I'm more interested in the Bible now that I believe it isn't inspired (?!)

GetBusyLiving

I downloaded a ton of 'The Teaching Company' lectures on the formation of Christianity and the Gnostics, and have been reading books on the creation of the Bible for the past six months or so. If you havent looked into this stuff already, I'm telling ya it is some really facinating stuff.

Are you at all like me and have become more interested in the Bible since realizing it isn't inspired?? I really enjoy reading it now - I used to hate it when I was a Christian! What gives?

GBL

Euphemism

It sounds to me like you can actually use your brain when reading it now, instead of just being fed pap. Definitely a lot more interesting.

DevonMcBride

Are you at all like me and have become more interested in the Bible since realizing it isn't inspired?? I really enjoy reading it now - I used to hate it when I was a Christian! What gives?

Yep, I'm the same. I spend more time studying the Bible now that I don't believe it to be inspired. Maybe because I'm more open minded to really appreciate the style of the writings and the history of it.

Carmel

Now you might consider reading some forbidden material like the Gita, the Koran and other texts that are the basis for other cultures and see if you don't see a pattern. I found after reading them I was much more objective about the Old and New testaments.

carmel

MerryMagdalene

Ain't that a hoot?!?

Actually I used to get gently reprimanded for looking into the scriptures and into history too deeply on my own (as a JW kid) and for trying to use my brain independently from the WT lit., asking hard-to-answer questions, being told not to "run ahead of God's organization" and to "wait on J."

But, yes, it is even more interesting now that I don't believe it was inspired of God. Only my brain doesn't seem to work even half as well as it used to do (or half as well as I thought it did----that's probably more accurate) so I leave the deep thinking and research to the rest of you and try desperately to understand what you share from your investigations.

~Merry

Narkissos

It certainly makes more sense from this angle.

Now I probably wouldn't be that interested in the Bible had I never regarded it as inspired. To me the most interesting part of Bible study is the history of interpretation, which is largely a history of misreading (e.g. of the OT by NT writers) in which my own successive misreadings (as a JW, etc.) take place and strangely make sense -- even if this is nonsense, it is a very personal nonsense.

bikerchic

Carmel said:

Now you might consider reading some forbidden material like the Gita, the Koran and other texts that are the basis for other cultures and see if you don't see a pattern. I found after reading them I was much more objective about the Old and New testaments.

So true! You'll see a definite pattern by reading the writings of other ancient cultures.

I have yet to read the Bible again, I figure it's ancient history and nothing I can do to change it although I can learn from it and what I've learned now in my attempts to be a part of the ever changing history of the era I'm living in now.

Aww heck who am I kidding I'm but a drop of sand in the hour glass of time...........sigh.

Kate (who will keep battling the war against the WTS)

A Paduan

I wonder what you had believed "inspired" to have meant

For me the word is inspired - but I have a different concept of "inspired" than do jws

Deputy Dog

GBL

I used to hate it when I was a Christian!

If you were a JW, you probably were not a Christian.

I wonder what you had believed "inspired" to have meant
For me the word is inspired - but I have a different concept of "inspired" than do jws

I'm with A Paduan on this one. D Dog

Balsam

Me too I love the Teaching Company lectures on the bible. I am so in to the bible because I understand that it was metaphor and allegory. A regious perception of an ancient people. It is interesting in ways it was never interesting before.

The lost Gospels really interesting. Have read Karen Armstrong, Elaine Pagels, Bart Ehrman books. Very very interesting.

Balsam

I'm more interested in the Bible now that I believe it isn't inspired (?!)

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