Book of Bible teachings?

In my ignorance I thought I was a good person. I've been reading a few things online about bible teachings and it seems I have let myself down a lot; particularly when it comes to things like bearing a grudge and revenge. I still remember things done against me and slights aimed at me from far far in the past. I keep a record in my head mostly to protect myself from those that have done wrong to me in the past.

I'm curious if there's any kind of book that would have the main teachings from the bible? I mean in a easy to understand manner for a complete idiot like myself? Something I can pick up and read at dark times. I had a Bible at school and sometimes took a peek but I was lost in the language used.

I suppose what I'm looking for is the Bible but kind of simplified for a plonker like myself. Apologies if I'm being offensive or showing my ignorance!

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Hi Vanzan

I think the most important part is behind you; you acknowledged you are not happy with the direction your life has taken and seek to better yourself. That is really commendable in this day and age.

Have you tried reading a Bible which was translated for youths/young adults? There is no shame in this as the Bible can be quite tough to grasp. Another option is to join a Christian (best to stick to your denomination though) group where people meet to discuss the Gospel and its meaning.

Finally, if your allegiance lies with Rome, the Catechism is basically a book of do's and don'ts with well reasoned commentary.

Benny_Cake

The New Living Translation, The Message, and the Good News Bible are quite easy to read translations/paraphrases in everyday English. Certainly a lot of translations can be cumbersome from the point of view of everyday reading so there's no shame in finding them difficult!

Manach

Offhand,
From an Anglican perspective there is some good works by Henry Chadwick on how the early Church related to the Bible.
From a Catholic interpretation of the New Testament, there Scott Hahn's commentary on the Bible.

EunanMac

Well, you've heard the call, and you should answer it.

The simplest and best place of all for everyone to begin, even for those who think they know the bible, is the direct words of Jesus himself. This is much better than reading someone else's opinion, and their selective quoting, of what he said.

Every time I read them over, I learn something new.

I'd just concentrate on reading the direct words of Jesus from any of the four Gospels. In my opinion, only when you know these well (and much of what he actually said is not well known -> most people think they know it until they read it, in fact they've usually only read or heard bits of what he has to say ) is there any point in reading anything else.

The rest of the bible is meaningless without knowing the words of Christ well.

The Gospel of Mark is the shortest gospel to start with, and as good a place as any.

Just one of Christ's parables, when thought about properly, will give you pause for thought for a lifetime.

I'd buy a new testament, to start with. Less is more.

The first four books in the new testament are by far the most important and contain what you seek, the words of Christ.

lazybones32

Choose a New Testament. There are hundreds of different translations and very few have the "thee"'s and "thou"'s of different ages.

Choose a Book Shop and view what translations they have on offer.

Peregrinus

The bible isn’t really structured as a book of teachings about how to live rightly. Certainly it contains passages that are devoted to that, but it contains a huge variety of stuff besides. So I don’t think VanZan’s desire for a guide which would extract and summarise the ethical teachings contained in the bible is an unreasonable one.

I appreciate the suggestions that VanZan should read good modern translations of scripture. Direct engagement with scripture is always good. But this advice doesn’t directly address his desire to focus specifically on the ethical teachings found in scripture.

All Christian denominations (and all traditions of Judaism) are of the view that their ethical teachings are rooted in scripture. So pretty well anything you read on ethical teachings, from any Christian or Jewish source, is going to offer an ethical view that is drawn from scripture.

And, while there are differences on ethical issues between different Christian traditions, they really are very minor. Yes, the Catholic tradition smiles upon, say, playing tennis on Sunday whereas some Protestant traditions would not. But, really, on 99.9% of ethical questions all Christians are going to offer you similar or identical answers. They are all going to warn VanZan about the problem of bearing a grudge, to pick his own example in the OP.

I think what VanZan is looking for is some work on Christian ethics which (a) is readable, and (b) is explicit in connecting the teachings it offers with relevant scriptural passages.

Having said all that, I don’t know of such a work. But other boardies may.

homer911

May I suggest CS Lewis's "Mere Christianity"? It discusses the Christian faith from a non-deonominational perspective

Nick Park

To be honest, Christianity is much more about having a relationship with Jesus Christ than about following a set of codes or ethics.

When we have a healthy relationship with someone, then we almost automatically modify our behaviour to avoid causing conflict or upset to the person we love.

St Augustine summed it up by saying, "Love, and do what you please." Which sounds shocking at first, but actually makes sense when you stop to think about it. If we really love God, then we will want to do the things that God wants.

So I would encourage you to do whatever brings you closer to Jesus Christ. For each person that can be different - prayer, attending worship, receiving sacraments etc.

Also, as another poster has suggested, try reading the actual words of Jesus in the New Testament. You can easily buy a modern translation of the Bible, and some of these have the words of Jesus printed in red ink to make them more easily identifiable. Reading the words of Jesus should help you to know Him better.

santing

You should try the Discovery Series (Online) http://discoveryseries.org/