Build your own Bible!

[Smoke]

Suppose you were to make your own collection of scriptures. You can pick any writings you want to go into this "canon," which you need not consider inerrant (though you can if you want). The only restriction is that it should be possible to bind it in one cover and carry it around; anything much over 1000 pages would be pushing it.

What would you include, and why? For instance, would your "Bible" have the Psalms? A selection of hadiths? Martin Buber's I and Thou? Henry David Thoreau's Walden? The Bhagavad Gita? Winnie the Pooh?

Would you consider your "Bible" authoritative, or just useful and inspirational?

 

[BucephalusBB]

Alice in wonderland doesn't have 1000 pages does it?

I guess i'd pick some schoolbooks and psychologybooks together, translate them to french, then that book to german, that book to chinese, that book to dutch and that book back to english.
Then I'll put in some nowadays urban legends and voila!

I will never pick the purpose of the boko, better let the reader do that..

No really, no book should define life. humans themselves should, so no book for me..

 

[BruceDLimber]

Well, we already have a pretty impressive set of scriptures, the Baha'i scriptures! (Plus which we recognize other books as legitimate scripture, too, such as the Bible and Qur'an.)

But since the Baha'i scriptures alone comprise around 200 volumes, I'm afraid this means that a single pocket-size book probably isn't going to suffice (though fitting everything onto a CD or two should remain quite feasible)....

Best,

Bruce

 

[Feathers in Hair]

Hmm... I'm gonna have to think about this! I'm looking forward to doing so!

 

[egroen]

My Bible would contain one sentence:

Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.

-Erin

 

[Moriah Hill]

You can't write your own Bible, God's already done it and you can't better it. We juast don't understand it, try to intellectualise it, reason with truth and just dont except what it says. Trouble is its not a religious book cause God doesnt like religion, and He wrote it. Man has made a religion out of it. So dobnt write a book from your own philoshophy it will never be any good. Interested in what you say though

 

[egroen]

Huh?

And welcome to RF

-Erin

 

[standing_alone]

What would you include, and why? ... Henry David Thoreau's Walden? ...

Why, Thoreau's Walden would make a wonderful "Bible," along with his other writings!

If I were to make my own personal "Bible," I would certainly select the works of Thoreau because I love his work and his writings have always motivated me and inspired me the most out of any writings I've ever read. In fact, my copies of Walden are really some of the only books I go back and look over frequently (though mine are all lent out now ) - I even have tons of passages underlined in the book (because I'm a geek). So perhaps Thoreau's works are already my "Bible."

 

[BruceDLimber]

You can't write your own Bible, God's already done it and you can't better it.

Fortunately, we don't have to!

Divine Revelation doesn't end, and we already have around 200 volumes of newer
God-sent and God-revealed scripture to follow!

Scriptures specifically intended for THIS Age and situation, please note, not some other millenia ago!

So I cordially invite you to check them out at:

• www.bahai-library.org (click "Baha'i Writings" for our scriptures),
• www.reference.bahai.org (this site is multilingual), or
• www.bahaistudy.org (this site also has videos and talking books).

I wish you good hunting!

Best,

Bruce

 

[Booko]

Divine Revelation doesn't end, and we already have around 200 volumes of newer
God-sent and God-revealed scripture to follow!

Sorry, bubba, but the OP limited you to 1000 pages or less. :tsk:

I'm up for the "Golden Rule" text, but would also add:

Square Foot Gardening, by Bartholomew. :yes:

 

[Jaymes]

The first and most important book in it would be The Little Prince. It would be followed by The Grouchy Ladybug and similar books.

The best lessons are in children's books. It would be more inspirational that authoritative.

 

[Booko]

The first and most important book in it would be The Little Prince. It would be followed by The Grouchy Ladybug and similar books.

The best lessons are in children's books. It would be more inspirational that authoritative.

Could we add some relevant Dr. Seuss? Perhaps The Lorax and The Butter Battle Book would be good for a start?

 

[angellous_evangellous]

The canon of the NT without Revelation works for me.

 

[Smoke]

When I started this thread, I didn't know what I'd put in my own Bible. I've given it some thought, though, and I'm ready.

The nature of my Bible: Non-authoritative.

The nature of the canon: Open.

The contents:

• There Is No God, by George Carlin
• Tao Te Ching
• Dhammapada
• Ecclesiastes
• Gospel of Thomas
• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
• The Age of Reason, by Thomas Paine
• Ain't I A Woman, by Sojourner Truth
• The Journal of George Fox
• Parker's Back, by Flannery O'Connor
• Revelation, by Flannery O'Connor
• Why I Am Not A Christian, by Bertrand Russell

 

[BFD_Zayl]

well, the basic outlines for mine would be...

1. NEVER touch another mans beer/liquor
2.eyes straight ahead at the urinal
3.always have a safety buffer of at least one urinal between you and the next guy to prevent splashing
4. NEVER talk about a womans weight.....when shes around
5.during a heated debate, just nod your head and say yes ma'am. it will get quiet faster that way.
6. dont start something unless you can finish it, whether its a model boat, buying tampons for the Ms. or a drinking contest...

can anyone guess the name of my bible?

 

[Smoke]

2.eyes straight ahead at the urinal

Depends what bar you're at.

 

[BFD_Zayl]

Depends what bar you're at.

haha true.

 

[Ryan2065]

Here is the best bible I can think of...

When you buy the bible you buy a book full of empty pages. As you live your life you write down the principles you feel you should follow and then you try to follow these principles throughout your life. To me this is the only kind of "bible" that can live through the ages because the times always change.

 

[doppelganger]

Here's some of the non-sacred books I've found most inspiring and meaningful in formulating my own path:

The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms (Cassirer)
Hero With A Thousand Faces (Campbell)
Tao te Ching
Thus Spake Zaratustra and Twilight of the Idols (Nietzsche)
The Gospel of Thomas
Science and Religion and Religion and Science (Einstein)
A Psychological Approach To The Trinity (Jung)
Ecclesiastes and The Book of Job

 

[Mick in England]

Suppose you were to make your own collection of scriptures?

Funny you should ask, I did exactly that a while back and produced a "Mini-Bible" for plastering around the net. Check it -

MINI-BIBLE by Mick
This is a good "starter-Bible", for space reasons i've only put one verse in each category but you can collect any other verses that jump out at you as you browse the Bible for fun, and eventually have hundreds of verses in your collection.
ANGELS - "God shall give his angels charge over you to keep you safe" (Psalm 91:9-11)
ANIMALS - "God.. in whose hand is the soul of every living thing" (Job12:10 KJV)
ASHAMED - Jesus said "Whoever's ashamed of me and my words,I'll be ashamed of him" (Mark 8:38 )
BEAUTY - "Womens beauty comes from within,not from braided hair, jewellery and fine clothes"(1 Peter 3:3/4)
BAD PRIESTS - Jesus said "The prostitutes will get to heaven ahead of you,you think you look good in your fancy robes but inside you're full of filth and corruption" (Matt 21:32/Matt 23:27)
BUTTON IT - Jesus said "Every careless word you speak will be judged" (Matt 12:36)
CHILL - "What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14)
COMFORT - Jesus said "In my fathers kingdom are many mansions,I go to prepare a place for you,so that you'll be there with me" (John 14:2-6)
COOL - Jesus said "Whoever speaks a word against me shall be forgiven" (Luke 12:10)
CREDENTIALS - Jesus said "All things about me in the law of Moses,the Prophets and the Psalms,must be fulfilled" (Luke 24:44)
DON'T ARGUE - Jesus said "If people won't listen to you,shake off the dust from your feet as you leave,as a testimony to them" (Matt 10:14/15)
DON'T DANCE - Jesus said "The world wants you to dance to its tune" (Matt 11:16/17)
DON'T GET BOGGED - "Set your mind on things above,not on things on the earth" (Col 3:2)
EVERYWHERE - "Am I only a nearby God? Can you hide? I fill heaven and earth" (Jer 23:23/4)
EVIL - Jesus said "Satan has bound this crippled woman for eighteen years" (Luke 13:16)
FATHER TO ALL - "God is a father of the fatherless" (Psalm 68:5)
FRIENDS - Jesus said "You're my friends if you do what I command,not my servants. Instead,I call you friends.." (John ch 15)
GAME END - Jesus said "Only God knows when Judgment Day will be,I don't know myself" (Mark 13:32)
GOD - "God is love" (1 John 4:8 )
I AM - High Priest asked Jesus "Are you the Son of God?", and Jesus replied "I am" (Mark 14:61)
JUDGEMENT DAY - Jesus said "All in the graves shall come out,to resurrection or damnation" (John 5:28/29)
KIDS - "Children are a heritage of the Lord,and the fruit of the womb is his reward" (Psalm 127:3)
MAD? - "Jesus's family and friends tried to take charge of him,saying he's out of his mind" (Mark 3:21)
MARRIAGE - Jesus said "at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female, for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh So they are no longer two, but one." (Matt 19:4)
MYSTERY - Jesus said "You hardly believe me when I tell you earthly things,so how would you believe me if I told you heavenly things?" (John 3:12)
NEW TESTAMENT - "The covenant of Jesus is superior to the old one" (Heb 8:6-13)
NONBELIEVERS - "These men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed.." (2 Peter 2:12)
NO WIMPS - "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power.." (2 Tim 1:7)
OCCULT - God says "I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists" (Lev 20:6)
ONE GOD - "I am God and there is no other,there is none like me" (Isa 46:9)
ONE PATH - Jesus said "I am the way and the life,nobody comes to God except through me" (John 14:5/6)
POWER - "After Jesus spent the night in prayer,everybody tried to touch him because power was coming from him" (Luke 6:12-19)
PROPHECY - "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times" (Micah 5:2)
REJECTION - Jesus said "Whoever rejects me rejects God" (Luke 10:16)
SATAN - Jesus said "He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44)
SAY IT - Jesus said "Say you're mine in front of people,and I'll say I'm yours in front of my Father" (Matt 10:32)
SIMPLICITY - Paul said "I'm worried lest you be led astray from the simplicity of Christ" (2 Cor 11:3)
SUFFERING - Jesus said "To follow me you must carry your own cross daily" (Luke 9:23)
WELCOME - Jesus said "Whoever comes to me, I will never turn away" (John 6:37)
WHOLE LAW - Jesus said "Love God and your neighbour, this is the whole law" (Matt 22:36)
WINNERS - "Who has beaten the world? Whoever believes Jesus is the Son of God" (1 John 5:5)
WORK - Jesus said "The work God requires is to believe in the one he has sent" (John 6:28 )
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