Growing up in a protestant / Church of England environment, I was taught various passages of the Bible, and my view of the world was somewhat shaped by it. Since turning my back on organised religion for various reasons, mainly it's deep seated corruption, I have continued to pursue and further my understanding of the ineffable and esoteric where possible.

But it occurs to me that I have never read the whole Bible cover to cover, and that is something I would like to do before I shuffle off this mortal coil. Again, one of the things that has stopped me from doing this is the fact that it has been edited, parts have been removed, mistranslated or manipulated, so that what we are left with is something that is a cousin of the original texts...

What would be the closest thing to the original text be, in English, that I could easily acquire?

I am also looking to read other sacred texts, such as the Bhagavad ghita, Tibetan book of the dead etc, not just the Bible, for the record. I believe it is important to research all perspectives on this matter, and not to confine ones self to dogma, for what it's worth...

Any pointers would be helpful and gratefully received

Here's some of the gospel of Thomas, his gospel isn't accepted by the mainstream church but his writing's are probably more in line with the truth of the christian religion http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/thomas.htm

Jesus doesn't seem to portray himself as your saviour in these writings but rather you yourself is the only one who can save yourself. I much prefer this over the modern new testament.

To help you understand this gospel a bit better purges here is an extract from wikipedia. Jesus is described as more of a shaman rather than himself being the actual saviour, he is like a spirit guide. Im sure this kind of thinking will resonate with you

wiki:In the Thomas gospel, Jesus is presented as a spiritual guide whose words (when properly understood) bring eternal life (Saying 1). Readers of these sayings are advised to continue seeking until they find what will enable them to become rulers of their own lives (Saying 2) and thus to know themselves (Saying 3) and their legacy of being the children of "the living Father" (Saying 3). These goals are presented in the image of "entering the Kingdom" by the methodology of insight that goes beyond duality. (Saying 22). The Gospel of Thomas shows little or no concern for orthodox religious concepts and doctrines. Scholars have traditionally understood the Gospel of Thomas as a Gnostic text because it was found amongst other gnostic texts, it was understood as being prone to a Gnostic interpretation by the early Church, and the emphasis on knowledge as the key to salvation, particularly in Saying 1. However this view has recently come under some criticism by suggesting that while it is possible to interpret the text in a way that aligns with Gnosticism there is nothing inherently Gnostic about the text itself.

The Gospel of Thomas emphasizes direct and unmediated experience. In Thomas saying 108, Jesus says, "Whoever drinks from my mouth will become as I am; I myself shall become that person, and the hidden things will be revealed to him." Furthermore, salvation is personal and found through spiritual (psychological) introspection. In Thomas saying 70, Jesus says, "If you bring forth what is within you, what you have will save you. If you do not bring it forth, what you do not have within you will kill you." As such, this form of salvation is idiosyncratic and without literal explanation unless read from a psychological perspective related to Self vs. ego. In Thomas saying 3, Jesus says,

...the Kingdom of God is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living Father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty, and it is you who are that poverty.

In the other four gospels, Jesus is frequently called upon to explain the meanings of parables or the correct procedure for prayer. In Thomas saying 6, his disciples ask him, "Do you want us to fast? How should we pray? Should we give alms? What diet should we observe?" For reasons unknown, Jesus's answer is found in saying 14, wherein he advises against fasting, praying, and the giving of alms (all contrary to Christian practice of the time), although he does take a position similar to that in Mark 7: 18–19 and Matthew 15:11 that what goes into the mouth will not defile a person, but what comes out of the mouth will. This is just one example in Thomas in which the hearer's attention is directed away from objectified judgements of the world to knowing oneself in direct and straighforward manner, which is sometimes called being "as a child" or "a little one" through the unification of dualistic thinking and modes of objectification. (For example, Sayings 22 and 37) To portray the breaking down of the dualistic perspective Jesus uses the image of fire which consumes all. (See Sayings 10 and 82).

The teaching of salvation (i.e., entering the Kingdom of Heaven) that is found in The Gospel of Thomas is neither that of "works" nor of "grace" as the dichotomy is found in the canonical gospels, but what might be called a third way, that of insight. The overriding concern of The Gospel of Thomas is to find the light within in order to be a light unto the world. (See for example, Sayings 24, 26)

In contrast to the Gospel of John, where Jesus is likened to a (divine and beloved) Lord as in ruler, the Thomas gospel portrays Jesus as more the ubiquitous vehicle of spiritual inspiration and enlightenment, as in saying 77:

I am the light that shines over all things. I am everything. From me all came forth, and to me all return. Split a piece of wood, and I am there. Lift a stone, and you will find me there.

In many other respects, the Thomas gospel offers terse yet familiar if not identical accounts of the sayings of Jesus as seen in the synoptic gospels

Check the Codex Sinaiticus. It's regarded as the oldest complete bible, available online.

I've heard of the Hexapla by Origen of Alexandria, putting together several early translations of the Old Testament in the early III century, but only fragments remain (and it certainly was not in english )

Sacred texts are often thick but worth a look, because once you find one that pushes the right buttons for you, it opens up your mind instead of closing it.

I enjoyed the Tao Te King and Tibetan books mostly. And if you are into middle eastern history, and want to review in depth such things as the Genesis, read about the oldest creation myths. Sumerian legacy is mind blowing. I am reading now a couple of books by Zechariah Sitchin. He certainly pulls controversial claims and theories, but there is a wealth of information there and gives you a new perspective on the first old testament books.

Thank you guys, for assisting a brother on his journey

John Lamb Lash's unparalleled Not In His Image will help you understand the true origins of Christianity, from a Gnostic/Pagan perspective.

It's not a pretty story... but I doubt there is a Christian in the world who could logically refute Lash's analysis & offer a superior alternative vision.

You might not want to hear this but I'm afraid it's a bit of work and might involve learning some of the basics of Hebrew and Kabbalah.

There are NO accurate english versions in existence. Mainly because the greek language is WAY,WAY different than the ancient Hebrew language.


EDIT: Hebrew is easier to learn than Spanish...more fun as well IMO. It is by far the easiest ancient language to learn as far as I am aware.

Read the Quran. Still in it's original language. Reading the bible is like listening to an MP3 from a tape recorded off a vinyl from the 50's. The degradation of sound is like translated books. Much of the original information is missing.

It's different things. The Quran is another sacred text in the possible list, but unless you believe that Muhammad had direct access to the same revelations as the ancient scholars, the Quran is not a "replacement" for the bible.

As Demented wrote the Gospel of Thomas is very interesting and as far as scholars know in its original form since it was only discovered recently.
The gospel of Mary is also an interesting read as accepted by some to be the only direct words of Jesus.

All the stuff that was censored out of the bible like the gospel of Thomas, Mary and even Judas are all quite interesting. The book of Enoch is probably my favorite one.
Knowledge of Kabbalistic science is also useful in deciphering all that sort of stuff as well IMO.

the Bhagavad ghita is also quite amazing..one day I hope to learn Sanskrit as well but that's way more of an advanced exercise in languistical learning than Hebrew is.

Why not write your own bible?

Lol like it maxx

Personaly I believe that would be along the lines of reinventing the wheel

I would highly recommend the "Bhagavad Gita As It Is" with commentary by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It absolutely transformed me.

I read "The Tibetan Book of the Dead" a few years ago, but I don't think I was ready for it at the time. I just finished "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying", which provides much of the wisdom contained in "The Tibetan Book of the Dead", but is much easier to understand, and will give you tools that you can instantly start applying in your life. I now feel ready to re-read "The Tibetan Book of The Dead". "The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep" is next though.

By reading these books, I've come to feel that there is a lot of wisdom contained in most spiritual texts. However, I think choosing one and claiming it to be the end all be all leads to divisiveness, which seems contrary to love, humility, and the pursuit of knowledge.

Good luck, brother. Never stop searching an learning. Getting "comfortable" is a dangerous thing IMHO.

The bible is just so uncool now a days..

try checking out the book "be here now" it has lots of bible themes and references jesus and his teachings many times

link to the book /amazon

Good topic OP. I've been interested in finding a scholarly translation and discussion of the bible for a long time. Many old texts that are equivalent to the bible historically (gilgamesh, the greek epics, many eastern religious texts, etc) have translations with many notes about the culture they were written in, the nuances of the words that were translated and other contextual information to help understand the text from a historical perspective. I guess it's elevated status in modern culture makes this kind of scrutiny unpopular for the bible.

I'd love to know if anyone finds this kind of treatment of the bible.

-o

Not to mention the bible is also archaic, fear-mongering, and laughably OBSOLETE in today's changing world. It is time to evolve past the bible's petty, angry, jealous "god".

The god of the bible is mean-spirited, fear-based, worship based, and extremely hateful despite all the talk of god's love and compassion (unless you happen to believe in a different bible, in which case this all-loving god will cast you into the lake of fire to burn for ALL OF ETERNITY) .

My God laughs and plays and shows infinite compassion for ALL creatures, saints and sinners alike.


**** And for those of you who still believe in the bible, if there are indeed people here who do, I challenge you to defend your bible's notion of Hell. What kind of monster would punish It's creation with ETERNAL TORTURE????????????????? Step right up, folks, defend your hell. ****

hey maxx...

sure is amazing how angry and hateful God seems and then all of the sudden flips once jesus shows up. flippidy-floppidy, just like most of it's followers. funny, in the bible jesus evens refers to his "followers" as his sheep. he's calling you a sheep in the book. come on now???

there is an awful lotta truth and wisdom hidden in the bible if you take the time to read between the lines and decipher what could've been being said by whomever was talking before the elite got their hands on it and raped the wisdom with their perverse reasons and spat out the brainwashing dribble known today as the holy bible.

yeah...you could tear the bible apart...or...you could just tear your own head apart and find the same answers. jesus said the kingdom of heaven is within. BOOM. that says it all. he knew what the deal is...

like max said...time to evolve. whether the bible is even true or not is irrelevant. it's outdated even if it's true.

This is one of the main problems I have with the Bible. I have no idea how the Old Testament and New Testament can coexist. People defend it by saying that that is what is so beautiful about the Bible: Jesus came to save you from what the Old Testament condemned you to.

If the God of the Old Testament is omniscient, omnipresent, and infinite, how come he all of the sudden changes his mind? If He knew man would be imperfect and would succumb to sinful desires, why didn't He provide the loving savior from the get-go?

As I am also states, there is wisdom contained in the Bible as well. I find Psalms, Proverbs, the Sermon on the mount, and other various passages to contain tools that can be applied in my life to help me become a better person.

It's taken me a long time to overcome the guilt instilled in my soul from many years of private school. However, I now feel comfortable picking and choosing the pieces of different religions that allow me to grow spiritually. If I'm condemned to hell for disregarding the passages that facilitate hate, division, arrogance, and judgement, then so be it.