 

[SJacob7]

Hebrews 4:12

Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.

That’s one reason, there are many!

 

[signit]

I read the Bible 30 years ago to demonstrate to myself that the teachings of my church were in the Bible.

I read it today because it’s my responsibility as a Catholic and a Christian.

 

[Jesus_123]

+Reading the responses to this thread subject, I was reminded yet again this morning of the deep sweet . . . *ever flowing *. . . life giving river of grace of . . . Benedictine Spirituality . . . of which the Trappists are a part . . . which holy way of life . . . for centuries . . . has practiced deep heart-and-mind communion with our . . . Wonderful Holy God . . . through constant meditation upon Sacred Scripture . . .

For some souls . . . **Sacred :bible1: Scripture ** . . . and the reading of other materials re Christianity and Catholicism . . . are approached from a very human mind-oriented/mental-intellectual approach and mindset . . . however . . . quite frankly . . . for my very simple soul in the Lord . . . graciously blest and immersed by our Lord in both Franciscan and Benedictine Catholic spiritualities . . . contemplative prayer and Lectio Divina (divine reading) . . . have always been my primary approach to growing in the sweet profound depths of the . . . Grace of God . . . and in Catholicism . . . day by day . . .

In these Catholic spiritualities . . . prayer . . . is essentially the **heart ** of one’s soul “talking” to its God . . . on the other hand . . . meditation is taught in Sacred :bible1: Scripture and by our Holy Mother Catholic Church as essentially being the heart of one’s soul “listening” to its God . . . the ultimate goal of these actions of the soul being that at the center . . . of the deep interior quiet within the heart of the soul . . . the soul enters into . . . *constant holy . . . two way conversation and communion with its God *. . .

Lectio Divina (divine reading) . . . is perhaps the clearest most well lit holy pathway I know of for the soul to “listen” to its God . . . essentially it is encountering God in the reading of a literary level of holy writings in Christendom believed to be especially blessed and anointed of God . . . first order and always primary of which is God’s . . . **Holy :bible1: Word **. . . Sacred Scripture . . . and which group of writings can also include . . . The Holy Rule of St. Benedict . . . The Catechism of the Catholic Church . . . The Baltimore Catechism . . . the Creeds . . . writings of the Fathers and Saints of the Church, etc., . . . and as such . . . when **prayerfully ** read and meditated upon the . . . **Holy Spirit **. . . Wonderful Counselor of Our God . . . is abundantly available to help regarding the reading, meditating and experiencing the understanding of same . . .

The holy Benedictine monk Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki , O.S.B. of the Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania here in the United States . . . recommends that we . . . slow down radically . . . when reflecting on inspired material . . . so as to . . . *open up freely *. . . to the treasury of insights contained therein . . . he goes on further to share with beautiful simplicity:

Lectio Divina (divine reading)
Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki , O.S.B. (Order of St. Benedict)

“It is the **monastic insight **that reading, if it be authentic, cannot be undertaken simply with the eyes and the mind. Rather it must involve the whole person: mind, heart, body and spirit. It is reading not so much for information as for formation, that is, for encounter with the living God in this moment in such a way that one’s heart catches fire and one’s life is transformed … In St. Benedict’s day reading a sacred or spiritual text was practiced not so much for the sake of ‘information,’ but rather in order to be ‘formed’: that is, to be inwardly changed or shaped. …

Thus the aim of lectio divina (divine reading), i.e., pondering the material in a slow, prayerful way, is to dispose ourselves to welcome God’s ever-present grace and His efforts to conquer our hearts and transform us more and more into a holy people . . . ”
​

. . . all for Jesus+
. . . thank You Dear Blessed Lord+
. . . praise God from Whom all blessings flow+
:harp:
​

 

[ChurchSoldier]

Yup.

 

[Bonnie]

I’m also interested to see the origins of many literary phrases that I find there that have become so commonplace today.

Me, too! Also seeing the way word meanings have changed over the years - taking the Bible literally, especially just one version, can really mess with people’s ideas of what is in the Bible.

Case in point - someone used the word “nimrod” to mean a jerk. I said, no, it means “mighty hunter.” Not any more, I was told. Still means “mighty hunter,” no matter what an on-line dictionary might say.

I like your tag line. But it isn’t always understood - I’ve gotten some blank looks when I’ve said it. To me, it’s a great explanation as to why the geographical cure doesn’t work.

 

[Rbaker]

Where else can we read the exact words of God the Father, and his Son Jesus Christ? I read it because it helps me spiritually, because it is basically an easy way to start a prayer.

I find it unbelievable that the parables and analogies used in the Bible can still relate to each and every one of us in some way, shape or form. The Bible can really help you meditate on your life and realize what you need to fix.

I also read it just because it is an interesting read.

 

[Della]

I read the Bible for many reasons:

1. Firstly, because it is God’s word, and as such it is filled with grace that enters our hearts through the Holy Spirit. It’s why it is so powerful–and why it is often abused an//or misunderstood by those who read it “cold,” with little or no understanding of the people and events that shaped it’s writing, or who have a preconceived agenda.
2. To talk to God and let him talk to me through it’s words–again, Lectio Divina.
3. To sharpen my apologetical skills. Not to refute others, but to help them see the fullness of the faith within it, and it’s true place within Sacred Tradition, and in our lives today.
4. For solace in an increasingly crass and brutal world that is rapidly becoming the “dry wood” Jesus foretold as he carried his cross. We need God’s word all the more in our day when so many believe they can pick and choose what to believe and are abandoning the faith of Christ for they know not what.

 

[adamhovey1988]

I read it to get a sense of how people were writing and thinking at that time and also, I like to compare the varied Greek, Latin, and English manuscripts to see how the translations differ.

I’m also interested to see the origins of many literary phrases that I find there that have become so commonplace today.

And, I like to read it with accompanying historical texts about how, when, why, and by whom the books in the Christian canon were written so that I can understand the context and motive of each book and writer.

Then…I like to compare the books in the Christian canon with the other gospels and scriptures that were not included in the canon, and get a fuller picture of what early Christians were debating and believing.

Lastly…the more I read it, the more certain it makes me of my position as an agnostic. So it helps me to define what I do/don’t believe.

.

Well I’m glad you at least have a historical interest in it but I’m not sure why reading the Bible would make you an agnostic. No I can understand that might not necessarily make you Christian I have a friend who is a Dominican Friar who has read the Quran multiple times. Either way I’m glad you’re reading the Bible

 

[adamhovey1988]

1. To understand.
2. At times in my life to confound “religious people” who have no idea what they are talking about.
3. To win arguments.
4. To evaluate what is true.
5. To double check the 4 above.

Number 3 is really useful but I find a lot of people like to play scriptural badminton to try to prove that they’re right. I think those are all good reasons though.

 

[adamhovey1988]

To refute the old canard that Catholics don’t read their Bibles.

(Also, I’m a Bibliophile and have quite a collection of them. )

The only Catholics I know that don’t read their Bible are Catholics that aren’t practicing very well. Like the folks I might go to Mass every once in awhile and go to confession when they feel like it instead of when they need to. Many of the older Catholics I know read their Bible a lot. The cool thing is is that they say that they need to read it more.

 

[adamhovey1988]

It helps me to see my weak points, and causes me to desire to follow the Lord more closely.

Lectio Divina helps with that. Meditating and pondering A few verses of the bible brings the situation into the present, and then I can apply it to myself and see where I fall short.

There are suggestions on how to do this if one does a search, and if they stay with the practice of it, it can be very fruitful.

I love reflecting on Bible verses especially the Psalms and the Gospels.

 

[adamhovey1988]

To Pray.

We talk to God, and either never listen, or claim He doesn’t speak to us. But He does. He speaks directly to each and every one of us through scripture.

Lectio Divina is a wonderful practice!

You know I don’t think Jesus would have taught us the Our father if God didn’t listen to us so that’s a good point. With regards to scripture I mean there’s a reason it’s called the inspired inerrant word of God.

 

[adamhovey1988]

Hebrews 4:12

Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.

That’s one reason, there are many!

Hebrews is actually one of my favourite books of the Bible. Anyone who thinks the Bible is boring really should read Hebrews no it’s not action-packed but it’s really I don’t know the word I would say for it it’s kind of heady. Those who make the accusation that Christians are stupid really should read that book.

 

[adamhovey1988]

I read the Bible 30 years ago to demonstrate to myself that the teachings of my church were in the Bible.

I read it today because it’s my responsibility as a Catholic and a Christian.

Ditto that’s a good reason