I've tried many times to read the New Testament, it's just that I can't understand the different teachings about life that Jesus gives. I need somewhere, someone, or something that I can go to that will help explain His teachings in a less metaphorical way. I'll read each passage and have no idea what I just read. I don't really have time for church plus no one in my family wants to go or would take me. I wouldn't want to bug a pastor after each sermon to better explain the teachings. I'd really like to be able to understand them and it's just frustrating having to close the bible and not know anything more than when I opened it.
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Understanding the teachings of Jesus
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Isn't that was Bible Study groups are about? You'd have to get involved in some church, youth group or something like that if you want to learn about the bible.
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My boyfriend has this bible his grandma gave him. Of course it's only been opened when I read it.. I'll find the name out for you...it words it in ways that are easier to understand.
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If the words are getting in the way, Today's English Version (the TEV), better known as the Good News Bible, is a modern translation that is specially designed to be particularly easy to read. (It's not as literary as other translations.)Or there is the Living Bible, which is a paraphrase rather than a translation - though that of course means you are getting someone's interpretation.There are many commentaries on the Bible, or particular books in it, that provide explanations and discussions. You'd be able to find them in a Christian bookshop. Some are intended for scholars rather than the general reader, but you can flick through them to see how readable they are, or staff in the bookshop should be able to help.There are also many groups that publish Bible study notes, and some are available on the Net. If you Google 'bible notes' you'll get a lot, though of very variable quality.Remember that although there are some simple basic principles, the way things work out in reality is complex. There are parts of Jesus' message that are not at all easy - but we mustn't ignore the parts we don't like.
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Thank you so much Ineligible. I searched "bible notes" on Google and was brought to a website that summarizes each book in both the Old and New Testament. The other website I used cleared up a lot about Jesus' parables and all that fun stuff. I've spent most of the night reading through the summaries of the Old Testament trying to better understand the prophets and now everything is so much clearer. I feel this now has completely erased all doubt of God for me. It's amazing how the prophecies about Jesus were all fulfilled. BTW the website is called http://www.biblenotes.net
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the whole bible is alagorical. There is no right interpretation. keep reading and keep reading other books of faith
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Originally Posted By: unsupervisedthe whole bible is alagorical.Umm...no. Quote:There is no right interpretation.Better to say that there is more than one interpretation that is correct...and, of course, a whole bunch that are not.
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hey hon. if you want to learn about the bible, like the others said, join a youth group or a bible study =)
and to the guys here disagreeing already, can we please NOT have another thread of argueing. i dont know about anyone else, but i am absolutely SICK of people getting pissy in religion/government threads. sigh...
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Hey, if you can't take the heat... get naked.
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lol. thats always an option.
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Sometimes the version helps too. I understand the New International Version best. And there's also a Teen Study Bible that has side notes that always help.
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Yeah, study Bibles developed for teenagers are great and are available in several different translations. I'm also a big fan of the Life Application Bible (also available in lots of translations). It has lots of goodies on every page that help explain what you're reading.And kudos to those who have suggested that the OP find a youth group or study group of some sort. It's always easier to learn and understand in a community than it is going it alone.
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One thing not to do is sit in the church and take everything the preacher says. Reading the bible on your own may yield different views from them, rather than "do this or you go to hell" or "if you dont do this you go to hell" or "do that and you go to hell".
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or, you could get naked anyway and then we could continue this fascinating conversation.
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Unsupervised gets at the right idea. There is no "explanation", as if there scriptures were a set of math equations. There are interpretations. There are lots of Web sites that you can google for that discuss the meaning, but if you're a literalist, it gets complicated. Even people with expertise in the ancient languages the bible was written in disagree on a lot of things, and no one knows the complete historical context.But now that you are apparently not a fundamentalist, it should be easier.
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Mmm...I don't think he ever said he was a fundamentalist, did he?
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If "fundamentalist" means believing that all that is in the bible is the inerrant word of God, then he was, a long time ago, for a while (i.e., a week ago, for a few days). Now he is a liberal theologian, so all bets are off.