I've been finishing about one book per week every week for the last 3 years. It's probably my favorite hobby. I read mostly non-fiction and take lots of notes.
While these 10 books aren't about current events (most of them are pretty old) they all deeply apply to what's happening now. I've read a lot of good stuff and a lot of crap, but these 10 are the best time investments I've made when it comes to reading. I think they're very important and relevant.
The books by topic:
Political Psychology
The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind By Gustave Le Bon
The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer
Thought Reform And The Psychology Of Totalism by Robert Jay Lifton
Max Weber on Charisma and Institution Building; Selected Papers
History & Culture
The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature by C. S. Lewis
The Pagan Temptation by Thomas Molnar
Political Philosophy
The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis
The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy by Carl Schmitt
Fascism Viewed from the Right by Julius Evola
King of the Castle: Choice and Responsibility in the Modern World by Gai Eaton
Adam and Eve did not eat an apple. They ate fruit from the tree of THE knowledge of good and evil not an apple tree. (not the tree of knowledge as some claim)
They could have been in the garden 100s of years before they ate from the tree. We have no way of knowning.
This story has NOTHING to do with premarital sex. They were "married" at Eve's creation. Besides the ONLY sin they could have commited at the time was eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil.
The sin that Adam and Eve did is the same one we all do to this day.
Adam and Eve no longer did what was right in the eyes of God. They did what was right in THEIR eyes. They wanted to be god deciding what is right and wrong.
All evil stems from doing what is right in our eyes, and not the eyes of God.
.
There are not many different versions of the bible. There are many translations of the bible. Even many different English translations. Some groups add or take away different books. some groups attempt to twist their translations to push their falsh teachings.
The bible was written over a span of 1500 years so of course there are many different authors. I am not sure why you think that is a problem. Try to find anything else written over a span of 100 years and see if it all matches up.
Of course much of scripture is symbolic. The bible is not designed to be read through for understanding. It was designed to be read over and over and meditated on. As your faith grows the symbolic imagery takes on new meaning within your heart.
Bottom line for understanding the bible. It's not about knowledge. It's about relationship. If you seek God with a seekers heart and you will find God who is the truth. The more you seek God the more of God you will find.
So that would be my general answer for someone that wants to know the truth.
The truth will not be given to you, You must search for it and take it. The world despises the truth. The world will do everything possible to keep it from you.
In the end the truth is free but it will cost you everything you have.
I know a lot that hate when one image diverts from actual truth and supplants it. The apple is one example of many, and some symbologists do go really deeply into it.