People told me to "read the Bible" .... I did that, it didn't help.... Now what?

Question

Long ago i have read the Bible. A beautiful fictional novel, with nice stories, sometimes scary stories.

Then i came to Yahoo!Answers, asked questions about the Bible, and half of the answers told me to "read the Bible!!!"

So, i did that, but the Bible hadn't even changed. It was the same book as i read before. I still remain with all the same questions i have about the Bible.

I came to the conclusion that an answer that states "Read the Bible", actually means:
"You should accept my own interpretation of that part of the bible I assume is relevant to your current question".

In other words, it means "i'm right, you're wrong, but i don't know why"

Why don't people just say that, if that is what they actually mean?

Answer 1

Wow, Mark... 63 answers, huh? I'm 64, so two more after me, and you'll have one to represent every book of the Bible... does that count?

Here's my interpretation - I LOVE yours, but I have another...

Read the Bible! (Actually, I think it's supposed to be - There So Many God Haters Like You On This Spiritual Site! Read A Bible! Fair Enough!) Anyway... it means...

You haven't read it enough times to thoroughly brainwash yourself! What are you thinking? That you can just read it objectively? NO! You have to study and shove it down your own throat... and when we try to shove it down your throat, it's only to help with that process so you can take a break - after all, it's hard work. You should be thanking us you ungrateful wretch.

Ok... maybe I read a little too much into it there at the end... but you catch my drift.

Answer 2

Do you recall the event found at Acts 8:26-39.It deals with a Ethiopian Eunuch riding in his chariot and reading aloud from the scroll of Isaiah.The disciple Phillip asked the Eunuch if he understood what he was reading.And the Eunuch replied:"Really,how could I ever do so,unless someone guided me?"
So it doesn't matter how many times you can read the Bible.If you have no one to explain it to you,you will never come to an accurate knowledge about Jehovah God and his purpose for mankind and the earth.
The central theme throughout is the Bible is God's Kingdom.And how this Kingdom will benefit mankind.Jesus plays a major part in the fulfilment of many many Bible prophecies.Some that have already been fulfilled.Others that will have their fulfilment in times to come.
I used to be a Catholic.But saw the hypocrisy and the double standards.Most of Its teachings are steeped in pagan originsAnd those that arent are from man made doctrines.
I have been one of Jehovah's Witnesses for ten years now.This is the only organisation that truly has God's holy spirit operating on it.It is the only organisation that has an accurate understanding of the Holy Scriptures.
If you are sincerely interested in learning what the Bible contains,pop into your local Kingdom Hall of Jehovahs Witnesses.They would be only too happy to conduct a free home bible study with you,and answer any questions you may have - using the Bible as their guide.
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Answer 3

First of all. . .you need a good translation of the Bible. . .I would recommend Eugene Peterson's "The Message". . .it's in contemporary American English and has been well received.

Secondly. . .given what you have shared in your posting. . .you should read the Bible in a more structure fashion. . .such as the Daily Lectionary (readings) that many Christian denominations follow today. . .or. . .read the Gospels (first four books of the Christian/New Testament), especially Mark for its brevity. . .then. .. from the Hebrew/Old Testament. . .read Proverbs, see what you like in Psalms, and end with Jonah.

Thirdly. . .you may want to take a class about the Bible or perhaps an informal study group. . .it doesn't necessarily have to be affiliated with a religious organization.

The Bible is a great work of literature. . .and while it has the appearance of being as easy as picking up a Stephen King novel. . .it's not that easy for someone unfamiliar with it. . .and not for religious/doctrinal reasons. . .for Bible means "library". . .and, by way of example, there are 66 books that make up the Protestant Christian Bible!

I have been a lifelong student of the Bible. . .and. . .believe me. . .it doesn't surprise me that nothing happened when you read it. . .don't worry. . .so try it again. . .this time differently

Answer 4

Most Christians believe you should read a bit of the bible every day (daily bread analogy) and therefore "read the bible" is to them an ongoing sort of answer I suppose, however trite it may be. Reading the Bible is all good and fine as long as you don't come at it with a closed mind. I think that means one should also read such things as the Koran etc...otherwise your mind by definition is closed. And I think you are right about the fact that many people just mean "I'm right, you're wrong" which is the biggest problem with christianity.

Answer 5

I don't think it comes down to reading the bible, I think ppl should study it. Now i'm not in any way going to try to guess how smart you are, though i'm sure you will say VERY. But unless you've spent MANY years studying the bible, and looked at the educated opinions for BOTH sides, then in my opinon its foolish to make that statement.

Now I will be the first to admit that the bible has flaws. To me, the fact that it doesn't have more flaws is pretty remarkable. Its thousands of years old, and has been translated, re translated, and re re translated more then any other book EVER. AND it was written by many different men. It has been scientifically proven that ppl, even ppl that see the same exact thing, can describe it differently. Are all the opinions wrong? No! Different? Of course. Ppl view things differently, and describe them differently. To deny that, is to deny the very core of human beings. No matter how much you like yourself, most ppl will admit they don't want a bunch of themselves running around.

Now I know you don't want to hear this, but I do suggest you continue your journey. Whether or not it brings you to God, well thats not for me to decide. But you can't just read the bible, and understand it. And when I say you need educated opinions,I don't just mean somebody like yourself that has simply read the book, I mean ppl that have studied and understand it. And no I don't just want you to go to those that feel as I do, and that it is right.

Think about it this way. If you needed medical advice, would you rather go to somebody that has just read a book about medicine? Or would you rather go to somebody that has studied it, and or has experience practicing it? I know that is an extreme example, and one I doubt you will accept, but it does apply.

Answer 6

What did you expect the Bible to do for you?

If you don't have faith, then the Bible can appear to be nothing more than a bunch of fictionalalized stories strung together.

Reading the Bible shouldn't be about just blindly accepting other people's interpretions of what they believe certain passages might represent. It's about you figuring out your own interpretation of God's Word is, and how that applies to your own personal relationship with Him in your daily life.

Answer 7

No matter how much you have studied the Bible, you will have people tell you, "You need to go read the Bible." You could have it memorized and they will still tell you that. This is, I think, because they assume that you will see the same thing there that they saw in it. And if you don't interpret it the way they did, they will assume you didn't read it. It is quite probable though that they are the ones who are not reading it with an open mind. They read it from a biased perspective, in that they read it assuming that it is a good book, and that they will find truth there. So their interpretation is slanted.

Answer 8

First let me say that I too have seen people write "go read the bible" and it seems to me that that is just another smug way of saying " I don't have an intelligent answer"
Now having said that I want to address your first statement You said that the Bible was a good fictional novel.
Well my question to you is what made you come to that conclusion?
People have been trying for two thousand years to prove that the Bible is fiction but yet it still stands.
I can give you some very compelling arguments as to why it is true.
As for your other questions I would be happy to help you any way I can, and I promise I won't give you an answer of "go read your Bible" with out some kind of explanation. In other words I may tell you to go read but I will also explain things for you as best I can,However, I will only do this on one condition, and that is, if you are truly searching for real answers and the real truth. I will not do it if you are only looking for answers to support an anti Bible or Christ stance.
I say this because some people ask lots of questions, but in reality their questions are merely smoke screens to the real issue of " I don't want to accept it because I don't want to change my lifestyle"
If this is your situation it would be a waste of my time and yours to pursue this, but as I said, I stand ready to help you the best I can if your are ready for real answers
But be for warned It may drastically change your life. It did mine, and I too was searching for answers, but for a longe time I did not want to hear Christ's message because it did not fit my lifestyle

Answer 9

If you're looking for a reason to believe/not believe the Bible, its really up to you. The Bible is widely regarded as the most important, most influential, and most enduring book in the history of the world. Aside from the accounts of creation and prophesies, the Bible is regarded by a majority of historians to be factual (as far as its record of historical events, such as wars, kings, and the life of Christ).

The Bible is not "fiction" in the sense that we use the word today. "Fiction" implies total fabrication for the purpose of amusement. The Bible is NOT fiction. It is a record of real historical events, real religios beliefs, and a record of God's work on earth as perceived by and through humans. It's of course, up to you whether you believe the theological aspects of the book. But even if you don't believe what it says about how to live, and who to worship, you should still be able to appreciate and respect it as the single greatest piece of literature ever written.

Answer 10

Without God opening up someones understanding of the bible then it won't make any sense to them. You will hear different answers from different religions. So reading the bible is for you to check up on the answer to see if they might be right. Of course you need to do more than just read it , you need to study it. So I have an answer but I bet you won't do it. Go to the website below & request the Bible Study Course you will be amazed. And its free. They won't ask you for any money.

Answer 11

Okay so you say that you read the bible twice and still don't know what it means.

Almost 2000 yrs ago Paul said there would be people like you. Did you miss that part?

1Corinthians2:13-14
"This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."