Is Emily religious? 
[quote=â914â]No one is asking you to read the bible. It was merely a suggestion.
You should read the Bible.
You ought to read the Bible.
NOT THE SAME AS: You must read the Bible.[/quote]
âshouldâ and âought toâ imply obligation or strong argument in favour of. Iâm not aware of any good reason for anyone to read the bible, in fact I regard it as a very counter-productive thing to do if youâve already familiarised yourself with the bloody thing, so itâs bad advice and not advice I think that people should be giving unopposed.
Try âIf {reasonable circumstances} you could try reading the bible.â That would be a suggestion, and much more reasonable. Is it unreasonable to ask that no-one promotes Jesus as the answer to EVERYONEâs problems on this site?
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we weptâŚ
Psalm 137, turned into a pop hit by Boney M and is a reggae standard covered by numerous artistsâŚa song about living under oppression.
By Grand Central Station I sat Down and Weptâa wonderful book by Elizabeth Smart, rife with emotional intensity, intricately juxtaposing despair and triumph within a weave of some of the best prose Iâve ever read.
By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept by Paulo Coehloâalmost bought it a Page One the other day, will buy it soon and give it a booâŚ
Just a few thoughts that sprang to my head.
Also, just scanning Proverbs now I came across something that might be apropos:
Proverbs, Ch.15, V.1
âA soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.â
A lesson that I should remember more often.
Thank you rantheman!
Just wondering Loretta, if the OP has mentioned some verses from the Koran instead would you have responded with:
What I donât understand is how ranâs psalms thread has three pages of hits already and my post on female orgasm only has three hits, two of which are from me! What gives?
Being a Christian doesnât mean being a wimp. A bad mistake to believe that.
Ezekiel 25:17, among othersâŚ
Jules: The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men.
Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brotherâs keeper and the finder of lost children.
And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers.
And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
courtesy of Pulp Fiction.
âAs a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him,
For he knows how we are formed;
he remembers that we are dust.â
I think Jules used a little poetic licence. Here is the New American Bibleâs take.
Ezekiel 25
15
Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the Philistines have acted revengefully, and have taken vengeance with destructive malice in their hearts, with an undying enmity,
16
therefore thus says the Lord GOD: See! I am stretching out my hand against the Philistines; I will cut off the Cherethites and wipe out the remnant on the seacoast.
17
I will execute great acts of vengeance on them, punishing them furiously. Thus they shall know that I am the LORD, when I wreak my vengeance on them.
PS: Read your bible, dammit!
Maybe we have already learned the secrets of the female orgasm and ainât sharing our knowhow. 
Maybe we have already learned the secrets of the female orgasm and ainât sharing our knowhow. [/quote]
And maybe we found the secrets in the Bible:
[quote]My lover thrust his hand through the latch-opening;
my heart began to pound for him.
I arose to open for my lover,
and my hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with flowing myrrh,
on the handles of the lock.[/quote]--[url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/index.php?search=song%20of%20solomon%205:4-5&version1=31]Song of Solomon 5:4-5 (NIV)[/url]
loretta may convert when he reads that! 
My lover thrust his âhandâ through the latch opening. Yipes!
I think that means âpantsâ bob.
Or skirt!
Not fisting. lol
I like you Bob.
Post rant editâŚ
After reading the entire threadâŚ
I still mean what I posted belowâŚ
Glad Loretta thought about an apology⌠So, nope, I mean what I wrote.
Waaaay outta line there buddy.
Perhaps I could sayâŚ
Donât promote your British English spelling hereâŚ
Donât go looking for hot chicks that youâve seen on the street hereâŚ
Geez, sailing is so boring, I donât want to hear about itâŚ
Who cares if you canât get laidâŚ
But,
I donât
It is not my place
and
neither is it yours to tell rantheman what he can and cannot post.
If you believe in your freedom to post what you like, within the rules, DONâT go telling other people what to do.
THAT bothers me.
In case anyone is curious: Myrrh - gum resin used in perfume, medicine, incense etc. [Latin myrrha from Greek] Oxford.
Apparently at least some women in those days had little trouble with orgasmsâŚ
âAnd my hands DRIPPED with myrrh, my fingers with flowing myrrh, on the handles of the lock.â
Perhaps the female orgasm is phasing OUT after all.
[quote=âDanimalâ]I ask the question simply because Maoman did not give me any reasons --beyond an appreciation for literature or cutlural insight-- why reading the Bible might not be a complete waste of time. That makes me wonder whether he believes any non-secular reasons even exist. If you believe the Bible is the word of God, for example, then of course youâre going to think itâs not a waste of time.
Do you have any non-secular reason why reading the Bible was worth your time?[/quote]
The Bible is one of the oldest, most accurate historical books. It provides a detailed insight into many different nationalities and their lifestyles.
The Bible has been mocked on several occasions where it was deemed to be historically inaccurate, because of people and even cities that it refers to that secular history had no record of. But then they found secular evidence of these people and places.
If it is not a book from God it is valuabe historically.
If it is a book from God⌠you should get familiar with it.
I find it extrememly practical for dealing with modern problems
i think the Song of Solomon is the most hot and heavy thing around! erotic and classy at the same time! it reaffirms Godâs love for humanity and the gift of sexuality.
[quote=âLogged onâ][quote=âDanimalâ]I ask the question simply because Maoman did not give me any reasons --beyond an appreciation for literature or cutlural insight-- why reading the Bible might not be a complete waste of time. That makes me wonder whether he believes any non-secular reasons even exist. If you believe the Bible is the word of God, for example, then of course youâre going to think itâs not a waste of time.
Do you have any non-secular reason why reading the Bible was worth your time?[/quote]
The Bible is one of the oldest, most accurate historical books. It provides a detailed insight into many different nationalities and their lifestyles.
The Bible has been mocked on several occasions where it was deemed to be historically inaccurate, because of people and even cities that it refers to that secular history had no record of. But then they found secular evidence of these people and places.
If it is not a book from God it is valuabe historically.
If it is a book from God⌠you should get familiar with it.
I find it extrememly practical for dealing with modern problems[/quote]
Loggedon,
Historical and cultural insight are significant in a secular sense. What I was wondering was whether there were any non-secular reasons why he thinks the Bible isnât a waste of time.
Most Christians believe the Bible is the revealed word of God.
Iâm not preaching, but I went to Church today.
So if you are a Christian, you need to know the word of God, and most people will have a hard time to find it anywhere else.
I had ordered a copy of The Purpose Driven Life from my church and picked it up today. Chapter 24 is called âTransformed by Truthâ and bears on your question.
Our pastor spoke on Psalms 119 today. Coincidence?
[quote=âRichardmâ]âAs a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him,
For he knows how we are formed;
he remembers that we are dust.â
I think Jules used a little poetic licence. Here is the New American Bibleâs take.
Ezekiel 25
15
Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the Philistines have acted revengefully, and have taken vengeance with destructive malice in their hearts, with an undying enmity,
16
therefore thus says the Lord GOD: See! I am stretching out my hand against the Philistines; I will cut off the Cherethites and wipe out the remnant on the seacoast.
17
I will execute great acts of vengeance on them, punishing them furiously. Thus they shall know that I am the LORD, when I wreak my vengeance on them.
PS: Read your bible, dammit![/quote]King James version man, meself. And yes, Jules does do a bit of ad-libbing:
25:15 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy [it] for the old hatred;
25:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast.
25:17 And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I [am] the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.
And I agreeâŚI should read my Bible more than I do.
[quote=âRichardmâ] I had ordered a copy of The Purpose Driven Life from my church and picked it up today. Chapter 24 is called âTransformed by Truthâ and bears on you question.
Our pastor spoke on Psalms 119 today. Coincidence?
Probably. Given the vast number of occurences that make up a personâs day it is a statistical certainty that some of them would appear to be messages from God. It is more likely however that the book, this thread, and your pastor all spoke about the same problem because it is such a fundemental concern, one that occupies every thinking personâs thoughts and one that cetainly comes up regularly in church, in self help books and, come to think of it, this very forum.