[N-P20224]

I grew up baptized as Protestant, but received virtually no religious training, though we observed Christmas and I know a little about that holiday. My question: How do Christians feel about the Bible? It strikes me as such a huge book to get to know, and I wonder how people use it for guidance. Do you study it over and over even when your life is busy? Or did you study it just as a kid? I especially want to know how people distinguish between the things to take literally and those figuratively. It would also be helpful for answerers to say if they consider themselves to be devout, lightly practicing or non-practicing.
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User Detail :  

Name : N-P20224, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Protestant, Age : 35, City : Philadelphia, State : PA, Country : United States, 

[Ronald V.]

I would agree with the previous writer that ‘small pieces’ are best. It is best to learn things a little at a time, like a language, for instance. Having said that, one also needs to understand the context. When can you take something as literal or figuratively? When Jesus says that ‘I am the door’, we don’t need to ask whether He is a wooden door. I am the ‘bread of life’ -rye or wheat? But if the literal sense makes sense, there is no need to seek any other sense. I do read a small portion each day. I find devotions helpful. (Try http://www.refdesk) The Bible teaches that Jesus has died for everyone. The debt has been paid. I am a born again believer in Jesus, but not so heavy on churchianity. Church provides a good context for believers, but some Church cultures can use the Bible and distort what the Bible teaches.

User Detail :  

Name : Ronald V., Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 47, City : Edmonton, State : NA, Country : Canada, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Yahmdallah]

The first thing you want to do is select a good translation. Good translations are the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), the New International Version (NIV), and the New American Standard Version (NASB). Avoid the King James Version (KJV) for now. Its language is beautiful, but a third of the words don’t have the same meaning as they did when the original translation was made, so it’s difficult to read.

Second, take small bites. Start with the first five books of the Old Testament and the first five books of the New Testament.

I’m a “mainstream” or moderate Christian, because I believe you have to believe in Jesus Christ and what he did on the cross for us to claim to be a Christian, and thus to be “saved” – meaning you are destined for heaven. In other words, sects or denominations that talk about Christ but deviate from this necessary belief aren’t strictly Christian. I’m not a fundamentalist either, who believe that the entire Bible is the literal word of God and everybody except them is going to hell. To me, parts of the Bible are literal – such as the Gospels – but other parts are allegorical – such as the creation story and Job.

I use the Bible as the guide for how God would have me live my life. I read the Bible intermittently, meaning I’ll go a few months without picking it up, but when I do, I’ll end up reading all of John, or something like that.

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Name : Yahmdallah, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Presbyterian, City : Castle Rock, State : CO, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

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