damooster
Gold Fish
Gender: 
Location: Alexandria, VA
Posts: 761
|
|
« on: February 13, 2012, 12:24:AM » |
|
After many months, I have just finished reading the entire Old Testament.
I decided a while back to read the Bible from "cover to cover," so now I finally get to move on to the New Testament. I'm very excited!
I enjoyed Genesis, Kings 1-4, and 1 & 2 Machabees the most. I did not speed read through the Old Testament despite my longing to get to the New Testament; I read everything carefully and patiently.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Phillipus Iacobus
Blue Fish
Gender:
Posts: 11,297
|
|
« Reply #1 on: February 13, 2012, 12:27:AM » |
|
Was it difficulty reading about all the laws in Leviticus and Exodus? I heard that's the hardest part to get through.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
damooster
Gold Fish
Gender:
Location: Alexandria, VA
Posts: 761
|
|
« Reply #2 on: February 13, 2012, 12:31:AM » |
|
Was it difficulty reading about all the laws in Leviticus and Exodus? I heard that's the hardest part to get through.
Yes, but not as difficult as getting through Numbers. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Phillipus Iacobus
Blue Fish
Gender:
Posts: 11,297
|
|
« Reply #3 on: February 13, 2012, 12:44:AM » |
|
This is quite an achievement. Congrats.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
INPEFESS
Please remember me in your rosary intentions.
Member
Gender:
Personality type: Mostly melancholic
Posts: 10,836
† "If anyone love Me, he will keep My word." †
|
|
« Reply #4 on: February 13, 2012, 02:04:AM » |
|
Good! I think this is something all Catholics should do, since one of the things that atheists use to stump Catholics the most is their own ignorance of "the God of the Old Testament."
For example, 3 Kings 13 contains a story of an old prophet who tricks a man of God into disobeying a command that God had given to the man of God. The man of God believes the old prophet (who said that God had told him to tell the man of God to obey him) and winds up getting killed by a lion sent by God as a result, despite the fact that the commentary says the man of God's sin was probably only venial. The reason for such a punishment was posed to Catholic apologists on EWTN the other day in the form of a question and they didn't seem to know how to answer it. The answer seems to be that God did this because He, foreseeing the man of God's future consent to mortal sin, took his life to spare him the punishment of eternal hellfire; but I am not completely certain.
I think these sorts of questions raised by the events of the Old Testament are important because ignorance of them (1) is often used to show the blindness of Christians by non-believers, and (2) can provide challenges to one's faith when one does stumble upon them without an explanation. It is good to have exposure to them already so that one can become acquainted with their meanings before stumped by an anti-Catholic.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
I n N omine P atris, E t F ilii, E t S piritus S ancti "The practice of the Church has always been the same, as is shown by the unanimous teaching of the Fathers, who were wont to hold as outside Catholic communion, and alien to the Church, whoever would recede in the least degree from any point of doctrine proposed by her authoritative magisterium" (Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum, no. 9, June 29, 1896). “Wherefore, brethren, labour the more, that by good works you may make sure your calling and election. For doing these things, you shall not sin at any time” (2 Peter 1:10).
|
|
|
|
|
damooster
Gold Fish
Gender:
Location: Alexandria, VA
Posts: 761
|
|
« Reply #5 on: February 13, 2012, 03:25:PM » |
|
This is quite an achievement. Congrats.
Thanks! |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
damooster
Gold Fish
Gender:
Location: Alexandria, VA
Posts: 761
|
|
« Reply #6 on: February 13, 2012, 03:29:PM » |
|
Good! I think this is something all Catholics should do, since one of the things that atheists use to stump Catholics the most is their own ignorance of "the God of the Old Testament."
For example, 3 Kings 13 contains a story of an old prophet who tricks a man of God into disobeying a command that God had given to the man of God. The man of God believes the old prophet (who said that God had told him to tell the man of God to obey him) and winds up getting killed by a lion sent by God as a result, despite the fact that the commentary says the man of God's sin was probably only venial. The reason for such a punishment was posed to Catholic apologists on EWTN the other day in the form of a question and they didn't seem to know how to answer it. The answer seems to be that God did this because He, foreseeing the man of God's future consent to mortal sin, took his life to spare him the punishment of eternal hellfire; but I am not completely certain.
I think these sorts of questions raised by the events of the Old Testament are important because ignorance of them (1) is often used to show the blindness of Christians by non-believers, and (2) can provide challenges to one's faith when one does stumble upon them without an explanation. It is good to have exposure to them already so that one can become acquainted with their meanings before stumped by an anti-Catholic.
If I had to do it all over again, I would have read the NT first. It has taken me so long to read the OT that I forgot the majority of what I read and therefore would be useless in OT apologetics. I think what I will do is read the NT, then go back to the NT to really study it some more while mixing some OT in there. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Raskolnikov
Member
Gender:
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 1,241
|
|
« Reply #7 on: February 16, 2012, 01:50:PM » |
|
Great work! I'm impressed. That's something I've wanted to do for a very long time, too, but I lack the discipline to get past the Pentateuch.... Good luck with reading the NT! Read it prayerfully!  |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
ecclesiastes
Member
Gender:
Posts: 664
|
|
« Reply #8 on: February 16, 2012, 02:28:PM » |
|
Congratulations. This is a significant achievement. I once started one of those "read the bible in a year" plans, and benefited from it greatly, but was unfortunately unable to keep it up. There are some good ones, though, that provide a nice balance between the OT and the NT and the psalms, and some that give you some flexibility (so that if you miss a few days, you don't have too much to catch up on) You can find out more about these here: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2011/12/27/bible-reading-plans-for-2012/ (Though I guess, with a Protestant reading plan, you'd have to squeeze in a few extra books) |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Josie
Member
Location: Nebraska, USA
Personality type: INFJ
Posts: 43
|
|
« Reply #9 on: February 16, 2012, 02:31:PM » |
|
I've read the NT all the way through 4 or 5 times but have yet to even attempt the OT. Except in small, armomatic clusters, like Psalms or Proverbs or Ecclesiastes. It would be a contemplation of the letter Z for sure.
Anyway, congrats, da!
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
“Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing frighten you. Everything passes away except God.”
― Julian of Norwich
|
|
|
|
