Holy Bible

I appreciate that this may be quite random but I had to read it to obtain multiple references as the wider plot grew into that of the Gabriel Sect – when the original killer develops a ‘fan club’.

I am now an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church – but I am not Christian. I believe in both freedom of and freedom from religion.

I certainly do not set out to offend anyone and welcome all faiths and alternate beliefs, but this I would say. If the Holy Bible were to be published today, given the huge doses of… show more.

When Jonathan of the tribe of Benjamin is slain in battle, David of the tribe of Judah laments: “Your love to me was more wonderful than the love of women.”

The intimate devotion of these two warriors (famously, Jonathan gives David his cloak, David tells him to stay instead of going home) taught me that the deepest taboos of my small Northern Irish hometown weren’t necessarily so. The Bible told me so.

It is the foundation of every story – believer or not – the battle between good and evil, love and hate, life and death, redemption and condemnation, mercy and wrath…

As a Christian, I have struggled with my faith, especially after a loss, and instead of turning away from God, I dove in heart first, for understanding, for answers.

It’s the book I have always turned to, no matter how young I was, or how old I get.

It taught me everything, from standing up for what I believe in…even if it’s alone; to sacrifice; to living a righteous life,… show more.

From a secular point of view, and deliberately ignoring all religious content, the Holy Bible is the only contemporaneous account of the very ancient world. Add the omitted Book of Enoch, which sits in the Bodleian, and you get a remarkable account of our communal past. No one knows just how far back we must go when discussing Genesis but within that chapter lie some very interesting thoughts on the possible answer to all the problems outlined above. Enoch, especially, describes in great detail what might have happened and, if proven to be correct, would alter our complete understanding of… show more.

If you want red in tooth and claw, really, read The Bible—or certainly parts of it; the Hebrew Bible (or the Old Testament, really) takes the biscuit. Genocide, rape, decapitation, mauled by wild animals, crushed by falling buildings, plagues, eaten by dogs, tent pegs in the head, cannibalism, disemboweling, dismemberment, burning… if you’re into horror and shocks, it’s all here. Nothing compares to it. And I’m pretty certain that most Christians have never really read it. The language, if you choose the King James edition, is glorious, of course; other translations are valuable too: ESV, NRSV. What it does—as… show more.

For years, I would just skim through it as the pastor would say, “Turn in your Bibles to this passage.” But by the time I was twenty-seven, it hit me that this book was a must-read that produces faith. Thus began my journey of reading for self-revelation, healing, growth, but most of all, faith.

I love it because no matter how old it is, it lends messages of hope, healing, and restoration that cannot or should not be ignored. The greatest value I’ve gotten from the Bible is the power of love.