Sup Zig Forums...

Sup Zig Forums, I've been an atheist my whole live and came from atheist family (some of my relatives are orthodox or catholic though).
I'm really curious about Christianity and even thinking about getting baptised.
Is it too late(I'm in my 20s)? What should I read besides Bible? Who should I talk to about it?
And last but not least, orthodoxy or catholicism?
Would really like to know from anons with similar situation.

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A Baptist pastor
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Given that there are known mistranslations in the KJV it makes no sense to be KVJist. Koine Greek is tricky to learn but its absolutely worth studying if you want to do anything beyond merely LARP as a textual purist.

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*KJVist


Both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church make the claim to the be the one true apostolic catholic church. What I would suggest as a starting place for deciding between the two is to read their respective catechisms, learn their theology, and learn their history. Not necessarily in this order as these elements are not separate from each other. I found that Orthodox theology provided the answers to my questions and it brought me from basic theism to belief in God.

Episcopalian or bust, my friend! Don't listen to the haters

What's dis? I owe a Bible, the orthodox one.
People say that it's a good translation.

Aaand…? What should I say to him? What would I do next?

Back when I was facing the same dilemma OP is I read this very document. I made it to the "Human Communion" chapter and knew something was very wrong. I was reading pure atheism masquerading as religious doctrine.

Black powa muh tigga, whitey will pay, assalamu aleikum

What problems did you have with it specifically? Post quotes

Curiosity isn't a good reason to receive baptism as an adult. It is a supernatural act which joins one to the spiritual body of Christ. First you should have experience of Christ, encounter him in prayer, meet with people who live in him.

Reading the scriptures provides an entry point, but is still detached from a lived experience, which is what Christianity is. It's also difficult to understand scriptures without prayer - which is the primary mode of communication with God.

When you 'open your heart' in prayer, which is different to opening your mind, you become attentive to a reality that is at once removed and intimately close to you. Removed because the reality is not apparent through the senses, close because it is part of the reason of reality, and enlightened by faith can be understood by reason.

I would advise you to pray, with or without words. Understand that God is love. Seek encounter with Christ in the scriptures, a little at a time, and encounter with Him in his people - with all their various states in life. Seek Christ in the poor, the afflicted, and the broken. See him in the sinner. For when you understand how man is broken, it becomes apparent that God's love is the only source of healing.

To stimulate your mind, you may read C. S Lewis' Mere Christianity, or the Screwtape Letters. Orthodoxy by G. K Chesterton is another good one. If you'd prefer something ancient though remarkably relevant, I'd say to take a read of Confessions by Saint Augustine.

Again, though books are on the lowest priority, I would also recommend the Compendium of The Catechism of The Catholic Church (not the full Catechism). It is a small, cheap book that is full of clear explanation.

Read more before you dive into baptism head-first. Read the scripture and church fathers and try and identify which church lines up best with the Bible and early Christians.
In my opinion, Orthodoxy is the true church but some people wind up Catholic. In then end, it's your judgement on who's more right.
But, don't get baptized by anyone unless you're sure your ready to accept Christ.

A few more notes: The general best, not perfect, best, translations of the Bible are (in my opinion at least) KJV and ESV. Also, try and find a Bible without commentary, people like slipping weird heresies in those.

first things first

Both the OT and the NT have symbolic interpretation levels, the OT doubly so because it started as oral tradition.
And even after all that, commenters should write entire essays on phrases like
"Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time"

Approaching ancient text with the mindset of a post industrial young man used to instruction manuals is like learning to 'drive cars' using an electric automatic SUV. And sorry, no I don't even know how to do it myself so I have no suggestions.

"Curiosity" was a wrong word, perhaps.
The point is, I've been through some shit lately and it really changed my views on lots of things, religion including.


Wait, I can pray without being baptised?

>To stimulate your mind, you may read C. S Lewis' Mere Christianity, or the Screwtape Letters. Orthodoxy by G. K Chesterton is another good one. If you'd prefer something ancient though remarkably relevant, I'd say to take a read of Confessions by Saint Augustine.

Thanks for advice.

KJV refers to the King James Version of the Bible. I would argue that it is the best English translation of the scripture to date, BUT it has some serious issues that should not be overlooked. Koine Greek is the language of the Greek manuscripts of the Septuagint, the one that looks like this: εὐαγγέλιον.


That entire section is such a Gordian Knot of issues that I could fill an entire novel with the issues I take with it. Honestly, I'm not sure where to begin. I take issue with its definition and inclusion of the human vocation, the common good, legitimate authority, the hierarchy of values, natural law, social justice, natural dignity, human dignity, liberation of the spirit, human solidarity, moral order, fundamental rights, and many others I'm forgetting. The entire chapter is so devoid of the Grace of God that it feels like the whole damn thing should be chanted at a French Revolution execution court. I object to just about every line of that entire chapter.

Talk to your local priest. RCIA starts in September where you'll progress towards baptism and confirmation. Read the new testament I recommend EOB, it made me choose Catholicism over Eastern Christianity.

Also begome gadolig

OP curiosity is a grace from God. You have already encountered Christ and he is leading you to union with him in the Eucharist. Just keep listening and accepting his graces.

Why are Easterns obsessed with KJV? Do they not know that it mistranslates and demotes Our Lady from being "full of Grace" to "highly favoured". Why do you not recommend things like the EOB, OSB or DR over protestant literature?

I am interested. Does anyone comment on that?

Hi guys, this seemed like a good place for my question but I'm new to this board so feel free to redirect me to a relevant place to post.
I'm not exactly new to the Bible, but I've never "truly" believed. I was raised in a Nazarene church from birth until I was old enough to tell my dad I didn't want to go anymore. I want to get to a place where I actually understand God and the faith. Here are my questions

Care to elaborate?

Do RCIA at the traditional parish closest to you and you will learn all the answers you need

See . There are a couple of other wonky translations in it like homosexuals being translated as "abusers of themselves with mankind" in 1 Corinthians 6:9. Although at the same time the KJV is one of the few English versions to not exclude the "effeminate" who are mentioned in the original scripture. Nobody aside from KJV idolaters are making the claim that the translation is perfect. It's just a good all around translation that I would recommend for anyone who has a good grasp of the English language.


Missing the old testament.
Full of study notes with historical context that would be better studied elsewhere. Otherwise its just a knackered KJV.
Has just as many, if not more, theological issues. It's history as a counter-reformation bible is troublesome as it resulted in pro-ultramontonism inclusions of very questionable accuracy. At least the KJV favored the Septuagint over the Masoretic texts for when translation issues arose.

CS Lewis was a heretic. He denied the call to join the Catholic Church despite the persuasions of his close friend JRR Tolkien. It is not right for Catholics to advise people to take spiritual advice from heretics. They should advise them to read the bible or Church Fathers before advising heretical literature