This whole bible thing is a lot of fun. I grew up Catholic. Well, at least my grandparents and my father did. They all wanted me to follow in the same footsteps. I went through all of the rituals, but had no idea what I was doing or why I was there. A few years ago my friend introduced me to a bible study. We read a lot of interesting stories and I felt drawn to it. About a year ago I started going to church regularly. I found myself excited for the first time to go to church. Before we went to church on Christmas and Easter. My pastor and his wife have taken me under their wing and have been very supportive. They always offer help and guidance. I was so excited to take this class (until I found out I had to read the entire bible and three other books). Reading the bible has been a very moving experience for me. What I love most about reading it is how everything is new. I am learning so much that I find it difficult to comprehend everything. David Plotz is hilarious. I find myself laughing aloud when I am reading his book.

I am finally making my way through the Bible one short story at a time. Today I read the story about Noah and the ark. There was a lot of stuff about I did not know. For example, I always wondered how Noah repopulated the Earth when it was just him and all those animals. Well, it wasn't just him. His wife and his sons and their wives came along as well. It now makes more sense to me. Also, I thought reading this made God seem kind of evil. I guess I just don't know how a father could destroy His children like that. I am currently reading a boring section of Genesis when they are telling the family history and explaining the genealogy of everyone in the story. It gets really boring and confusing. I found myself drifting off several times. But for the most part reading the Bible has been kind of fun and interesting. 

I went to church this morning and we read a passage out of the book of Mark. I found it to be pretty interesting. The passage was about a woman begging Jesus to heal her daughter and Jesus turns her down! She later tells him that even people who do wrong or are looked down upon deserve a second chance and that is when Jesus finally agrees to heal her. Now I am a fairly religious person, but this class is really making me think. I thought Jesus was supposed to be the man of all mankind. It turns out that he was still human and had human emotions. Sometimes it is hard for me to think that Jesus was just a man. I tend to think of him as perfect. Today I realized that he was just like us and that he made mistakes just like us. The moral of the lesson was to give people a second chance. 

I started reading Genesis. So far I find it very boring. The writing style of the first person in Genesis almost put me to sleep. I was very to the point and direct. The second person, however, kept my attention. This change occurred 2:4. The first writer - let's call this person P- was too direct. He started just about every sentence with the word And. It was also very repetitive. I believe he says "And there was evening and there was morning" six times. The way it was written was too confusing for me to understand, enjoy, or to even comprehend. 

The second writer-let's call this person J-was a lot more interesting. I could actually follow along. She started sentences in a unique way every time. Instead of matter-of-factly she wrote as if she was telling a story. The P writer just wrote like this happened and then this happened and then this happened and "then there was evening and there was morning". There wasn't anything to keep me interested.

I started reading the Good Book by David Plotz. So far I am really enjoying it. The part that I find frustrating is how he kind of bashes God a bit. I understand how he can be frustrated with Him, but I don't think it is necessary to bash Him. I do find the reading very easy and pretty hilarious. It is easy to relate to in many ways. I love how he uses his own personal experiences to back up his opinions. 

Hope to have more information as I continue to read the book.