Uriel's reading list challenge for Christians

[Uriel999]

I have a reading list for Christians that I think all Christians should read that will do several things. It will A provide a richer detailed world of the literature of Judaism and Christianity, as well as test your faith. I read all these books in high school and my first year of college. I started them as a devout fundamentalist Christian who was following St. Paul's declaration to "test everything." I forget what book that came out of, but it is there and was the most important motivating factor for me to read these. For me, I eventually lost my belief in Christianity, but this may serve to reinforce others faith or bring about a similar change in personal faith to none. At any rate this reading challenge would make anybody much more knowledgable in Judaism and early Christianity.

Well first, obviously you are going to have had already read the entire Bible, perhaps even more than once, and just in whatever version you feel most comfortable with. No biggy here. If you are a good follower of your faith you have done this anyways.

Next, read "The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls" translated by Geza Vermes. I believe a newer version than my copy is out by him that includes a few more texts as well.

Afterwords, I encourage a reading of the "Nag Hammadi Library" translated by James M. Robinson.

Finally I reccommend reading Bart Ehrman's "Misqouting Jesus."

Optional if you find interesting:

"The Gospel of Judas" printed by National Geographic is excellent and has contrubitions from some excellent scholars. Also any literature by Vermes, Pagels, Chilton, Robinson, Ehrman, Meyer or Kasser are typically great reads.

Thanks, and I give this challenge on the most friendly terms but really hope somebody takes it up. You will learn so much more about Christianity than you could ever learn in the Bible or church alone.

 

[qaxn]

"The Gospel of Judas" printed by National Geographic is excellent and has contrubitions from some excellent scholars. Also any literature by Vermes, Pagels, Chilton, Robinson, Ehrman, Meyer or Kasser are typically great reads.

funny you mentioned this, just read about it a bit ago and I would caution anyone against it but with a critical text.
see: http://chronicle.com/free/v54/i38/38b00601.htm

 

[Uriel999]

That was an excellent article. I would love to read newer translations of that text. It is unfortunate even intelligent people get into pissing contests. However, Judas is still an interesting read nonetheless.

 

[Uriel999]

No takers to this intellectual challenge?

 

[Uriel999]

I've seen other threads lately and realized that this thread should be bumped again. The challenge remains, because apparently practically nobody on this site knows a damned thing about early Christianity and its formation.

I am also adding to the list Gonzalez's "The Story of Christianity volume 1."

http://www.amazon.com/Story-Christianity-Early-Church-Reformation/dp/0060633158

Gonzalez is a Catholic btw.

 

[BeFranklin]

I've read many things on/containing the dead sea scrolls (as well as apostate gospels), as well as wanting their full release in the late 1980s and early 1990s (they weren't being released). It strengthened my faith, not the other way around. I also used to read "biblical archaeology review" which use to be for that issue. In the end, most of the so called other books are pretty inferior, while the unity of the bible as whole and how it fits together is amazing. Also, as a book, the bible has passed that same act of acceptance through the eyes of millions who end up reaching the same conclusion.

http://www.bib-arch.org/

http://www.biblearchaeology.org/

 

[Uriel999]

I've read on the dead sea scrolls, as well as being one of the posters on usenet/fideonet and by mail asking for their full release in the late 1980s and early 1990s (they weren't being released). It strengthened my faith, not the other way around. I also used to read "biblical archaeology review" which use to be for that issue above. In the end, most of the so called other books are pretty inferior, while the unity of the bible as whole and how it fits together is amazing. Also, as a book, the bible has passed that same act of acceptance through the eyes of millions who end up reaching the same conclusion.

http://www.bib-arch.org/

http://www.biblearchaeology.org/

Have you just read about them or actually read them though?

 

[BeFranklin]

Have you just read about them or actually read them though?

Read many of them. There have been others released since that time. I've also read many of the apostate/gnostic gospels which aren't part of the dead sea scrolls. The dead sea scrolls went through an interesting period when some people had to reconstruct them from an index because they weren't being publicy released after 40 years.

http://www.ewtn.com/library/SCRIPTUR/DEADSEA.htm
(first site google turned up that seemed to be on that) Edit: Ugh its lengthier then it needs to be reading through to the end.

 

[Uriel999]

Read many of them. There have been others released since that time. I've also read many of the apostate/gnostic gospels which aren't part of the dead sea scrolls. The dead sea scrolls went through an interesting period when some people had to reconstruct them from an index because they weren't being publicy released after 40 years.

http://www.ewtn.com/library/SCRIPTUR/DEADSEA.htm
(first site google turned up that seemed to be on that)

Ah, I got to read them all, well I didn't read the copies of OT books but why bother only a word here or there would be different and I wouldn't be able to tell. Yeah the history of the Dead Sea Scrolls is pretty interesting. I don't think they were really suppressed though as so much it was difficult pasting them back together and scholars tend to be glory hogging bastards when it comes to translating priceless ancient religious texts.

 

[Wendi]

I have read those, and then some. My particular fascination is with the alleged lineage of Jesus, and the early focus on the sacred feminine that has been all but stripped from modern Christianity. I'm still a Christian. I believe, on faith, not books written and translated by human beings. But then again, I'm not your average mainstream Christian, either

 

[asimplegirl]

Okay, Uriel, please do not take this the wrong way, and BeFranklin, I wish for no input from you on my faith, as you have judged me enough.

Though I would love to know exactly what these taught you separately, I will not read these books.

1. I will never be able to get through them in less than 500 years. I am so bored by things that I am not really interested in. And while I love discussing Christianity and learning about it, reading about it in books is like watching flies screw to me. Not very entertaining. And while I know that Christianity is not *supposed* to be entertaining, I know that if I am not completely interested I will end up hating what I am reading and never finish it. I would rather be honest and forthcoming and allow someone to teach me about it in modern language that I can understand and does not bore me into a deep sleep than read it. This is one of the reasons "the founders" thread aggravates me so badly. I get bored and decide to pick my toes every time I try to read it.

2. I completely accept that my brand of Christianity is based mostly on faith. All of what I believe cannot be proven as truth 100%, and that is not important to me. My faith dictates nothing I believe needs to be proven. I mostly believe that we should be good people. We should be kind, caring, and considerate. Understand at all times, agree when possible, and ask for forgiveness when we are wrong. We should forgive, but we should never forget, as we may lose the lesson learned. We should live this way, no matter if a God exists or not. Whether there is a Heaven, a Hell, or just Earth.

3. I do not believe all of the Bible to be taken as rules to live by, and do not believe that many Christian have the correct understanding of it. I believe we will take what our understanding is, whether it is right or wrong because it is our nature- the human element. I believe most of the Bible is a group of stories, cited to build character, just as the boy who cried wolf was helpful, it was not meant to be taken literally. I believe some parts of the Bible was just recorded for blood's sake. I believe some felt it important to list the descendants and lives of certain people, as to teach how to be a good follower of Christ. I believe a very small portion of the Bible is actually rules that cannot be bent, and true history recorded. And I believe that God is understanding and knows what is within our hearts.

4. I always saw Judas as a victim of the times. I never saw him as anything other than a friend of Jesus, who made a bad decision while stuck in a place he saw no out from. I believe that he regretted what he did, and felt horrible. And I know that Jesus forgave him. That is all that matters.

5. Even if everything in the entire Bible was proven wrong, or shown to be fake, it would never affect my faith, because it is just that- faith. While it may seem blind faith to many, it does not bother me. I have faith that I am doing the right thing, as best I can.

I appreciate your trying to enlighten me, though. I would love to hear about each of these works from you, and exactly what of them you found helpful. And, I would love for you to ask me anything you want, and test my faith as much as you can with your facts, as I believe you to be genuinely kind-hearted and caring, by trying to share what you have learned.

Titus

 

[M House]

I took a course on the biology of insects and I can tell you flies screwing is far from boring. Male insects don't really have that amazing device we like to call a penis and alot of female insects don't even have a opening to receive sperm thru. So the sex gear of insects tends to end up looking like Medieval war gear. It's pretty brutal many insects can only mate once their entire lives. Also yeah some female insects destroy the male after mating. O well he did forcibly drill himself a hole in her abdomen.

 

[asimplegirl]

Oh, them screwing isn't boring.lol...watching them screw with the naked eye is, though.