Bible Study is Needed HERE!

IrishEyes said:
ince this has been chosen as a Bible Study how do you study the Bible with religions that do not use the Bible? Won't you have to also
include their Books as well to have inclusion? Wouldn't that be count
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I think poster meant have separate threads -of course anyone can start a thread and see how it goes. Nothing to stop anyone starting one on any religion. Mitch - just start it and see how it goes.
 
Mitch86 said:
A group of us here could start a Bible Study. We could post some verses and others could then comment. We could start with Genesis and end with Revelation. Is anyone here interested in a Bible Study?
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Mitch, correct me if I am not understanding what direction you would want
this Bible Study to go. You would want it to be some discussion on
Bible verses or some comments?

So, members would post a Bible verse, and others could share what they
think about the specific verse?

It sounds like an interesting topic thread. What might you title it as?
 
Aren't there already a plethora of religious forums where you can link up with others of faith?

I have a problem with the title of this thread. I for one don't agree that bible study is NEEDED. More correctly, some people want it and many don't. I don't want to feel I am being recruited for conversion when I visit SF.
 
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PeppermintPatty said:
Maybe this thread here will end up like those other threads. If others want to start a Bible study maybe someone interested should start a private pm. People can be added later on.
Anyone want to start a private pm Bible study group?
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PeppermintPatty said:
Here are the names so far
Messy
IrishEyes
MACKTEXAS
Mitch86
CallMeKate
DailyArtsyCrafter
Lady Emeraude
gruntlabor
RambleTamble
PeppermintPatty
If I missed anyone please let me know
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I appreciate your thoughts as well as including me on your list.
I have great respect for @PeppermintPatty and for other members whose posts I've read in support of studying the Bible.
But - I do not want to particpate in a Bible study group either in this thread or by PM. Please understand this is not meant to be unfriendly, and certainly not meant to be against the Bible. I just don't feel I am able timewise to keep up in a fair manner with group conversations (PMs) on any topic, whether it's the Bible, or anything else.
Attending my church Bible study class and AM service is where I look to for guidance on this matter. I have read and appreciated many of your views and beliefs, and I hope you do know that. Thanks for your understanding.
 
MACKTEXAS said:
I appreciate your thoughts as well as including me on your list.
I have great respect for @PeppermintPatty and for other members whose posts I've read in support of studying the Bible.
But - I do not want to particpate in a Bible study group either in this thread or by PM. Please understand this is not meant to be unfriendly, and certainly not meant to be against the Bible. I just don't feel I am able timewise to keep up in a fair manner with group conversations (PMs) on any topic, whether it's the Bible, or anything else.
Attending my church Bible study class and AM service is where I look to for guidance on this matter. I have read and appreciated many of your views and beliefs, and I hope you do know that. Thanks for your understanding.
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Actually , I donā€™t want to either. The Bible is one of the most complicated books Iā€™ve ever read. Briefly I thought that maybe I could tackle it with others but Iā€™m really unsure of that. I really enjoy this site as is, I donā€™t want to jinx that, so I understand your decision completely.
 
Llynn said:
Aren't there already a plethora of religious forums where you can link up with others of faith?

I have a problem with the title of this thread. I for one don't agree that bible study is NEEDED. More correctly, some people want it and many don't. I don't want to feel I am being recruited for conversion when I visit SF.
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Mitch may explain it differently, but I just thought he was speaking for himself and what he and maybe a few others might "need."

When I see a thread about teapots or lime green I don't feel like I'm being pressured to go out a buy something green or that someone is trying to convert me into a tea pot collector.

Sure we could probably find a site that was all about Bible study, and instead of posting here about the Kentucky Derby, I could have gone to one of the huge racing sites, but I like the people here and would rather talk with people I already "know."
 
IrishEyes said:
I can see a regular post of it becoming a train wreck at some point.
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CallMeKate said:
I think a devoted thread for Bible study probably wouldn't get too far out of the starting gate without disaster status.
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Knock yourselves out, I for one would just leave you to it. There's only so many threads I have an interest in or time for.
I also think it would be churlish for other atheists to mob such a thread.
 
CallMeKate said:
I agree that it would be nice to have, Mitch, but I seriously don't think it would work. One reason would be that everyone would be different denominations, or at least would interpret scripture differently. Normally that would be fine, but I think it would probably lead to discord here.

Secondly, we have a number of atheists and other belief & non-belief systems here, so I think a devoted thread for Bible study probably wouldn't get too far out of the starting gate without disaster status.
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You may be right about the outcome and certainly about different belief systems. But I guess this is as good a place to mention this as any. I'm sure many people don't realize that Muslim ministers (Imam's) teach from the Quran and the Bible. I've been to many lectures, kutbahs (sermons) at different mosques and other venues where I've witnessed this. Some of the congregations were mostly Black, some mostly Arabs or Turks and some were different sects, but all believe in the 5 Pillars of (Islamic) faith. My son accepted Islam decades before I did and he continued studying the Bible along with its concordance. He's the one who told me that there are books that are missing from the Bible.

I've heard Islamophobics say Muslims hate Christians and Jews. They don't know about the Muslims who helped the Jewish people clean up their cemetery when it was violently vandalized. They don't know about the interfaith councils that come together to sponsor unity between the faiths. They assign us a "mystery God". But in their ignorance, they don't know that Allah is the same God that the Bible says created heaven and earth (and its creatures), that it's simply the word God in the Arabic language. They don't realize that we revere all God's prophets, including Jesus or that there's a chapter in the Quran dedicated to his mother Mary.

To answer the OP...I think a Bible study via Zoom would work best.
 
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CallMeKate said:
I agree that it would be nice to have, Mitch, but I seriously don't think it would work. One reason would be that everyone would be different denominations, or at least would interpret scripture differently. Normally that would be fine, but I think it would probably lead to discord here.

Secondly, we have a number of atheists and other belief & non-belief systems here, so I think a devoted thread for Bible study probably wouldn't get too far out of the starting gate without disaster status.
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Seriously? I am not religious but would never discourage a Bible study amongst those who are. It has been several years, but I did a Zoom call with several other members and it made me feel very close to them. Only a couple are still active in the forum, but I feel like I know them like personal friends.

I don't wish to participate, but then I went to a Southern Baptist High School with Bible classes so, believe me, I've read it. One scriptures that still stands out is, "Faith without works is dead". By all means, do it. I think it would bring you closer together.
 
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I would counsel against it. Successful study of any religious text requires an experienced leader to guide the discussion. It also requires moments of silence for introspection. This forum is designed for wide ranging discussion and at times verbal jousting. I cannot see it ending well.

There are plenty of bible study guides available online. We have one in booklet form at our church, It follows the lectionary with a text for every day of the church calendar year with questions to ponder. It is meant for private or group meditation and/or discussion. Its title is With Love to the World.

I could see some value of presenting the Sunday text and inviting discussion on one or more verses. That is itself is a form of guidance that should be able to elicit personal responses without causing disharmony. No need to exclude non christians but the purpose of the thread should be made clear.

If asked, I would be willing to set up a thread titled With Love to the World and post the Sunday texts and commentaries for one month as a trial. Discussion should focus on that text, not on everyone's favourite one.

If it turns nasty it would be shut down.

@Matrix? WDYT?
 
Let's talk about some of the stories in the Book of Revelation...

The Cosmic and Apocalyptic Nightmare: Revelation
If you want surreal imagery, monsters, and definitive devil stories, the Book of Revelation is the primary source. Written as an apocalyptic vision, it reads like a surrealist cosmic horror story.
  • The Dragon and the Space War: Revelation 12 features a massive red dragon with seven heads and ten horns whose tail sweeps a third of the stars out of the sky. It fights an explicit war in heaven against the Archangel Michael and is cast down to Earth.
  • The Chimera Beasts: Revelation 13 describes a beast rising from the sea with the body of a leopard, feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion.
  • The Bottomless Pit: Revelation 9 features a star falling from the sky to unlock a bottomless pit, releasing a swarm of demonic locusts with human faces, women's hair, lion's teeth, and scorpion tails, led by a king named Abaddon.
šŸ˜±
 
I don't see any reason why there couldn't be a sub-heading called "Bible Studies" or something like that. Those who want to participate could do so and those who don't can either ignore it or do whatever you have to do to "not see" that sub-heading. I've done that to a couple of them because I had no interest in them and didn't want to have to wade through them.
 
Hasn't this been tried before? I think it just fizzled out. These things are better done live I think, and there is a time difference between the members.
 
Rakaia said:
Huh. How can an atheist hate a god they don't believe in. Wouldn't hating God be an acknowledgement of God?
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The ones who hate God are angry ex christians who say they are atheist and they believe it. I have talked to such people on Dutch forums. They say 'the God of the Bible is evil' and that's why they don't believe anymore..

I spoke to one. That was on his own forum. He would not go troll on christian forums, but they tried to lure christians there with '200 questions for the believer', so I started to answer them and got the whole angry bunch on my neck. Some had been pastors. He stayed polite to me. I felt sorry for him cause he used to preach even, but they told him 9/11 was punishment from God and then he wanted nothing to do with it anymore. He wrote a book that God was evil.
 
I have a low opinion of what some members on this SF board post in religious threads but refrain from critically posting against their inputs because much comes from simplistic understandings of denominational dogma manipulatively hiding behind the nonsense of "Biblical inerrancy". A knowledgeable, educated person on specific subjects, especially those involving science and technology, cannot productively argue on subjects with those with greatly less such knowledge because the unknowledgeable often won't understand even simple arguments. Simply stated, one ought not argue with an ignorant person. Instead, make a brief statement and be done.

There are centuries of scholarly work on the Bible that anyone with a computer can in this era search to find deeper understandings of scripture. Enough to read to fill a lifetime. On the recent "I am an atheist..." thread I suggested members bother to actually read the Bible, especially using scholarly guides, instead of page after page of mostly IMO nonsense that some members herein posted. Instead of a focused discussion, it has instead been continually thread hijacked into a wide range of unrelated religious questions.

A sort of excuse to make religious input posts. A religious thread without limits, without focus, is certain to be even worse than that thread with several different discussions always going on at the same time, over several back pages, difficult to keep track of. An unproductive way to meaningfully discuss any specific, focused topic. But of course, there are some members that prefer that sort of discussion.

So NO!
 
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