World Events
Topic: If they outlawed the bible today...

#	Author	Message
11	cmpaley Sat 4/26/2008 2:39p	Considering the fact that Catholicism doesn't rely on Scripture alone, there would be little problem.
12	utahjosh Sat 4/26/2008 3:09p	I would turn to the words and writing of the modern-day prophet in the LDS Church. He, his two counselors, and the twelve apostles have been called to testify of Christ and preach His gospel, so I would be just fine. (Though i'd be very tempted break the law and read the Bible and Book of Mormon anyway.)
13	Mr X Sat 4/26/2008 6:12p	Oh brother. Obviously either I didn't set up the hypothetical well enough here, as the point was to ask people what other stuff they might be interested in, NOT a hypothetical "how could I continue to practice my Christianity if the bible weren't available?". Okay, let's try it this way. Say the bible was discredited, outlawed, for some reason seen as unfit as a religious guide or something, AND YOU BELIEVED IT...what other spiritual works might you find to be relevant or interesting in your life? I'm fine with talking C.S. Lewis, or other forms of Christian-centric writings, but all this "well, I'd just rely on my memory", or "I'd turn to all the writings that focus on the bible" is all well and good (we all KNOW that's how you guys feel), but sort of kills the idea of a topic to discuss what OTHER stuff you might have an open mind towards. Haven't heard of The Razor's Edge..what's that one all about?
14	DouglasDubh Sat 4/26/2008 6:51p	<Haven't heard of The Razor's Edge..what's that one all about?> A guy sees the horror of WWI, and tries to figure out what life is about. You should read it, or at least check out the movie. Bill Murray did a decent job of turning it into film.
15	Mr X Sat 4/26/2008 7:29p	I'll check it out, thanks.
16	DlandJB Sat 4/26/2008 9:51p	I'm fine with talking C.S. Lewis, or other forms of Christian-centric writings, but all this "well, I'd just rely on my memory", or "I'd turn to all the writings that focus on the bible" is all well and good (we all KNOW that's how you guys feel), but sort of kills the idea of a topic to discuss what OTHER stuff you might have an open mind towards.>>> It doesn't work for me even in this context, because the other works that bring me comfort or strength are all biblically based and heavily quote scripture (C.S. Lewis, Rick Warren, Kay Warren, Scott Peck, Lee Strobel) so presumably they would also be no good. Can't wrap my brain around this one. Sorry.
17	RoadTrip Sat 4/26/2008 11:00p	I can wrap my brain around this one pretty well because I don't read the Bible very frequently any more. I was raised as a Baptist and read the Bible enough times during that period to last me, well... an eternity. Over the last 25 years I have been a Catholic, and as cmpaley pointed out the Catholic Church is not as Bible-centric as most protestant religions are. But what would I read for spiritual comfort? Travelogues. Really. There is nothing that gives me a greater understanding of the wonderful scope of God's creation than a well written travel essay. Recent travel books I've read include: Catherine Watson's "Home on the Road: Further Dispatches from the Ends of the Earth". It is a wonderful collection of travel essays covering her travel to locations as varied as Tibet, Death Valley, Easter Island, Mongolia and Vietnam. I was completely amazed how in the space of a 10-20 page essay she could capture the feeling of a location and its people with such clarity and understanding that you truly felt you had been there. Some of the essays were so breath-takingly beautiful or heartfelt that they left me with silent tears running gently down my cheeks. J. Maarten Troost's "The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific" This was a humorously written story of the two years Troost and his wife spent on a tiny atoll straddling the equator in the South Pacific. It was a lifestyle so different from ours that it was almost unimaginable. A lifestyle where having electricity on any day was not a given, where septic systems were unknown, and your diet consisted pretty much entirely of fish since you couldn't even grow a decent veggie on the atoll. It was so foreign that it was even more remarkable how once again people are people everywhere. It was amazing how Troost and his wife had so adapted to the simple and incredibly laid-back lifestyle of the Kiribati that they were reluctant to leave when her two year employment contract had ended. Paul Theroux's "The Old Patagonian Express". The book chronicles Theroux's attempt to travel from his home in Massachusetts to Patagonia (an area at the far southern end of South America) completely by rail. Since I am a rail buff this book immediately appealed to men. But I was amazed at how much I learned about the people and countries of Mexico, Central and South America. Once again, the variety and uniqueness of the places he traveled through opened a whole new world to a guy like me who previously had figured anything south of the USA was pretty much the same and was certainly a place I wouldn't want to be. The common thread I found in these books was how both our similarities and differences define us as humans, and that our differences form a common human bond every bit as much as our similarities do. So I have gone on way longer than I intended. But nothing makes me more in awe of God's creation than to find out more about its incredible diversity and beauty.
18	ChurroMonster Sun 4/27/2008 2:32a	In addition to the brilliant works listed in post #6 I would add: 6. The Age of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil. 7. The collective works of Carl Sagan. 8. Fight Club and Choke by Chuck Palahniuk.
19	EighthDwarf Sun 4/27/2008 8:22a	In addition to what I said in Post 6 and what Churro said in Post 18 I would add a couple more (Can't believe I forgot these!!!) 9. Siddharta by Herman Hesse - this book is about Buddhism and is very simple and short. But the message is profound. 10. Buddha by Karne Armstrong - this book really messed me up in the head and caused me to question everything. It's very thought-provoking. 11. Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton - this was written by a Trappist Monk and is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read. In fact, I think the opening paragraph is the most beautiful thing I have read to date.
20	woody Tue 4/29/2008 4:34p	>>What other religious or spiritual text or texts would you turn to for comfort, guidance, advice or whatever?<, I'll probably turn to the latest political creed (Marxism, Maoism, Liberalism, Darwinism) because if the Bible is ever outlawed, the law of the land is political indocrination. I'll be more scared of losing my life than my soul to the mob of atheist persecutors who are caught up in the disaster of societal utopia.

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