I have read the bible, back when I was a practicing Catholic. Problem is, there's so many different versions of the Bible, and each has its own quirks, things removed, things added. And all were written by men, supposedly through divine intervention. Same with a lot of the other religions. That's the majority of my issue. How can we tell there was definite divine intervention for any of them? And if there was for some, and not others, then what? Do we toss out wholesale parts of the book like King James did? Do we add back in the story of Lilith procreating with demons to give birth to giants? What do we take as truth and what do we discern as allegorical? Did God really punish children for making fun of Elisha's bald head by sending bears to eat them? That's a bit of overkill. And that only touches the surface.
First thing to remember is that not every book of the Bible is written for every person. Some chapters are written just for the Jews, some books are written for believers, some for non-believers. This is why it would seem that the Bible is contradictory. Because there are different outcomes depending on your relationship with the Lord Jesus. That’s just for starters. After that, get your self a good Bible with the Old Testament with writings in Hebrew and interpretation into English. And the New Testament with Greek writings and interpretations into English that’s when the Bible really opens up! Things are different sometimes when we see it in Greek or hebrew. As far as additional books, as you dig deep into the history behind each book and where God will take you, you will know which books you want to read snd which ones make sense to include.
I have read the bible, back when I was a practicing Catholic. Problem is, there's so many different versions of the Bible, and each has its own quirks, things removed, things added. And all were written by men, supposedly through divine intervention. Same with a lot of the other religions. That's the majority of my issue. How can we tell there was definite divine intervention for any of them? And if there was for some, and not others, then what? Do we toss out wholesale parts of the book like King James did? Do we add back in the story of Lilith procreating with demons to give birth to giants? What do we take as truth and what do we discern as allegorical? Did God really punish children for making fun of Elisha's bald head by sending bears to eat them? That's a bit of overkill. And that only touches the surface.
First thing to remember is that not every book of the Bible is written for every person. Some chapters are written just for the Jews, some books are written for believers, some for non-believers. This is why it would seem that the Bible is contradictory. Because there are different outcomes depending on your relationship with the Lord Jesus. That’s just for starters. After that, get your self a good Bible with the Old Testament with writings in Hebrew and interpretation into English. And the New Testament with Greek writings and interpretations into English that’s when the Bible really opens up! Things are different sometimes when we see it in Greek or hebrew. As far as additional books, as you dig deep into the history behind each book and where God will take you, you will know which books you want to read snd which ones make sense to include.