What is /lit/'s opinion on this book? I'm probably about to read it all the way through.
A little background about myself. I was born and raised a southern Baptist and up until when I was about 15 I was a very very strict Christian. Not the mean type but the "nice guy" Christian. Around when I was 15 I started to question my own beliefs. I soon came to the conclusion that I was an agnostic thiest. I floated through life until now where I want to find a purpose. So here I am going to read it for myself as an adult instead of a child to judge it myself. I really like Catholicism minus the corruption.
My question is... What is the best translation and also would you post your religion/denomination?
I also plan to read the Quran soon after.
Thanks for reading and the responses.
Also am I wrong to kinda not trust modern translations and even the king James version? I feel like there could be outside forces that wanted to translate them how they wanted.
>>7398114
For the Qur'an, Sayyid Hossein Nasr recently released a Study Qur'an that's supposedly very good and will be used as a standard by Western academics. Basically intro stuff from what I've read about it. No Arabic is within it but it's better to listen to the Arabic than attempt to read it or its transliteration if you don't know Arabic.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Study-Quran-Translation-Commentary/dp/0061125865
>>7398139
Thanks. Anyone recommend any other religious books that I should read also?
The Book Of Mormon?
>>7398143
Just wanted to provide this link in case you want to see the preview:
https://www.academia.edu/8065152/The_Study_Quran_A_New_Translation_with_Notes_and_Commentary
If you're looking for online free ones, then Arberry, Qara'i, or Pickthall are ones I like.
>>7398143
Book of Mormon isn't worth your time. It's a pretty poorly written book that doesn't actually get used a ton for doctrinal purposes in the Mormon church. A lot of that comes from the Doctrine and Covenants and other books they have.
Mormonism can be incredibly interesting to read about though. Very fucked up stuff that no one really brings up.
>>7398114
Just read The God Delusion.
>>7399210
Fedoraposters get out, this is a Christian board
>>7399215
If you really want to become a fedora, try reading the Bible carefully, taking notes and working with an open mind, and then going to a church and asking people what they believe. If nothing else you'll have to write off the Holy Spirit.
>>7398143
I haven't read them all, but other important religious/mythological books that I can think of are Vedas (Hinduism), Avesta (Zoroastrianism), Theogony (Greek), Gilgamesh (Mesopotamia), Popol Vuh (Maya) and Egyptian Book of the Dead.
>>7398114
I'd say KJV though there are questionable passages. NRSV is good too. But I am not an expert, I just read for my own edification.
I'm an Anglo-Catholic.
>>7399224
>If you really want to become a fedora, try reading the Bible carefully, taking notes and working with an open mind, and then going to a church and asking people what they believe.
sounds like you're saying all of the really devout, and especially the clergy, must be led to fedora-ism if they have an "open mind"
which means, of course, that they don't have an open mind, because they didn't come to the same conclusion you did
>>7399256
That actually meant to give believers the benefit of the doubt.
>>7398114
>I like Catholicism minus the corruption
Doesn't that undermine all of its authority though? I don't remember Jesus saying "on this rock I will build my church of shit," or Paul exhorting believers to "just hang in there," when they discovered corruption in their midst.
>>7399285
it doesn't. as much evil comes from heresy and schism as from corruption in the church. and of course it is no solution to the corruption to merely leave the church.
whatever is wrong with the church, it has been nigh-unfailingly lucid on point of doctrine.
>>7399318
>the church is just as bad as heretics and the world in general so you should join it
>the church is unfailingly lucid on points of doctrine. All you have to do is trust the church, and they never contradict that doctrine!
Medieval peasants pls
>>7398114
>What is the best translation
Since you were raised Baptist, maybe you grew up with the King James Version or possibly the New KJV. (I was raised Baptist myself, and it was all KJV.) If you're comfortable with the KJV, it's not a bad way to go. The language is lovely and is the basis for how things like the wording of the Lord's Prayer have entered the common vernacular. The NKJV updates the archaisms of the KJv that might get in the way. The New International Version is another possibility. There's also the Revised Standard Version, but some take exception to what's seen as liberalism re: theology; also the New Revised Standard Version, which is more gender-inclusive (and also includes the deuterocannoical books).
>I really like Catholicism minus the corruption.
Same. You might be interested in looking into the Lutheran church bodies. (I ended up leaving the Baptist church for the Lutheran church.) There are three main bodies in the U.S., which are relatively liberal, moderate, and conservative.
>I also plan to read the Qur'an soon after
I don't recall which translation I read, but it's definitely worthwhile. By the book, Islam is much friendlier toward Christians and Jews ('people of the Book') than is portrayed in the media. Jesus is mentioned more than anyone else in the Qur'an, and many other OT and NT individuals show up too.
>>7399229
Thanks.
>>7399386
I think the NKJV sounds right for me. I'll look into Lutheran. Also planning on visiting a Catholic church. I've never been to one of their services. The only other church I have attended besides Baptist is a Presbyterian one. It was a pretty neat experience.
What did your parents think about you converting? I assuming they were the gung ho Baptist type like mine are.
>>7399285
Is there a human organization free of sin?
>>7399415
What does that have to do with whether the church is divinely guided or not? If I find a flawless organization, I'll join it, but since I'm not a Christian, just joining a body of believers who exhibit no outstanding traits other than their faith doesn't make any sense. If you're already inclined to belief, then comparing churches makes some sense, but from totally outside of that belief your claim that God steers such a flawed body doesn't inspire faith.
>>7399424
It's the most successful organization in history that has produced a massive amount of literature, art, science, spirituality. It inspires me, every time I pick up Dante, Chesterton, Wolfe, Aquinas and others.
>>7398114
Required Reading:
>The Bible (Douy-Rheims)
>Catechism of the Catholic Church
>Parts of the Summa Theologica (Specifically Part 1 and Part 3).
Apologetics:
>Handbook of Catholic Apologetics-Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli
>The Everlasting Man-Chesterton
>Orthodoxy-Chesterton
>Catholicism-Journey Into the Heart of the Faith- Robert Barron
Theology:
>Summa Theologica-St. Thomas Aquinas
>City of God-Augustine
>The Works of St. Anselm
>On the Incarnation-St. Athanasius
>Defense Against the Arians-St. Athanasius
>The Consolation of Philosophy-Boethius
>Pensees-Pascal
>Introduction to Christianity and Jesus of Nazareth Series by Joseph Ratzinger
Biography/Conversion works:
>The Confessions-St. Augustine
>Apologia Pro Vita Sua-John Henry Newman
>The Seven Storey Mountain-Thomas Merton
Historical/Sociological works:
>The Formation of Christendom-Christopher Dawson
>The Dividing of Christendom-Christopher Dawson
>History of the Catholic Church-James Hitchcock
>Keepers of the Keys of Heaven: A History of the Papacy
Literature:
> Shusaku Endo- Silence
>The Divine Comedy-Dante Alighieri
>The Works of Flannery O'Connor-Flannery O'Connor
>The Power and the Glory-Graham Greene
>Diary of a Country Priest-Georges Bernanos
>The Works of G.K. Chesterton
>The Moviegoer-Walker Percy
>Lancelot-Walker Percy
>The Lord of the Rings-J.R.R. Tolkien
>The Book of the New Sun-Gene Wolfe
>Brideshead Revisited-Evelyn Waugh
>The Canterbury Tales-Chaucer
>A Canticle for Liebowitz-Walter M. Miller
>Tears of the Prodigal Son- Ivan Gundilic
Mysticism:
>Collected writings of Meister Eckhart
>The Dark Night of the Soul-St. John of the Cross
>Collected Writings- St. John of the Cross
>The Interior Castle- St. Teresa of Avila
>Revelations of Divine Love- Julian of Norwich
>New Seeds of Contemplation- Thomas Merton
>No Man is an Island-Thomas Merton
Recommended Cathlic reading
>>7399440
I find Walmart pretty inspiring, myself. All that earthly success like Jesus talked about really shows that Walmart is concerned with the divine.
>>7399408
>What did your parents think about you converting? I assuming they were the gung ho Baptist type like mine are.
My family were always somewhat ambivalent about the Baptist church when I was growing up. One thing about the Baptist church, as you've maybe noticed in your own experience, is a rather legalistic focus. This can give the Baptist faith its own hang-ups and blind spots. My family were even given a hard time by some gung-ho types (I found out later). When I decided to become Lutheran, there wasn't much discussion beyond maybe some relief that I was still in a Christian church.
>>7399419
No just the while setup and how orderly it was. Southern Baptist don't really have a schedule besides music first and the the sermon.
>>7399447
Good list. Thanks.
>>7399462
Honestly I think my parents will be relieved that I still follow a Christian faith too. I mean I've told my mom I'm agnostic but am trying to find my way and she was very receptive of me and said it was noble to try to find your own way. She just isn't very good at reasoning and hashing out the blurry details that is the history of the Bible.
>>7399460
Ok bro, glad you found meaning in wallmart
The only scripture I ever read was the Bhagavad Gita and I don't think anything else can ever measure up.
I'm looking to convert to Christianity, can I get a nice free digital copy of an annotated Bible and illustrations?
>>7399571
I can google it as well as you can.
>>7399496
If your family's like mine, they might be a bit leery about the Lutheran church because of the liturgical structure of worship. It sounds like that's what you responded positively to in Presbyterian worship, and there is a lot that's very valuable about it, but growing up Baptist I was led to find it overly conformist and even approaching something cult-like (some people do sound less than engaged when reciting things for example). My experience with the Lutherans wasn't totally positive either. There's great pride there in being so diligent about striking a balance between preserving what's of value (from Catholicism) while differing when necessary, and for some this sometimes shows itself in a kind of arrogance. My Baptist background wasn't always spoken of in kind ways. This probably prevented me from making the change sooner.
For what it's worth, the three main American Lutheran bodies (most liberal to most conservative, and also largest to smallest) are (1) the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), (2) the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod (LCMS), and (3) the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). As an example of liberality, ELCA ordains women and blesses same-sex unions, while the other two do not. They don't hold Scripture to be necessarily inspired and inerrant, as the other two do. WELS differers in being more fully closed off from the rest of Christendom (to the extent of not praying with or engaging in mission work with non-WELS).
