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allaboutfrodo's review against another edition
5.0
I purchased my copy (copyright 1977) for an undergraduate religious studies class at the University of Illinois in the early 1980s. A few years later I read the whole thing as part of a Bible Studies class at Northminster Presbyterian Church in Evanston, Illinois.
Interestingly, my copy contains a duplicate signature, running from Daniel 6:10 to Amos 2:4. If the secret of my life lies in those 32 pages, I haven't figured it out.
Interestingly, my copy contains a duplicate signature, running from Daniel 6:10 to Amos 2:4. If the secret of my life lies in those 32 pages, I haven't figured it out.
reader_for_the_dead's review against another edition
I wanted to preface this by saying I'm going to be reading the Bible and Qur'an parallel to each other for academic and philosophical reasons. I've been interested in Abrahamic religions and want to start somewhere. In no way am I doing this for religious reasons, but purely because I want to understand theism. I was raised in a pseudo-Christian setting where on the surface level, everyone pretended to be Christian but really were undecided and ultimately didn't think.
I also don't think it's fair to read something that dissects principles from specific religions before I am familiarised by the text itself.
I'm agnostic and way more spiritual - in fact I'm more in tune with the spiritual ancestry of my Maori forefathers and believe in the interconnectedness of humanity. I'm incredibly tired of being shunned from discourse of theism due to Christian family saying I know nothing of the Bible and Qur-an - and thus cannot defend Islamic individuals or criticise Christian ones in their eyes
After consulting Abrahamic religions I will move onto others. I come from a country with a melting pot of religious beliefs, from ancestry worship, to Hinduism to Christianity etc. South Africa definitely benefits you in that way.
I'm definitely open to people's thoughts - I'm more interested here in the psychology and archetypes of religion than the content itself - I'm not here to indulge people who wish to convert me to anything, but I don't mind hearing your ideas on teachings at all.. If you engage me on the basis of conversion I will not indulge you, but whether you are religious or not and wish to discuss and challenge any of my thoughts, please feel free.
I also don't think it's fair to read something that dissects principles from specific religions before I am familiarised by the text itself.
I'm agnostic and way more spiritual - in fact I'm more in tune with the spiritual ancestry of my Maori forefathers and believe in the interconnectedness of humanity. I'm incredibly tired of being shunned from discourse of theism due to Christian family saying I know nothing of the Bible and Qur-an - and thus cannot defend Islamic individuals or criticise Christian ones in their eyes
After consulting Abrahamic religions I will move onto others. I come from a country with a melting pot of religious beliefs, from ancestry worship, to Hinduism to Christianity etc. South Africa definitely benefits you in that way.
I'm definitely open to people's thoughts - I'm more interested here in the psychology and archetypes of religion than the content itself - I'm not here to indulge people who wish to convert me to anything, but I don't mind hearing your ideas on teachings at all.. If you engage me on the basis of conversion I will not indulge you, but whether you are religious or not and wish to discuss and challenge any of my thoughts, please feel free.
creekhiker's review against another edition
5.0
Read as part of a "read the Bible in a year challenge," and it was enjoyable reading the word of God on a near weekly basis ( I did fall behind occasionally). It was interesting to see the different styles of storytelling, of legend, fable, myth, poetry, parables, letters, histories, legal documents, and storytelling. It was fascinating to see how the Old Testament informed the new when read side by side as this method of reading had you do http://thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Read-the-Bible-in-a-Year-Revised-1.pdf I'm really glad that I saw it through to the end and I've already begun again with a much slower read and study of the Old Testament.
californianorma's review against another edition
5.0
I used this edition the second time I read the Bible. Wonderful! The notes were very helpful in finding my footing. As I recall, a respectful resource for Christians and non-Christians alike.
raxington's review against another edition
God was so mean.. this can't be the being so many entrust their faith into. Reads like a child wrote it.
gabriellecarolina's review against another edition
5.0
There's no sign of this book leaving my life anytime in the coming future, therefore I'll shelve it read just so fellow religious studies major and grad students know what a useful resource this is!
vforvanessa's review against another edition
3.0
So glad I finally sat down and made a real effort to read this. Didn't go all the way through, of course: the early books are dry and full of cubits. But I solicited suggestions from friends and came up with a reading list, and thus discovered many beautiful, interesting, and sometimes downright weird passages.
Highlights:
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Gospel of Mark
Revelations (the weird)
Highlights:
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Gospel of Mark
Revelations (the weird)
sarahshunter's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
4.25
I picked up this annotated bible to give myself a richer understanding of its contents from a historical and social lens. To this end, I found the essays and footnotes indispensable. I appreciated that questions of translation and authenticity are addressed, as are present forms of theological analysis. I only wish there were even more critical analysis regarding gender, sexuality, and slavery.
johnl4's review against another edition
5.0
Yeah, yeah, the Bible, I know, nobody reads it any more.
But... this particular edition has a ton of good annotations, pithy comments that shed light. And some good stories.
But... this particular edition has a ton of good annotations, pithy comments that shed light. And some good stories.
muukkeli's review against another edition
Writing a review of the Bible is difficult, because I read it in a way it was probably not meant to be read: from cover to cover in chronological order. Read in this way, it’s incredibly repetitive and dull. Perhaps when read in small parts during religious festivals and prayers, it seems more meaningful and profound.
At least in translation, most of the poetry is not compelling and most of the stories are boring. The morals are terrible; virtually everyone in the Bible is a terrible person, even the protagonists. The amount of violence is horrific, and is often treated by the narrative as a good thing, when when it happens to the ’right people’.
Speaking of violence: most of the victims of God’s wrath, especially in the old testament are the Jews themselves. The book is an endless repetition of the same cycle of abuse: the Jews do something that makes God angry -> God dispatches some terrible punishment on them, like a foreign army that kills or enslaves the Jews -> after a while the Jews repent and make up with God, who saves them from the very problems he’s put them in -> all is good for a while, until the Jews break God’s rules once more and the cycle begins again.
These narratives were likely a way for the Jews to explain, why they seemed to be constantly the victims of terrible events, like being conquered by foreign empires or being enslaved, despite being the chosen people of the one and only God. Rather than their victimization being a sign that their God was too weak to protect them, these calamities were actually punishments from God himself; therefore, their God is actually in control of everything all the time, and they WILL be saved by him, as long as they follow his rules.
Perhaps this brought some comfort to the ancient Hebrews, but reading it from beginning to end as a modern person just makes being one of God’s chosen people seem like a bad deal.
There were a few parts that I enjoyed; especially the book of Job and Ecclesiastes. Job’s lamentation in the depths of his suffering was about the only thing that touched me emotionally, and Ecclesiastes was somewhat interesting, if only because the philosophy is so different from the rest of the Bible.
The new testament is just a fraud; it was written by Greeks pretending to be Hebrew-speaking Israelites, trying to convert the Jews to their new religion. Some of the philosophy seems to be inspired by Plato, to the point some lines are copied word for word.
I admit that I skimmed some parts, and by the middle the only thing that kept me going through to the end was bragging rights; being able to say that I have in fact read the whole thing.
I’m not going to rate this book. Despite the fact that the Bible itself is not great, I’m sure the translators worked really hard and did a good job, so I don’t want to leave a bad rating. Leaving a good rating doesn’t feel right either because it’s an awful book.
The most interesting parts were not the text of the Bible itself, but the annotations, introductions and essays by the scholars and translators that worked on this edition. (I read the fifth edition.) It really would have been difficult to understand anything without the context that these essays gave to the text.
Especially interesting were the parts explaining how the Bible was composed, explaining the many different versions of it and why they exist, and the difficulty of translating from an ancient semitic language without vowels. Despite how ancient the text is, new discoveries continue to be made; the NSRV fifth edition is only five years old. Bible scholarship is a very interesting field, even - or even especially if - you’re not a believer. I really recommend Bart D. Ehrman’s work if you’re interested in the origins of the Bible and Christianity.
I read this book on Kindle, which was convenient, since the physical book is so large and heavy it would have been difficult to carry it around to read outside. Kindle also makes it easy to do notes and highlights without damaing an actual book.
At least in translation, most of the poetry is not compelling and most of the stories are boring. The morals are terrible; virtually everyone in the Bible is a terrible person, even the protagonists. The amount of violence is horrific, and is often treated by the narrative as a good thing, when when it happens to the ’right people’.
Speaking of violence: most of the victims of God’s wrath, especially in the old testament are the Jews themselves. The book is an endless repetition of the same cycle of abuse: the Jews do something that makes God angry -> God dispatches some terrible punishment on them, like a foreign army that kills or enslaves the Jews -> after a while the Jews repent and make up with God, who saves them from the very problems he’s put them in -> all is good for a while, until the Jews break God’s rules once more and the cycle begins again.
These narratives were likely a way for the Jews to explain, why they seemed to be constantly the victims of terrible events, like being conquered by foreign empires or being enslaved, despite being the chosen people of the one and only God. Rather than their victimization being a sign that their God was too weak to protect them, these calamities were actually punishments from God himself; therefore, their God is actually in control of everything all the time, and they WILL be saved by him, as long as they follow his rules.
Perhaps this brought some comfort to the ancient Hebrews, but reading it from beginning to end as a modern person just makes being one of God’s chosen people seem like a bad deal.
There were a few parts that I enjoyed; especially the book of Job and Ecclesiastes. Job’s lamentation in the depths of his suffering was about the only thing that touched me emotionally, and Ecclesiastes was somewhat interesting, if only because the philosophy is so different from the rest of the Bible.
The new testament is just a fraud; it was written by Greeks pretending to be Hebrew-speaking Israelites, trying to convert the Jews to their new religion. Some of the philosophy seems to be inspired by Plato, to the point some lines are copied word for word.
I admit that I skimmed some parts, and by the middle the only thing that kept me going through to the end was bragging rights; being able to say that I have in fact read the whole thing.
I’m not going to rate this book. Despite the fact that the Bible itself is not great, I’m sure the translators worked really hard and did a good job, so I don’t want to leave a bad rating. Leaving a good rating doesn’t feel right either because it’s an awful book.
The most interesting parts were not the text of the Bible itself, but the annotations, introductions and essays by the scholars and translators that worked on this edition. (I read the fifth edition.) It really would have been difficult to understand anything without the context that these essays gave to the text.
Especially interesting were the parts explaining how the Bible was composed, explaining the many different versions of it and why they exist, and the difficulty of translating from an ancient semitic language without vowels. Despite how ancient the text is, new discoveries continue to be made; the NSRV fifth edition is only five years old. Bible scholarship is a very interesting field, even - or even especially if - you’re not a believer. I really recommend Bart D. Ehrman’s work if you’re interested in the origins of the Bible and Christianity.
I read this book on Kindle, which was convenient, since the physical book is so large and heavy it would have been difficult to carry it around to read outside. Kindle also makes it easy to do notes and highlights without damaing an actual book.