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Ask HN: What is one book you would recommend everyone to read?

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Re: Ask HN: What is one book you would recommend everyone to read?

#251

Post by orange8 »

laumars wrote: post #235
orange8 wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It does when those books were purposely excluded because the author was female. It also matters a lot when one of the books excluded was written by the person who was actually closest to Jesus too. Which book was this? How do we know about it, and have you read it?

Background as to why Mary Magdalenes account is so important when discussing Jesus and the New Testament. Also shows the tension and resentment some apparently had towards her. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Magdalene Gospel of Mary Magdalene is a book that is believed to be an account of her albeit not directly written by her. Though it should be noted that there are some disagreements about whether other books…

> Also shows the tension and resentment some apparently had towards her.

This is life. There will always be tensions, envy, politics and resentment whenever people come together, regardless of gender. Jesus was betrayed by one of his very own disciples after-all.

So you say you've read the whole bible, but have you read the gospel of Mary Magdalene which you consider would "redeem" the bible by? Why, haven't you read it?

> Gospel of Mary Magdalene is a book that is believed to be an account of her albeit not directly written by her.

There are many books in the bible that give a females account. You should know about them as someone who's read the whole book (an impressive feat).

And what do you think of the many other books omitted from the bible, for example the gospel of Thomas? Is it because it was written by a man?

> This last link helps illustrate how the Bible is collated by man to fit a narrative defined by man.

Is there really anything in this world that is written and collated that does not fit a narrative defined by their authors?

> Which should cast scepticism about the motives behind the various rewrites and decisions behind what gets included and what doesn’t.

The changes have been greatly exaggarated: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ5cgQUJnrI

Re: Ask HN: What is one book you would recommend everyone to read?

#252

Post by oolonthegreat »

Brajeshwar wrote: post #133

I decided to learn/understand why Religion is the center-stage for almost every event that happens to humanity. This year, I’m planning to read the books, at least, of the top 5 religions of the world. Read Bhagavad Gita[1], had read the Bible[2] in hotel stays but will read it again, and the Quran[3] is waiting in the book-shelf. No, not religious at all; in fact, very far from it. Some time back, someone did a nice…

as an atheist, the new testament was a pretty fun read. if you put aside all the stuff about Jesus being God and also his son or whatever, the character was very revolutionary and anti-establishment.

"The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."

Re: Ask HN: What is one book you would recommend everyone to read?

#253

Post by orange8 »

laumars wrote: post #222
orange8 wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do not think it matters whether a book is written by a man or woman, if the discussion is about worthwhile books to read. The bible is not just any other book though, and I understand why you'd have political, moral or religious ideas against anyone reading it. I do not think it was being recommended for any of those reasons though. Looked at as just a book, its very much worth reading regardless of what was edited…

You post as if the only argument I made was about the gender of the authors but that’s not the case. I had also made points about why it’s also not a good book from a literacy standpoint too. My point was it doesn’t work either as a factual piece, as a piece of literacy nor even as a set of moral principles. It’s just not a good set of texts by any modern standards.

> You post as if the only argument I made was about the gender of the authors but that’s not the case.

In an online forum, people will usually only respond to things they strongly agree or disagree with. I just strongly disagreed with the idea that a book should not be read because of the gender of its author.

Re: Ask HN: What is one book you would recommend everyone to read?

#254

Post by jmpman »

Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. Not that the analysis is flawless as there are many critics. The reason to read the book is to understand the how and why different societies have evolved and why there was a massive difference between Western Europe and other parts of the world. From geological impediments to the evolution of the large animals in the region (zebras are quite skittish and harder to tame/ride than horses), the environment is a major contributing factor to these civilizations development.

Re: Ask HN: What is one book you would recommend everyone to read?

#255

Post by rntksi »

ryloric wrote: post #228

I know this is irrelevant for most people on here I pick Viktor Frankl's 'Man's Search for Meaning'. I started having thoughts of ending myself for the past two, three years and this book really helps my brain get out of that mental state. It's a very short book than can be read in an afternoon.

Thank you for the recommendation.

Please don't think it's irrelevant.

I will read it tonight after work.

Re: Ask HN: What is one book you would recommend everyone to read?

#256

Post by laumars »

orange8 wrote: post #253
laumars wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You post as if the only argument I made was about the gender of the authors but that’s not the case. I had also made points about why it’s also not a good book from a literacy standpoint too. My point was it doesn’t work either as a factual piece, as a piece of literacy nor even as a set of moral principles. It’s just not a good set of texts by any modern standards.

> You post as if the only argument I made was about the gender of the authors but that’s not the case. In an online forum, people will usually only respond to things they strongly agree or disagree with. I just strongly disagreed with the idea that a book should not be read because of the gender of its author.

I got that but you’re being disingenuous to my point by distilling it down to the gender of the author. I’d never suggest one should read or not read a book because of the gender of the author.

My point was that the sincerity and authenticity of the Nee Testament is comprised because they withheld accounts. Thus if you were to choose not to read it, it wouldn’t be because the authors were male, it would be because it lacks authenticity. I also gave other examples of how it lacked authenticity too so even that point about authenticity wasn’t just about gender.

So while you’re free to disagree with me, please at least disagree with the actual argument I’ve made rather than creating these straw man arguments that even I wouldn’t agree with.

Re: Ask HN: What is one book you would recommend everyone to read?

#258

Post by freekisanders »

quietbritishjim wrote: post #191
freeksanders wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Religious myself. Agree that having a modern translation can make a great difference in readability. I've read parts of the King James translation, and the language makes it a though read. Personally I enjoy this translation: https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/ I read it in Dutch, but it's available in multiple languages.

As a bit of an experiment (/procrastination) I randomly clicked through until I arrived at some text. I ended up Judges 19, which is a bizarre story of a concubine (*) that cheats, returns to her parents, then her husband (after a four month delay) goes and finds her there. There's an odd narrative detour where the father in law continues to pressure the husband to stay, but eventually he leaves. While stopped at a s…

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Re: Ask HN: What is one book you would recommend everyone to read?

#259

Post by laumars »

orange8 wrote: post #251
laumars wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Background as to why Mary Magdalenes account is so important when discussing Jesus and the New Testament. Also shows the tension and resentment some apparently had towards her. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Magdalene Gospel of Mary Magdalene is a book that is believed to be an account of her albeit not directly written by her. Though it should be noted that there are some disagreements about whether other books…

> Also shows the tension and resentment some apparently had towards her. This is life. There will always be tensions, envy, politics and resentment whenever people come together, regardless of gender. Jesus was betrayed by one of his very own disciples after-all. So you say you've read the whole bible, but have you read the gospel of Mary Magdalene which you consider would "redeem" the bible by? Why, haven't you read…

> This is life. There will always be tensions, envy, politics and resentment whenever people come together, regardless of gender. Jesus was betrayed by one of his very own disciples after-all.

Clearly. But that’s an irrelevant truism when the point is that the accounts of the individual who was most familiar with Jesus’s teachings wasn’t included.

Honestly, the reason they weren’t included isn’t even relevant when the point is about the authenticity of the book. I just bought them into the conversation to add some context for those who might not have been aware.

> So you say you've read the whole bible, but have you read the gospel of Mary Magdalene which you consider would "redeem" the bible by? Why, haven't you read it?

I have read it.

> There are many books in the bible that give a females account. You should know about them as someone who's read the whole book (an impressive feat).

It’s not that impressive of a feat.

> And what do you think of the many other books omitted from the bible, for example the gospel of Thomas? Is it because it was written by a man?

I’d already answered that question.

> Is there really anything in this world that is written and collated that does not fit a narrative defined by their authors?

My point is that those collating it are not the authors. Ie the narrative is defined by doctrine centuries after the original authors. This, in my opinion, compromises the authenticity of the book. You seem to disagree though, which is fine.

Re: Ask HN: What is one book you would recommend everyone to read?

#260

Post by BLKNSLVR »

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.

For an insight into how our logic engine doesn't, itself, function in what we would consider a logical way. Reading this book made it easier for me to empathise with people whose situations I could relate to but their reactions to said situations made me question their sanity.

Be thankful for a high functioning brain. Be understanding that very minor differences have majorly different outcomes.

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