bible unsuitable for new christians a new christian wrote that he was new to the faith and learning about it by reading the bible of course i am not at all sure this is the best path to follow while the bible is for christians the word of god the revelation of god is jesus christ and the chief legacy of this revalation is the church i am not recommending any one denommination but i do recommend finding a comfortable christian congregation in which to develop your faith rather than just reading the bible this does not mean that the bible should not be read although i would stick to the gospels epistles and psalms and avoid the book of revelation altogether until you are with friends you are comfortable with i am sure that mistakenly fervent projects to read the entire bible have frequently bogged down with a remarkable lack of fervour somewhere in the middle of leviticus or for the really sturdy somewhere in chronicles the point is that the bible is their to illustrate the faith of christians but does not provide the totality of that faith vital beliefs of virtually all christians are simply not mentioned the trinity the duality of natures in christ types of church organization all these beliefs and practices have developed from the lived experience of the christian people an experience lived one hopes in the spirit as such the bible i think is better studies in the context of a congregation and the context of other reading following up on a suggestion of an old confessor of mine i would even suggest that a good novel is a good way to reflect on the christian life most novels of any profundity are actually discussing the nature of good and evil in the human heart my own induction into the christian faith was brought about after grace through reading graham greene the power and the glory and the poetry of gerard manley hopkins i would also recommend graham greene s monsignor quixote and any novel by iris murdoch the last is not even a christian but such is her insistence on the need for the good life that frankly i often am more uplifted and god directed after reading her than after reading many parts of the bible and that after all is what being a christian is all about letting your soul and your life be in some way directed towards the infinite represented to us by the person of jesus christ paul halsall halsall murray fordham edu
