Let's Get Started!

Welcome to this ambitious project of mine, where I will read the entire Bible in the course of a year and record my thoughts and musings weekly. I’m pretty excited about this idea; I've been kicking it around for months, and any time I act on a cool idea it makes me feel like there’s hope for me after all. I got the idea when I picked up my old Bible while moving to a new apartment and realized it’d been 10 years since I read the whole thing. That got me thinking: How would I react to the Bible now? Even though I’m a very different person, revisiting these pages will be much like revisiting an old friend, and that’s another reason I’m looking forward to this project. Also, it’s been a long time since I blogged on a regular basis, but I figured this project would help me stay engaged, while at the same time the blog would help me stick with the reading – especially while I’m plowing through the more tedious sections (I’m looking at you, Leviticus).

Now for some ground rules: I am an atheist, but I’m not here to convert/lead astray anyone, only to share my thoughts and feelings. Therefore, I’d appreciate it if you’d take the same approach when commenting.

For example, when I read Genesis, I’ll probably think something along the lines of, “Man, I can’t believe I used to believe the world was made in six days!” I may share memories of church or youth group, maybe bring up a book I read once on creationism. But should I decide to write about that, I won’t go into detail on the science or throw a huge rant calling creationists stupid. If I do, you’re welcome to call me out on it. I very much want to stay on the theme of “That was then, this is now” as it applies to my relationship with the Bible. Fellow atheists are welcome to chime in with something in the same vein so long as they stay away from argument and name-calling, and Christians are also welcome to bring up their own experiences with the passage I’m documenting at that time. If I need to clarify something or make factual errors, please let me know. I’m also open to suggestions; I really want this to go smoothly and for everyone who comes across this blog to enjoy themselves and keep coming back.

I’m afraid I won’t be able to engage in much conversation via the comments because, for those of you who may not know, the Bible is a really big book. That means I’ll have to stay focused on reading if I want any chance of completing this project before February 2014. I’ve even taken the time to draw up a schedule so I can knock out the biggest assignment I’ve ever given myself in just a year. Updates will be on Fridays; I’m going to do my best to treat this like a real blog and not let it slide.

Well, I think that about covers it. I’m working on a spiritual biography, so be sure to check that out in the next few days. And with that, I’ll see you all with my first entry on Genesis on Friday!