in the beginning

BOOKS OF THE BIBLE

Daily reminder: I did not study religion or theology. I'm just fascinated with the idea of faith and the desire to believe in SOMETHING. So this is simply my take. I don't understand most of it, so we're truly going on this journey together. A way to learn and grow in simple, precise language that pushes us to think.

So as I was starting to write today, I realize, "Oh my God (literally), I legit don't know what I'm doing." But if you're okay with it, I'm okay with it. If you want to immerse yourself into the text of the Bible and analyze each word for its intended meaning, this isn't for you. And I fully encourage you to explore that if its something you're passionate about. Personally, I want to watch Jeopardy and when the Jesus category pops up, be able to answer correctly for the first $600, or at least have a guess that doesn't make me look like a fool in front of my friends. And by friends I mean my mom and dad. Isn't that what everyone wants? Before we get into verses and scriptures and what it all means, I feel like we (I) need a quick rundown of the basics. The foundation. Because nothing else will make sense if we (I) don't know where it all started.

The Bible. It's a collection of books with around 40 authors, 35 are recognized by name. Fun Fact: 'Bible' translates to "little books." 66 little books to be exact. Then there's the 2 sections of the Bible: The Old Testament and The New Testament. A testament is an agreement, so think of it as an agreement between human beings and God. Like my agreement with my therapist not to google random symptoms I exhibit on a daily basis. And don't think too much; The Old Testament is old (written from 1200 to 165 BC) and The New Testament is new (written from 50 to 100 AD). BC means "Before Christ" and AD means "anno domini," a Latin phrase that translates to "in the year of Our Lord." That's about as deep as we'll get in terms of meanings and translations. When Latin starts creeping in, we know it's too far.

In its most simple explanation, The Old Testament was based on God's laws and the relationship between human beings and His law, which apparently didn't work out too great, because people sin. But this was a way of getting the people ready for The Messiah, Jeeeesusssss. whoop whoop. Messiah means "anointed one", the promised one. So God made these rules but people couldn't follow them because we're trouble makers and rule breakers. And when the people effed up, He made them sacrifice goats and shit. eek. These were different times, though, right?

The New Testament deals with Jesus hanging out among the people and his sacrifice for our own sins. Jesus is the Son of God and God sent him to live with the people so that he could show us how to live with love and grace and gratitude. Jesus served and comforted and healed. But people were still effing up, and to gain forgiveness from God, a sacrifice needed to be made. So instead of sacrificing goats, pigeons, bulls, and lamb, the ultimate sacrifice was the blood of Jesus. Again, different times. With his death, Jesus granted us everlasting forgiveness for the sins we are destined to make. And it opens up our connection to God and lets us build a relationship that was not previously attainable. I mean, wow. I don't know about you, but I'm thinking that's pretty nice. So thanks, Jesus.

That's enough of that. Next time, we'll discuss the intricacies of animal sacrifice and the effect it has on the human mind. Just kidding. I think maybe we'll dip our toes into political divisiveness, especially during these trying times and how we can ALL look at the world with an open heart, despite your religious beliefs or how you may choose to vote. Maybe. Haven't decided yet. It will be a surprise.

Bless your heart,

xoxo

Tayla