A question about biblical references....?

The only way that you are ever going to understand any book, Lyra is to read it. Regardless of whether it is a religious text or a great work of Literature. The four gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, are probably good places to start. In the Old Testament, I would recommend Genesis, Ruth and the two books of Samuel. Try and find a version in contemporary English, as it is far easier to read than the King James Version.

(Please note that I am giving this advice because you state that you wish to understand biblical references, and not as an attempt to convert you or anyone else on Yahoo! to Christianity. As far as religion goes, I'm a pretty lousy Christian anyway.)

I agree with Kathryn -- reading the Bible might be a good place to start. If you just want an understanding of the stories, however, and don't really want to read such a long religious text, you could always try a children's bible. Not to undermine your intelligence or anything; it's just that this would be the quickest way to get the stories (plus, you could find one with pretty pictures!) if you didn't want to read the whole thing. I know loads of people who would not, even just for literary understanding, read the entire Bible, so I didn't want to make out that that would be your only option.

I realize that there are a lot of Biblical references in literature. There was actually one in The Crucible that not even I (a Christian) recognized. Pontius Pilate. Probably should have known that one, to be honest. They're easy enough to look up online if a specific name is mentioned. Asking a pastor for a quick breakdown of the Bible might be another option (although it's likely that he'll get a lot more caught up with the religious side of things than the actual stories). I still think your best bet is a children's Bible. That's how I learned most of the actual stories in the Bible.

I'm not sure what the best way to go about this would be. About a week ago my English teacher was just speaking about this, and he mentioned a friend of his who is an avid reader but also an atheist. He stated that she reads the Bible just for the sake of understanding different Biblical references in literature. That would be the most straightforward way of becoming familiar with the Bible, I suppose, but not the most enjoyable.

Instead, you could Google specific stories as you come across allusions in books you're reading. Or, perhaps you could pick up a children's book of Bible stories. They would be brief versions of the stories told in the Bible, more like summaries than anything.

Something like this, perhaps:

http://www.amazon.com/Beginners-Bible-Timeless-Chi...

Apparently there are also books of collected Bible stories intended for an older audience, but they might contain unnecessary information. You don't need interpretations of the stories, only the stories.

Well, I hope this helps somewhat. I'm unfamiliar with the Bible too, so this is something I should probably look into. When reading Crime and Punishment this summer, I didn't understand the allusions to Lazarus until I Googled him and learned more.

well there have been books published about biblical literacy which would summarize the most important references. maybe even a "cliff's notes" or similar resource would help.

of course you could also read the bible itself. realize that the bible was originally written in hebrew and greek (and a few brief passages in aramaic). so you're likely to want an english translation. there are now quite a few english translations. someone mentioned "the message" but you're likely to overlook or miss many references reading that one because of its translation style. there are two opposite poles in translation: translating thought for thought or word for word. some translations are closer to one extreme and others toward the other - but none are exclusively one or the other. most well known quotes are from the king james version (kjv). however the kjv was first published in 1611. if you were to look at a 1611 edition, you would have difficulty reading it -- it would look like a foreign language to you. so most kjv's you find today are based on a update from the late 18th century (more modern letters and spellings), but even so, the english is awkward for modern readers and there are obsolete words and even some words that don't mean the same thing anymore (just a characteristic of language -- words change meaning over time). I'd recommend the english standard version (esv) which leans toward the word for word translation style and is similar to the kjv, yet is a modern english translation.

What Ris T and Kathryn W and cole i said, except that Proverbs and Psalms are places that get cited a lot in literature, so for recommendations for the Old Testament, you may want to go for them. They are some great examples of Hebrew poetry, and in English (at least KJV) are gorgeous and vivid with metaphor and lyrical verse.

Good luck, Lyra. Origin, I'm a tolerant Christian, and I don't believe you have to read the entire Bible to go to Heaven (I haven't even read half, probably), but your 'Bible Ed' cracked me up.

Luthien

@Origin, Corinthians 13 has one of the most beautiful chapters on love ever written. If you can't understand thees and thous, you're worse than I thought. And that's including drinking flat soda, too. Come back to LC so I can tease you some more :P

Definately get an easy bible to read. i suggest The Message. It gives everything to you in simple language. I also recommend King James Bible.

You could also get a Bible for Beginers book.

Perhaps even attending a church service and staying after to talk to the pastor.

Well, you could read it.

There's also about a thousand Bible websites out there (or more). And I'm fairly certain that most of them are searchable. So if the reference was to... Samson and Delilah, or Cain and Abel, you could search their names to find the specfic passage(s).

This site has a good search feature: http://www.biblegateway.com/

Some advocate you are! The account of Job shows that Satan failed to prove his point. God proved HIS point by permitting Satan to go ahead with his plan. So Satan murdered Job's 10 children, while God gave Job 10 more. Who was the evil one? In the book of Revelation are accounts of Satan going forth to the kings of the entire inhabited earth to deceive them and so gather them together to war against God. If this happens within your lifetime, then you'll see just how evil Satan is. But if you are not aware of his wiley tactics, you will be amongst the deceived.

Ideally, of course, should simply read the Bible.

If you don't fancy that -- and neither would I -- you can just read a short book about the Bible on the subject. Here's one: http://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Biblical-Literacy-E...

Try reading it. I suggest that you start with the New Testament. Don't overwhelm yourself. Many people take a full year to read it through completely, reading some everyday.