Do any of you guys own a bible(s), religious tomes, etc...

[Libertas1776]

Last edited Wed Jun 19, 2013, 05:28 PM - Edit history (1)

Hey all,

I was just curious to know if any of you guys own, possess, maintain, what have you, a copy of the bible (RC or King James, either or, or hell why not both) or any other religious tomes, books, works of any religion for purely literary or historical reasons? Maybe facsimiles? Maybe old family editions?
Purely for curiosity?

Maybe for study?

Maybe to hide a flask?

I guess I am just curious to know. Me personally, I'm snuggly wedged between atheist and agnostic for much of my life now. I guess I'm too apathetic to choose a side. But as far as books go I am a total biblio nut. I love all arrays of books, and in my quest to collect, invariably books of that type will come into my possession and I say welcome aboard, particularly those of aesthetic appeal.

How 'bout you guys?


..............
UPDATE: WOW, thanks for all the replies everyone! great discussion.

[Hissyspit]

1. I'm an art history college lecturer, so, yeah, I have a Bible. It's right next to my copies of

Bart Ehrman's "Misquoting Jesus," and "Jesus Interrupted," and Peter McWilliams' "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do: The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in a Free Society," as well as numerous books on Islam and the histories of world religions.

[LostOne4Ever]

2. I have a few as family heirlooms

1 Douay Confraternity version, 1 New America Version, 1 New Classic Reference Bible (NIV), and of course no Library is complete without...THE PICTURE BIBLE

Got that last one as a kid

I also have 2 copies of the Tao Te Ching and one IChing. I was fascinated by philosophical Taoism when I first got into College.

But beyond that I just make use of the internet when I want to find some verse or quote. The religious LOVE to put up all their holy books online for free in their efforts to create converts.

[Lordquinton]

21. That last line

"The religious LOVE to put up all their holy books online for free in their efforts to create converts."

Then when you do go to their pages and lift quotes (in whole passage form to show you're not just taking half a line out of context) you get it wrong...

[LostOne4Ever]

24. I think that is the actual reason there are 5 million different versions of the bible

So that they can claim it wrong no matter which version we choose.

[Warren DeMontague]

3. I've got the R. Crumb book of Genesis. It's seriously badass.

And he's not religious, either.

[nerdorkins]

40. Bad hair day

Gee even God can have a bad hair day, and that serpent looks like Dino from the flintstones

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. Mr. Dixie has this HUGE ancient family bible,

the kind that you write all the ancestors info on the front pages.
Very ornate, came from his great grandmother or something.
He keeps it in a plastic box. it sits in a corner of an used room.
He was not raised religious, nor was I, the thing is a keepske for his grown offspring.

I'll have to sneak a peek sometime and see how old it is...1800's for sure.

[OriginalGeek]

36. My grandpa has one like that

from my grandma's family. I believe it was her dad's who came here from Germany before WWII - but it was in his family for at least a generation or two before my grandma got it. Now I'm afraid to take it out of the wrapping they have it in as it's so old...Grandpa might shoot me if I messed that thing up lol...But I bet if I could plug the info into one of those genealogy programs it would be pretty cool.

[Neoma]

5. Let's see...

Gideon's bible, the Morman bible, and Dianetics.

[AtheistCrusader]

13. I wish I could remember which relative gave me a copy of Dianetics at Graduation.

Need to send a 'thank you' note.

[Neoma]

14. Bought it for entertainment purposes...

[OriginalGeek]

37. lol, if it's as entertaining as his Sci-Fi

you lost money.

[trotsky]

6. Sure, I have several!

And a copy of the Book of Mormon, and the Koran.

One bible is the one I got when I was confirmed in the Lutheran church. Another I received as a graduation present. I've collected a couple of others. They are handy for reference, plus my confirmation bible was the one I read cover-to-cover and it set me on the path to being an atheist, so it has sentimental value.

[Arugula Latte]

17. The truth shall set you free.

[sinkingfeeling]

7. Absolutely. I have maybe 8 Bibles, the Book of Morman, books on the

Gnostic gospels, and the Quran.

[Exultant Democracy]

8. Yes I have a few copies of the bible, they don't agree with eachother often

which of course I get a kick out of.

[AtheistCrusader]

9. I have a NIV version.

I mostly use it to review sections various believers bother me with.

[progressoid]

10. Somewhere I have the one I got for confirmation.

Now if I want to read the bible, I check the internets.

[BillStein]

11. I have a couple

OT from the JPS in English

OT in Hebrew

Torah and Prophets in Hebrew and English, with comments/explanations (like etymology)

OT/NT King James

[rrneck]

12. I've got a couple around here somewhere. nt

[Rob H.]

15. I have a copy of the Tao Te Ching, but no Bibles

I like a lot of the tenets of philosophical Taoism, but practical Taoism is chock full o' woo. (I also had to laugh when someone over in Religion claimed a while back that "Tao" translates as "God." It doesn't. It means "way" or "path.&quot

[LostOne4Ever]

19. The Tao Te Ching

Was instrumental in my deconversion from christianity.

It was everything that a "holy book" should be and that the bible wasn't. It was peaceful, did not promote hatred and homophobia, it was concise, promoted values I actually agreed with, and best of all it was short.

You could easily read the entire thing in one evening and did not bore you to death with an infinite numbers of so-in-so begat so-n-so's.

[OriginalGeek]

38. for people that hate sex

they sure begat a lot...

[Rob H.]

42. Those are exactly the same reasons I like it

A friend who knows I'm not religious gave it to me shortly after my brother was killed in 1989. Even though it's been many years since I last read it, I have to confess that it brought me some peace of mind during what was a very hard time for me.

[Arugula Latte]

16. I have a Bible and a Koran.

The Bible is leftover from a college course I took called "The Bible as Literature" -- which was pretty interesting. Of course Christian mythology pops up everywhere, so it's helpful to know. The Koran was a gift from a Saudi. That is one pretty and beautifully decorated book. I can't say I've spent much time perusing it, though.

[Zoeisright]

18. Sure - a white Bible I got for my baptism.

Not that I ever read it anymore; there's enough violence, misogyny, hatred, genocide, and ignorance in the world already.

[enlightenment]

20. I have several.

The most useful was the Greek/English new testament - used it to practice reading Greek as an undergrad. It also made a good paperweight.

[Lordquinton]

22. Couple bibles

I think they just spontaneously generate. One in the family is an old, wood bound Swedish bible from the 1800 at least. I also have a copy of Mao's little red book, does that count?

[libodem]

23. Yes

I may be an atheist on a spiritual quest.
[img][/img]

[LostOne4Ever]

27. Ah! The first 5 parts of the inaccurately named hitchiker's trilogy

The Holiest of holy books!

You have good taste!

[libodem]

29. Why, thank you

[libodem]

25. More

I think I may be a feminist anarchist atheist, bitch.

[img][/img]

[Iggo]

26. Used to, for reference.

Waste of space in the internet age.

[dimbear]

28. Lots of them. More on disk. My favorite is a Bible autographed by the author.

That'll be worth something one day.


*****
(Not intended as factual statement.)

[Brainstormy]

31. well, not as much

as those autographed pictures of Jesus.

(funnier if you saw that old episode of MASH)

[Brainstormy]

30. I own

quite a few bibles. Multiple translations, and concordances, as well as many books of Christian apologia, from C.S. Lewis to Ravi Zacharias. I also have at my fingertips the Book of Mormon, translations of the Bhagavad Gita, the Quran, Ron Hubbard, and much more.

Like most thoroughgoing atheists, I didn't get here easily.

[onager]

32. Ha!

Wanting to join the fun here, I just checked the bookshelves. Pure coincidence, I'm...sure. But sitting beside 2 Bibles was a copy of...

Grimm's Fairy Tales.



Then there's my "Equal Time" section...

A History of the Devil...Satanism & Witchcraft...Encyclopedia of Occultism...The Devils of Loudon. Etc.

And one of my favorites, The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft & Demonology. Not, as you might suspect, an instruction manual. It's actually a very well organized history of the witch mania in Europe.

It has a really fascinating section on "Costs of Witch Trials." e.g., if you were charged with witchcraft, in most cases you had to pay the costs of your own tortu...er, interrogation. AND the costs of your execution!

So there are actual itemized price lists from surviving records of the time. "Application of thumbscrew/rack." "Cost of kindling, straw and stake." "Cost of hiring horses" (if you were to be drawn and quartered). Amazing stuff.

[defacto7]

33. I have a bunch of Chick tracts from the 70s.

That's about the same thing.

[cynatnite]

34. I've got the bible my mom gave me when I was a kid...

I keep it for sentimental reasons.

[Rod Walker]

35. Atheist here, and no I don't. I have thousands of books, mind you.

I figure if I need to look up a Bible verse, I can just go online.

Although it just occurred to me...does the Necronomicon count?

[backscatter712]

39. Sure, no reason not to. I keep mine on my bookshelf with my other works of fiction. n/t

[Apophis]

41. I destroyed my copies of holy books years ago.

I ripped them up and burned them.