/lit/ - Literature

>>20760602
Check this book out. It's written for a general audience, so it's accessible, but you'll get more than a simple glance of the various cultural elements that built Christianity into the institution we see today. Eveything is presented in it's historical context (e.g. including the rationale for injecting the idea of virgin birth into Christ's story); it should help you understand that the church is well aware of criticisims but still maintains the faith.

>>20620200
Pic-related.

>>20486357
>NIV
Avoid. It's tainted by a sensibility that renders and reshapes meaning in passages that aren't meant to be understood in alignment with an explicitly modern context. Read a general introduction to the history of Christianity instead (pic-related).

My new suggestion for a regular bible general - soli deo gloria

Bible threads are a non-denominational general on /lit/ dedicated to the study and discussion of the Bible specifically and Christianity more broadly. While some level of inter-denominational bullying is expected, we do try to keep things generally focused on sharing the teachings of Christ, rather then attacking each other. Questions from people new to Christianity and/or Bible study are very much encouraged, no matter how basic. Fedora-Trolls are common in these threads and the best way to deal with them is to just report and ignore, rather then responding to them.

Read the Bible online: https://www.biblegateway.com/
Read (non-Gnostic) apocrypha online: http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/apocrypha.html
Read Gnostic apocrypha online: http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/nhlcodex.html

Bible translations commonly discussed in these threads:
KJV - King James Version - The Classic Bible from 1611, still in common use today.
NKJV - New King James Version - A well received conservative update to the KJV from 1982.
ESV - English Standard Version - Very popular translation and basis for one of the best Study Bibles.
NASB1995 - the most literal bible still in publication. don't get the 2020 update
NABRE - New American Bible Revised Edition - Popular (progressive) Catholic Bible.
NIV - New International Version - One of the most popular translations but also considered progressive.

last thread >>20344384

remember to always present a reason for your faith WITH GENTLENESS

any good secular books about Christianity that arent all "religion bad"? this one is recommended a lot, but its kinda shitty. I'm barely past the first part and this motherfucker thinks all the psalms were written by David and that the Torah was written after Isaiah and Jeremiah. I can hardly imagine the other bullshit hes written that I'm not gonna know any better to catch

>>18389742
Diarmaid MacCulloch

Hitchens praised this work and I am looking for book to learn about Christianity history. Anybody gave it a try?

>>18134179
Sometimes when we're indoctrinated with something, be it voluntary or involuntary, our impulse is to react as harshly against it as our mind will allow. This is an exchange of ideology and not an escape from it. A feeling of personal growth may be illusory; it's best to reflect on what type of feelings you associate with assuredness when it comes to Atheism.

I'm not going to knock you for not reading outside of the New Atheists. You should probably do so if you have such strong opinions regarding it. Even Christopher Hitchens appreciated (pic); he himself recommended it and you can start there if you want.

Connections was good; this one is better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq1YvlBnubQ (He covers the equivalent of a first-year survey course in Hist/Phil of science; it isn't rigorous but it's a good intro to the subject).

If you're going to read any of them, you can start with Kuhn (he's very accessible and usually the first philosopher/historian of science undergrads to whom undergrads are introduced). His main book is The Structure of Scientific Revolutions...there's a single chapter you can read that basically sums up the entire book if you don't want to read the entire thing (I think it's IX or X..I'll check).

>>18024295
Memorizing morphemes is an excellent way to improve comprehension (good on you for figuring out that's a great path to journey down).

You accidentally sent me a message about Christianity (I'm the guy who recommended Russell). If you want to pick up a good single-volume book that's a relatively light read (like "History of Western Philosophy), "Christianity: The First 3000 Years" by Diarmand Macculloch is probably your best option.

Good books for understanding Christianity (aside from the Bible)? Is pic related a good one?

I'm 873 pages in and does it ever get bad? How does this madlad keep such quality up throughout the whole book?

is this the best single-volume history of the church? other recommendations?