Your favorite NON-BIBLICAL scripture. :)

[Xuzi]

COULD A MODERATOR PLEASE FIX THE THREAD TITLE TO READ "YOUR FAVORITE NON-PROTESTANT BIBILICAL SCRIPTURE" ?? THANK YOU. :) (using all caps to make this sentence more visible, I'm not yelling. ;) )

 

Just an idea that popped into my head today.

 

I see Bible versus all the time here on the boards, but I rarely see any from, say, the Koran, the Torah, or the Apocraphal books of the Bible, etc, and I'd *love* to see some. I know I should just go to my local library and check out the books for myself, but I'd love to know what our resident Orthodox/Catholic, Muslim, Buddhist, Pagan (do they have sacred writtings?) favorite scripture versus/sections/sayings are.

 

Any excerpt from any book of any religion's (non-Protestant Bible) Holy Writ is welcome. :)

 

(and please don't be offended by my excluding the Protestant Bible, I'm really only meaning this to be a thread to share scriptural writtings of some of the minority faiths on these boards that aren't often seen [at least by me]. I myself believe in the KJV, so I'm already very familiar with it, and am looking for a taste of what other religion's experiences with scripture are. :) )

Edited February 16, 2011 by Xuzi

[Spy Car]

Just an idea that popped into my head today.

 

I see Bible versus all the time here on the boards, but I rarely see any from, say, the Koran, the Torah, or the Apocraphal books of the Bible, etc, and I'd *love* to see some. I know I should just go to my local library and check out the books for myself, but I'd love to know what our resident Orthodox/Catholic, Muslim, Buddhist, Pagan (do they have sacred writtings?) favorite scripture versus/sections/sayings are.

 

Any excerpt from any book of any religion's (non-Protestant Bible) Holy Writ is welcome. :)

 

(and please don't be offended by my excluding the Protestant Bible, I'm really only meaning this to be a thread to share scriptural writtings of some of the minority faiths on these boards that aren't often seen [at least by me]. I myself believe in the KJV, so I'm already very familiar with it, and am looking for a taste of what other religion's experiences with scripture are. :) )

 

Well the "Torah" is comprised of the first 5 books of the Hebrew Bible (aka the "Pentateuch") so it is not "non-biblical".

 

The Deuterocanonanical Books (aka Apocrypha) are considered "biblical" to some and not to others, so you have a problem here with semantics and theological divisions.

 

Bill

[simka2]

Maybe "non-protestant?" ;)

[Xuzi]

Well the "Torah" is comprised of the first 5 books of the Hebrew Bible (aka the "Pentateuch") so it is not "non-biblical".

 

The Deuterocanonanical Books (aka Apocrypha) are considered "biblical" to some and not to others, so you have a problem here with semantics and theological divisions.

 

Bill

Which is why I specified "Protestant Bible" (there aren't any Protestants that use the Apocraphal books, are there? is there a more correct term I should use to distinguise the Christian Bible that contains the Deuterocanonical Books, and the one that doesn't?)

 

And ya, "duh moment" for me about the Torah there. :tongue_smilie:

[Plucky]

Well the "Torah" is comprised of the first 5 books of the Hebrew Bible (aka the "Pentateuch") so it is not "non-biblical".

 

The Deuterocanonanical Books (aka Apocrypha) are considered "biblical" to some and not to others, so you have a problem here with semantics and theological divisions.

 

Bill

 

Is the Torah sometimes called Bible? I didn't think so, but I was watching Fiddler on the Roof and one of them mentioned studying the Bible. That was confusing to me because I know he meant the Torah.

[Xuzi]

Maybe "non-protestant?" ;)

Ya, that's why I said in the OP that I was excluding the Protestant Bible, as I figured that would make it clear that I wanted Apocraphal references. :confused:

 

ETA: Perhaps I should change the thread title. I realize now how it might be offensive.

[simka2]

Ya, that's why I said in the OP that I was excluding the Protestant Bible, as I figured that would make it clear that I wanted Apocraphal references. :confused:

 

ETA: Perhaps I should change the thread title. I realize now how it might be offensive.

 

I knew what you meant ;)! No worries!

[Xuzi]

I'm a little confused. Are there different (widely used) Christian bibles?

From my (admittedly not comprehensive) understanding there is. There's Bibles that have more books than others, some are different translations (I believe the Jehovah's Witnesses have a translation that's unique to their denomination?)

[Parrothead]

I'm a little confused. Are there different (widely used) Christian bibles?

Oh, yes. Just as there are several versions of the Protestant Bible there are several versions of the Catholic Bible. The Catholic Bible has 7 books in it the the Protestants removed from theirs 100s of years ago. The Orthodox Bible has at least two more books than the Catholic Bible. They have Macabees 3 and 4. There may be more but I'm not entirely sure. Then the Mormons have an entire other book of sacred writings.

 

To answer the question, I do enjoy the entire book of Wisdom.

 

Here is a list of all the books in the Catholic Bible

Edited February 16, 2011 by Parrothead

[Crimson Wife]

I like the story of Judith. My favorite verses are 4:11-13

 

"Know ye that the Lord will hear your prayers, if you continue with perseverance in fastings and prayers in the sight of the Lord. Remember Moses the servant of the Lord, who overcame Amalec that trusted in his own strength, and in his power, and in his army, and in his shields, and in his chariots, and in his horsemen, not by fighting with the sword, but by holy prayers: So shall all the enemies of Israel be, if you persevere in this work which you have begun."

[Xuzi]

I like the story of Judith. My favorite verses are 4:11-13

 

"Know ye that the Lord will hear your prayers, if you continue with perseverance in fastings and prayers in the sight of the Lord. Remember Moses the servant of the Lord, who overcame Amalec that trusted in his own strength, and in his power, and in his army, and in his shields, and in his chariots, and in his horsemen, not by fighting with the sword, but by holy prayers: So shall all the enemies of Israel be, if you persevere in this work which you have begun."

Thank you. :) That's a beautiful verse!

[snipsnsnailsx5]

Okay I'll post some. :)

 

One of my favorites:

 

Helaman 5:12

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the arock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your bfoundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty cstorm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

[Spy Car]

Is the Torah sometimes called Bible? I didn't think so, but I was watching Fiddler on the Roof and one of them mentioned studying the Bible. That was confusing to me because I know he meant the Torah.

 

Jews won't generally use the term Bible unless they are speaking with non-Jews and trying to be on common terms. the "written" Torah would refer to the first 5 books (the Books of Moses) while the entire "Hebrew Bible" is called the "Tanakh."

 

Hollywood takes liberties ;) :D

 

Bill

[elizabeth]

http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/gthlamb.html Gospel of Thomas

 

One of the many books left out of canonical scripture . Part of the Nag Hammadi linked here: http://www.nag-hammadi.com/history.html

[Gooblink]

Do you mind if I insert a question here?

 

Are the Catholic and Orthodox Bibles the same? Can someone point me to the most widely used translation/version, or your favorite? If you want, you can PM me so as not to hijack this thread. I hate to start a new thread, just for that question.

 

Thank you.

 

Now, back to you. :)

[Violet Crown]

From The Wisdom of Solomon (King James Version):

 

Chapter 2

 

12. Therefore let us lie in wait for the righteous; because he is not for our turn, and he is clean contrary to our doings: he upbraideth us with our offending the law, and objecteth to our infamy the transgressings of our education.

13. He professeth to have the knowledge of God: and he calleth himself the child of the Lord.

14. He was made to reprove our thoughts.

15. He is grievous unto us even to behold: for his life is not like other men's, his ways are of another fashion.

16. We are esteemed of him as counterfeits: he abstaineth from our ways as from filthiness: he pronounceth the end of the just to be blessed, and maketh his boast that God is his father.

17. Let us see if his words be true: and let us prove what shall happen in the end of him.

18. For if the just man be the son of God, he will help him, and deliver him from the hand of his enemies.

19. Let us examine him with despitefulness and torture, that we may know his meekness, and prove his patience.

20. Let us condemn him with a shameful death: for by his own saying he shall be respected.

21. Such things they did imagine, and were deceived: for their own wickedness hath blinded them.

[Rosie_0801]

, Pagan (do they have sacred writtings?) favorite scripture versus/sections/sayings are.

 

I don't go in for the word "sacred" in a religious sense. I only ever use it towards other people's religions, food, books and an aspect or two of my fake religion. Yeah, I have a real religion and a fake one. It's a role playing game thing, a bleeding of a character into my actual person. :lol: Uh yeah, don't mind me...

 

The closest I have to what you're talking about is:

 

The Byrd's version of Ecclesiastes (Is that how you spell it? The spell checker isn't complaining so it must be...)

 

The Tao of Pooh I particularly like The Vinegar Tasters and a story about a donkey. There seem to be a lot of Chinese stories about donkeys so I can't find it online. It more or less goes like this: In a village some place far away, with very narrow streets, a donkey was throwing a serious tantrum. Mostly everyone around gathered around chattering about what to do, since no one could get past without getting a hoof in the head. Suddenly someone looked up the street and saw the resident very clever, master type guy turn the corner. "Ah, here comes the Wise One! He'll know what to do!" The master looked up from the ground, saw the donkey, turned around and went down the next street.

 

And my guide laws.

 

A bit eclectic, but that's the way with a DIY religion :)

 

Rosie

[Parrothead]

Do you mind if I insert a question here?

 

Are the Catholic and Orthodox Bibles the same? Can someone point me to the most widely used translation/version, or your favorite? If you want, you can PM me so as not to hijack this thread. I hate to start a new thread, just for that question.

 

Thank you.

 

Now, back to you. :)

No, they are not exactly the same. I know the EO Bible has at least 2 more books (Macabees 3 and 4). This Wiki page has a chart

 

Favorites of the Catholic Bible are the New American Bible, the Ignatius Bible and the Douay-Rheims. There are a few other versions.

[Spy Car]

Do you mind if I insert a question here?

 

Are the Catholic and Orthodox Bibles the same? Can someone point me to the most widely used translation/version, or your favorite? If you want, you can PM me so as not to hijack this thread. I hate to start a new thread, just for that question.

 

Thank you.

 

Now, back to you. :)

 

I'll recommend "Catholic" version one as one who is both non-religious and non-Catholic and that is the widely used outside the US but not so much with-in (from what I understand) "The New Jerusalem Bible." This is a really nice version to read on a literary level. The language is reverent without being confusingly archaic. Very nice.

 

There were some contretemps over the spelling out of the Tetragrammaton in the presumed English transliteration of the personal name of God as "Yahweh" in this version, but what a joy to read!

 

Bill

Edited February 17, 2011 by Spy Car

[milovany]

Can someone point me to the most widely used translation/version [of a Catholic or Orthodox Bible]?

 

The Orthodox Study Bible (and here is a chart showing the books in the Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Old Testaments).

[Lovedtodeath]

From my (admittedly not comprehensive) understanding there is. There's Bibles that have more books than others, some are different translations (I believe the Jehovah's Witnesses have a translation that's unique to their denomination?)

In addition to the New World Translation, Jehovah's Witnesses have published numerous other versions: The KJV, The Emphatic Diaglott Version of the Christian Greek Scriptures, The Douay... I can't find my book that lists them all. It is in the room with my sleeping preschooler. The New World Translation consistingly renders The tetragrammaton as Jehovah, and other than that is basically the same (and very literal, and redundant :lol:) I like to use another translation due to the wording, and I can quote a scripture from The New World Translation in Google and have it pop up from The New Jerusalem Bible (my personal favorite), the NIV, and the American Standard Version (which it most often seems to be the most similar to).

 

You can see it here: http://watchtower.org/e/bible/index.htm and compare verses.

Edited February 17, 2011 by Lovedtodeath

[Lovedtodeath]

I have found that using a different translation can really add meaning. For example, I heard the scripture, "seek peace and pursue it" a thousand times and the meaning didn't register, really, until I went to a Spanish congregation and it read "search for peace and follow after it". For some reason, a light bulb when off with that different wording.

[Pam Wilhelm]

While we consider ourselves Protestant... many others consider us a cult. Our textbook.... which is used ALONG WITH the Bible is The Science and Health with Key to the Scripture by Mary Baker Eddy. A favorite quote of mine from our textbook is:

 

The time for thinkers has come. Truth, independent of doctrines and time-honored systems, knocks at the portal of humanity. Contentment with the past and the cold conventionality of materialism are crumbling away. Ignorance of God is no longer the stepping-stone to faith. The only guarantee of obedience is a right apprehension of Him whom to know aright is Life eternal. Though empires fall, "the Lord shall reign forever."

[Spy Car]

In addition to the New World Translation, Jehovah's Witnesses have published numerous other versions: The KJV, The Emphatic Diaglott Version of the Christian Greek Scriptures, The Douay... I can't find my book that lists them all. It is in the room with my sleeping preschooler. The New World Translation consistingly renders The tetragrammaton as Jehovah, and other than that is basically the same (and very literal, and redundant :lol:) I like to use another translation due to the wording, and I can quote a scripture from The New World Translation in Google and have it pop up from The New Jerusalem Bible (my personal favorite), the NIV, and the American Standard Version (which it most often seems to be the most similar to).

 

You can see it here: http://watchtower.org/e/bible/index.htm and compare verses.

 

Funny that we both recommended the New Jerusalem Bible. What makes it your favorite?

 

Bill

[La Condessa]

Here are a couple of my very favorites.

 

2nd Nephi Chapter 2: Verses 25-26 "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy. And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon . . ."

 

Doctrine and Covenants Chapter 88: Verses 45-47 "The earth rolls upon her wings, and the sun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her light by night, and the stars also give their light, as they roll upon their wings in their glory, in the midst of the power of God. Unto what shall I liken these kingdoms, that ye may understand? Behold, all these are kingdoms, and any man who hath seen any or the least of these hath seen God moving in his majesty and power."

[Violet Crown]

Just for Spy Car, here's from the New Jerusalem Bible:

 

1 Maccabees 6:33-46, the death of Eleazar.

 

33 The king rose at daybreak and marched his army at top speed down the road to Beth-Zechariah, where his forces took up their battle formations and sounded the trumpets.

34 The elephants were given a syrup of grapes and mulberries to prepare them for the battle.

35 These animals were distributed among the phalanxes, to each elephant being allocated a thousand men dressed in coats of mail with bronze helmets on their heads; five hundred picked horsemen were also assigned to each beast.

36 The horsemen anticipated every move their elephant made; wherever it went they went with it, never quitting it.

37 On each elephant, to protect it, was a stout wooden tower, kept in position by girths, each with its three combatants, as well as its mahout.

38 The remainder of the cavalry was stationed on one or other of the two flanks of the army, to harass the enemy and cover the phalanxes.

39 When the sun glinted on the bronze and golden shields, the mountains caught the glint and gleamed like fiery torches.

40 One part of the royal army was deployed on the upper slopes of the mountain and the other in the valley below; they advanced in solid, well-disciplined formation.

41 Everyone trembled at the noise made by this vast multitude, the thunder of the troops on the march and the clanking of their armour, for it was an immense and mighty army.

42 Judas and his army advanced to give battle, and six hundred of the king's army were killed.

43 Eleazar, called Avaran, noticing that one of the elephants was royally caparisoned and was also taller than all the others, and supposing that the king was mounted on it,

44 sacrificed himself to save his people and win an imperishable name.

45 Boldly charging towards the creature through the thick of the phalanx, dealing death to right and left, so that the enemy scattered on either side at his onslaught,

46 he darted in under the elephant, thrust at it from underneath, and killed it. The beast collapsed on top of him, and he died on the spot.

 

 

As my oldest dd said the first time she read this passage: Awesome.

[mommaduck]

COULD A MODERATOR PLEASE FIX THE THREAD TITLE TO READ "YOUR FAVORITE NON-PROTESTANT BIBILICAL SCRIPTURE" ?? THANK YOU. :) (using all caps to make this sentence more visible, I'm not yelling. ;) )

 

Just an idea that popped into my head today.

 

I see Bible versus all the time here on the boards, but I rarely see any from, say, the Koran, the Torah, or the Apocraphal books of the Bible, etc, and I'd *love* to see some. I know I should just go to my local library and check out the books for myself, but I'd love to know what our resident Orthodox/Catholic, Muslim, Buddhist, Pagan (do they have sacred writtings?) favorite scripture versus/sections/sayings are.

 

Any excerpt from any book of any religion's (non-Protestant Bible) Holy Writ is welcome. :)

 

(and please don't be offended by my excluding the Protestant Bible, I'm really only meaning this to be a thread to share scriptural writtings of some of the minority faiths on these boards that aren't often seen [at least by me]. I myself believe in the KJV, so I'm already very familiar with it, and am looking for a taste of what other religion's experiences with scripture are. :) )

First, there is a major misconception. The actual "apocrypha" was done away with early in church history. What Protestants call the "apocrypha" is actually the "deuterocanon" ;)

[mommaduck]

Which is why I specified "Protestant Bible" (there aren't any Protestants that use the Apocraphal books, are there? is there a more correct term I should use to distinguise the Christian Bible that contains the Deuterocanonical Books, and the one that doesn't?)

 

And ya, "duh moment" for me about the Torah there. :tongue_smilie:

 

Protestants used to...in fact, the KJV 1611 used to include it until recent history (late 1800's?).

 

The Reformed treated it as "good in as much as it agrees with other Scripture" (or rather, their preconceived views of other Scripture). The Geneva 1560 contained the Deuterocanon...the 1599 included a bunch of blank pages where it should have been.

[Laurie4b]

Which is why I specified "Protestant Bible" (there aren't any Protestants that use the Apocraphal books, are there? is there a more correct term I should use to distinguise the Christian Bible that contains the Deuterocanonical Books, and the one that doesn't?)

 

And ya, "duh moment" for me about the Torah there. :tongue_smilie:

 

I think Anglicans/Episcopals use it. I could be wrong.

[Lovedtodeath]

Funny that we both recommended the New Jerusalem Bible. What makes it your favorite?

Merely my opinion of course, but it flows well while still being accurate. It is a Bible that Jehovah's Witnesses use often to explain teachings.

 

It is not my favorite of all time for all purposes... I really like the literalness of the New World Translation because when I read a scripture I can know which ancient words were there, as the rendering is consistent, but the flow is lost due to the literalness.

Edited February 17, 2011 by Lovedtodeath

[Spy Car]

Just for Spy Car, here's from the New Jerusalem Bible:

 

1 Maccabees 6:33-46, the death of Eleazar.

 

33 The king rose at daybreak and marched his army at top speed down the road to Beth-Zechariah, where his forces took up their battle formations and sounded the trumpets.

34 The elephants were given a syrup of grapes and mulberries to prepare them for the battle.

35 These animals were distributed among the phalanxes, to each elephant being allocated a thousand men dressed in coats of mail with bronze helmets on their heads; five hundred picked horsemen were also assigned to each beast.

36 The horsemen anticipated every move their elephant made; wherever it went they went with it, never quitting it.

37 On each elephant, to protect it, was a stout wooden tower, kept in position by girths, each with its three combatants, as well as its mahout.

38 The remainder of the cavalry was stationed on one or other of the two flanks of the army, to harass the enemy and cover the phalanxes.

39 When the sun glinted on the bronze and golden shields, the mountains caught the glint and gleamed like fiery torches.

40 One part of the royal army was deployed on the upper slopes of the mountain and the other in the valley below; they advanced in solid, well-disciplined formation.

41 Everyone trembled at the noise made by this vast multitude, the thunder of the troops on the march and the clanking of their armour, for it was an immense and mighty army.

42 Judas and his army advanced to give battle, and six hundred of the king's army were killed.

43 Eleazar, called Avaran, noticing that one of the elephants was royally caparisoned and was also taller than all the others, and supposing that the king was mounted on it,

44 sacrificed himself to save his people and win an imperishable name.

45 Boldly charging towards the creature through the thick of the phalanx, dealing death to right and left, so that the enemy scattered on either side at his onslaught,

46 he darted in under the elephant, thrust at it from underneath, and killed it. The beast collapsed on top of him, and he died on the spot.

 

 

As my oldest dd said the first time she read this passage: Awesome.

 

I'll say awesome too. Great passage, and a good illustration of the literary value of the NJB.

 

Thnk you!

 

Bill

[mommaduck]

Not Scripture of any sort...but a Cherokee story that has meant a lot to me:

 

 

Two Wolves

 

An old Cherokee chief is teaching his grandson about life:

 

"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

 

"One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.

 

"The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope,

serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

 

"This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."

 

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

 

The old chief simply replied, "The one you feed."

[SailorMom]

Not Scripture of any sort...but a Cherokee story that has meant a lot to me:

 

 

Two Wolves

 

An old Cherokee chief is teaching his grandson about life:

 

"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

 

"One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.

 

"The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope,

serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

 

"This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."

 

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

 

The old chief simply replied, "The one you feed."

 

I Love Love Love this story - so glad you posted it :)

[Lovedtodeath]

 

I Love Love Love this story - so glad you posted it :)

:iagree::iagree:

[Plucky]

 

Hollywood takes liberties ;) :D

 

Bill

 

Isn't that the truth! :lol:

[LittleIzumi]

I love the Cherokee story.

 

A couple of my favorites:

 

Moroni 8:10-12

10Behold I say unto you that this thing shall ye teach—repentance and baptism unto those who are accountable and capable of committing sin; yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves as their little children, and they shall all be saved with their little children. 11And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the remission of sins.

12But little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world; if not so, God is a partial God, and also a changeable God, and a respecter to persons; for how many little children have died without baptism!

 

 

Moroni 10: 4-6

4And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

6And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.

 

 

Doctrine & Covenants 122:7

7And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.

 

 

Doctrine & Covenants 6:34

34Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.

 

I can't remember the Qur'an scriptures I liked. Boo. Looking them up....

[SailorMom]

Since Deists don't have any sort of holy books, I thought I'd post what Thomas Paine wrote regarding the holy works deists see God in:

 

It is only in the CREATION that all the ideas and concepts of the word of God can come together. The Creation speaks a universal language that does not depend on any human speech or language. It is an eternal 'original copy' that all men can read. It cannot be faked or counterfeited. It cannot be lost or changed. It cannot be kept secret. It does not depend on man deciding whether to publish it or not. It publishes itself from one end of the earth to the other. It preaches to all the nations, and all the worlds. This natural word of God reveals to us all that man needs to know of God.

[mommaduck]

Since Deists don't have any sort of holy books, I thought I'd post what Thomas Paine wrote regarding the holy works deists see God in:

 

It is only in the CREATION that all the ideas and concepts of the word of God can come together. The Creation speaks a universal language that does not depend on any human speech or language. It is an eternal 'original copy' that all men can read. It cannot be faked or counterfeited. It cannot be lost or changed. It cannot be kept secret. It does not depend on man deciding whether to publish it or not. It publishes itself from one end of the earth to the other. It preaches to all the nations, and all the worlds. This natural word of God reveals to us all that man needs to know of God.

 

There is Scripture that goes along with this. Basically, that all men know somewhere inside them, because of Creation around them. (that's not even close to the verse, but rather just the idea of the verse)

 

btw, I read Judith when I was a Protestant nanny for a Lutheran/Catholic couple. I was curious and pulled out the Catholic Bible from their daughter's shelf and started reading. Love the book of Judith!

[Xuzi]

Well, if we're going with passages that kids think is "awesome" :D here's one that just about every LDS child LOVES to read from the Book of Mormon. When the opportunity arrises to act out a story from the scriptures, this is the one (in my experience) that is most often chosen, at least by the boys (it involves a bunch of people having their arms cut off ;) ).

 

Alma 17:19-39

 

19And Ammon went to the land of Ishmael, the land being called after the sons of Ishmael, who also became Lamanites.

20And as Ammon entered the land of Ishmael, the Lamanites took him and bound him, as was their custom to bind all the Nephites who fell into their hands, and carry them before the king; and thus it was left to the pleasure of the king to slay them, or to retain them in captivity, or to cast them into prison, or to cast them out of his land, according to his will and pleasure.

21And thus Ammon was carried before the king who was over the land of Ishmael; and his name was Lamoni; and he was a descendant of Ishmael.

22And the king inquired of Ammon if it were his desire to dwell in the land among the Lamanites, or among his people.

23And Ammon said unto him: Yea, I desire to dwell among this people for a time; yea, and perhaps until the day I die.

24And it came to pass that king Lamoni was much pleased with Ammon, and caused that his bands should be loosed; and he would that Ammon should take one of his daughters to wife.

25But Ammon said unto him: Nay, but I will be thy servant. Therefore Ammon became a servant to king Lamoni. And it came to pass that he was set among other servants to watch the flocks of Lamoni, according to the custom of the Lamanites.

26And after he had been in the service of the king three days, as he was with the Lamanitish servants going forth with their flocks to the place of water, which was called the water of Sebus, and all the Lamanites drive their flocks hither, that they may have water—

27Therefore, as Ammon and the servants of the king were driving forth their flocks to this place of water, behold, a certain number of the Lamanites, who had been with their flocks to water, stood and scattered the flocks of Ammon and the servants of the king, and they scattered them insomuch that they fled many ways.

28Now the servants of the king began to murmur, saying: Now the king will slay us, as he has our brethren because their flocks were scattered by the wickedness of these men. And they began to weep exceedingly, saying: Behold, our flocks are scattered already.

29Now they wept because of the fear of being slain. Now when Ammon saw this his heart was swollen within him with joy; for, said he, I will show forth my power unto these my fellow-servants, or the power which is in me, in restoring these flocks unto the king, that I may win the hearts of these my fellow-servants, that I may lead them to believe in my words.

30And now, these were the thoughts of Ammon, when he saw the afflictions of those whom he termed to be his brethren.

31And it came to pass that he flattered them by his words, saying: My brethren, be of good cheer and let us go in search of the flocks, and we will gather them together and bring them back unto the place of water; and thus we will preserve the flocks unto the king and he will not slay us.

32And it came to pass that they went in search of the flocks, and they did follow Ammon, and they rushed forth with much swiftness and did head the flocks of the king, and did gather them together again to the place of water.

33And those men again stood to scatter their flocks; but Ammon said unto his brethren: Encircle the flocks round about that they flee not; and I go and contend with these men who do scatter our flocks.

34Therefore, they did as Ammon commanded them, and he went forth and stood to contend with those who stood by the waters of Sebus; and they were in number not a few.

35Therefore they did not fear Ammon, for they supposed that one of their men could slay him according to their pleasure, for they knew not that the Lord had promised Mosiah that he would deliver his sons out of their hands; neither did they know anything concerning the Lord; therefore they delighted in the destruction of their brethren; and for this cause they stood to scatter the flocks of the king.

36But Ammon stood forth and began to cast stones at them with his sling; yea, with mighty power he did sling stones amongst them; and thus he slew a certain number of them insomuch that they began to be astonished at his power; nevertheless they were angry because of the slain of their brethren, and they were determined that he should fall; therefore, seeing that they could not hit him with their stones, they came forth with clubs to slay him.

37But behold, every man that lifted his club to smite Ammon, he smote off their arms with his sword; for he did withstand their blows by smiting their arms with the edge of his sword, insomuch that they began to be astonished, and began to flee before him; yea, and they were not few in number; and he caused them to flee by the strength of his arm.

38Now six of them had fallen by the sling, but he slew none save it were their leader with his sword; and he smote off as many of their arms as were lifted against him, and they were not a few.

39And when he had driven them afar off, he returned and they watered their flocks and returned them to the pasture of the king, and then went in unto the king, bearing the arms which had been smitten off by the sword of Ammon, of those who sought to slay him; and they were carried in unto the king for a testimony of the things which they had done.

[Alessandra]

I like some of the extra-Biblical midrashim. There are picture books of some of the midrash -- one of my favorites is The White Ram, by Mordicai Gerstein. It tells the story of a white ram that was made on the last day of creation. The ram lived in the Garden of Eden until he heard Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac. Then the ram ran and flew out of Eden and was able to offer himself as a sacrifice in place of Isaac. The ram's soul flew up to heaven. From the ram's ashes, the mortar for the Temple was made, on his bones was the foundation of Jerusalem, from his hide was the cape of Elijah made.

[Crimson Wife]

I think Anglicans/Episcopals use it. I could be wrong.

 

My mom's family is Episcopalian, and the Bible they use has the same books as my Catholic Bible, but it's in a different order. All the Deuterocanonical books are in a special section at the end of the OT.

[mommymilkies]

Jews won't generally use the term Bible unless they are speaking with non-Jews and trying to be on common terms. the "written" Torah would refer to the first 5 books (the Books of Moses) while the entire "Hebrew Bible" is called the "Tanakh."

 

Hollywood takes liberties ;) :D

 

Bill

 

Yes. I was raised Jewish but now identify more as UU or liberal Quaker. I went to church camp as a kid (Baptist) much to my stepfather's horror (my Mom's family are Baptist) because it was the only camp around. My mother didn't know better and got me a Catholic kids bible to take as it's all she could find. Wow. That was awkward. The looks I got. :lol:

 

I'm loving this thread. I collect quotes and scripture pieces from many religions to ponder.

[Lovedtodeath]

 

Yes. I was raised Jewish but now identify more as UU or liberal Quaker. I went to church camp as a kid (Baptist) much to my stepfather's horror (my Mom's family are Baptist) because it was the only camp around. My mother didn't know better and got me a Catholic kids bible to take as it's all she could find. Wow. That was awkward. The looks I got. :lol:

That is funny. I have been taught to use the Douay-Rheims, New Jerusalem Bible, King James Version, Bible in Living English, etc. and it never occurred to me (until recently) that people might object to some of these because of being Catholic or Protestant.

[8circles]

Not Scripture of any sort...but a Cherokee story that has meant a lot to me:

 

 

Two Wolves

 

An old Cherokee chief is teaching his grandson about life:

 

"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

 

"One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.

 

"The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope,

serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

 

"This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."

 

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

 

The old chief simply replied, "The one you feed."

 

I love this story. Thank you for posting.

 

Does anyone know of a picture book that tells this story? I've been looking & can't find one.

[mommaduck]

I love this story. Thank you for posting.

 

Does anyone know of a picture book that tells this story? I've been looking & can't find one.

 

I've never seen one, but if there is a good illustrator out there, please do one!

[Violet Crown]

"But behold, every man that lifted his club to smite Ammon, he smote off their arms with his sword; for he did withstand their blows by smiting their arms with the edge of his sword, insomuch that they began to be astonished"

 

And who wouldn't be? :D "Come back and fight! It's just a flesh wound!"

 

There really needs to be a children's Bible for "greatest battle scenes." Anyone's Scriptures would qualify, just as long as they're gory.

[Xuzi]

"But behold, every man that lifted his club to smite Ammon, he smote off their arms with his sword; for he did withstand their blows by smiting their arms with the edge of his sword, insomuch that they began to be astonished"

 

And who wouldn't be? :D "Come back and fight! It's just a flesh wound!"

 

There really needs to be a children's Bible for "greatest battle scenes." Anyone's Scriptures would qualify, just as long as they're gory.

:lol:The bolded part is a joke my family often makes (irreverently :tongue_smilie:) at that story.

 

There's another gorey scene in the Book of Mormon where two men -the last men standing in their entire battling armies- duel it out by the sword. One man has his head lopped off, and then the last standing man passes out from exhaustion. But I won't post that here. :tongue_smilie:

[mommymilkies]

"But behold, every man that lifted his club to smite Ammon, he smote off their arms with his sword; for he did withstand their blows by smiting their arms with the edge of his sword, insomuch that they began to be astonished"

 

And who wouldn't be? :D "Come back and fight! It's just a flesh wound!"

 

There really needs to be a children's Bible for "greatest battle scenes." Anyone's Scriptures would qualify, just as long as they're gory.

 

My kids would love that! :lol: I did see something called "Extreme Bible Stories" at the resale shop the other day. My kids giggled a little bit thinking it'd be like something on A&E. No idea if it was just the gorey parts, though. :tongue_smilie:

[Xuzi]

My kids would love that! :lol: I did see something called "Extreme Bible Stories" at the resale shop the other day. My kids giggled a little bit thinking it'd be like something on A&E. No idea if it was just the gorey parts, though. :tongue_smilie:

"When Bears Attack" (or the story of Elisha and the unwise boys) :lol:

[mcconnellboys]

Books that are in Catholic or Orthodox compilations of the Bible, but not in Protestant versions (that I know of) would include:

 

Esdras (Orthodox)

Tobit

Judith

some additions to Esther

Wisdom of Solomon

Ecclesiasticus

Baruch

Epistle of Jerimiah

Song of the Three Children

Story of Susanna

Bel and the Dragon

Prayer of Manasseh

Macabees (I and II, Catholic; III and IV, Orthodox)

Psalm 151 (Orthodox)