A week into this journey and I'm starting to get hung up on trivial details. I question which translation I'm reading and find myself looking up comparisions online. I start to think about if I should be using whichever Bible Catholics read, just so I'm on the same page from the beginning. I worry, if I'm so hung up on getting it "right" does that mean I'll stop trying? The translations are often so different from each other that a verse that I enjoy on the first reading will lose meaning for me when I read another version. I'm trying to convince myself to let it mean what it will, but then when I think about discussing what it means to me and somehow being wrong, I hesitate. Clearly, there is a right and wrong, or we'd all be one happy religion, right?
I'm going at this all from a very very basic knowledge of the Bible. I know the kid's stories- Noah, Moses, Jonah, Adam & Eve, the Birth. I am not familiar with many Bible verses, nor do I know the significance of it when someone posts chapter and verse alone. I almost feel embarrassed to talk about a verse that is very well known, but for the most part the only way that I even know that they are well known is because I saw them on Pinterest or Facebook. I feel a bit like a kid who is the last one to get the joke, or maybe like I'm the last one to learn to read.
I realize that I'm overthinking a silly detail, when there are so many other things I could be overthinking. I'm having a hard time focusing on details of belief. My life is full of chaos and kids and it's hard to find a quiet moment for reflection. I am able to browse the internet and read books in the middle of chaos, so that's where I've started. I'm hoping that the books lead to thinking about what I personally believe about God. I don't expect that I will ever be completely firm on what that is, but I'd like to reach a point where I can say with complete honesty that I am a Christian, or that I am not.
The Revised Standard Version is my favorite translation. It's clear, and not dumbed down.
ReplyDeleteAs for which version to use- Catholic or Protestant- obviously I'd encourage you to use the Catholic, but it really depends on whether you're using a bible study program or not. How are you going about reading the Bible? Starting at the beginning and just reading straight through? A systematic curriculum? If you're using a program, I'd say to use the version the program recommends.
If you're doing it on your own, I'd say stick with the Catholic version, since you'll be getting a bigger picture than if you used the Protestant version which has less books. Or, if you don't mind archaic language, find a King James version of the Protestant Bible that includes all the missing books under the "Apocrypha" section.
Ask God to guide you in the selection. He's brought you this far- He's not going to abandon you in the sea of Bible options.
I'm not quite ready to try to read the entire Bible. I'm pretty much skipping around to the verses that people mention to me, or that I find online and then trying to read the context around them. I figure if I read the verses that people know and love first, it'll give me more of a general knowledge going forward. A base for everything, if you will.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we'll go to the thrift store today and pick up a few more options. I do have a "read the whole Bible study Bible type one out in the garage, but the idea of finding it in the garage is daunting. (We are temporarily storing half our possessions in our tiny garage. It is not ideal.)
Lisa, my family is Protestant (grandfather was a pastor in the United Methodist Church and the other side a very faithful UMC family as well).. The formal bible used is the King James version.. I couldn't "get into" it. I found myself at a Christian book store for hours looking at all the different versions available. I ended up with the NIV bible.. it was also a student bible. It spoke to me best if you will. I think you should go with which speaks to you and not get pressured to any specific one. You shouldn't feel "stuck" to any one either. I think what you are doing and have done thus far is awesome and you are way ahead of others who haven't even thought of it yet. hugs! You inspire me to get "into it" again.. my readings and study of the bible has been pushed aside with schedules.. your story along with a new group worship at church, I am hearing a calling and reminder to get my priorities straight! LOL
ReplyDeleteKay, I went to the thrift store and picked up two others, so now I have 3 choices, none King James! I can't remember what they are right now tho, and am way too lazy to go check. I think I could get one of each for under $10 total if I wanted a full set.
ReplyDeleteI want some kind of easy daily devotion type thing. One of the Bibles I bought has it broken up into days, with commentary and stuff, but it's just too much for me right now. Considering getting the Catholic version on my phone and just reading it on the days I feel extra motivated. I'm not sure if it includes any commentary tho, which I would want.