Whacked-Out, Bible Reading Out loud Guy!

Typically I have kept the focus of this blog on recovery and healing from sexual assault and what that entails and is like on a daily basis. I have been somewhat reluctant to really share my spiritual beliefs, though they are a critical part of my daily life because I don't want to push anyone away who may be seeking info on recovery and or healing from rape. I like many other addicts and survivors really disliked and mis-trusted Christianity , all religions really so whenever the subject came up...WOOOSH...I was outta-there!

But it is part of my life and I increasingly find the need to share some aspect of that. I personally think a healthy and active spiritual life is critical to recovery and that is regardless of whether you are Native American, Muslim, Jew, Christian or don't believe in anything at all. I just have seen too many people go back out and start drinking and drugging again because they think they can handle this on their own...rarely is the outcome, in my experience....good. More often then not, it's FATAL.

So you will find as I have in the past, an increased amount of posts related to the subject of spirituality...please understand that this is  what works for me. And that is what this blog was created for...to share what MY LIFE is like and what happened to ME. I am not trying to shove my beliefs down anyone's throat...you are free to find your own way...and if that way may be what you are reading from me and you have questions...then please email me at thormoo1016@gmail.com and feel free to ask me anything. Now all that being said....that means I'm going to post about spiritual things this morning and something I found that has helped me along the way.

So.....Sorry folks, the "Whacked-Out, Reading The Bible Out Loud Guy" is actually in charge of posting on the blog this morning...hope that doesn't scare Y'all away!

Actually this post is probably directed more at people that haven't read the bible and would kind of like to try but every time they do they get bogged down in it and never get very far....I'll explain what I mean.

Long before I was a Christian, I wanted to read the Bible...I wanted to see for myself what was in there....I did not trust what other people SAID was in there I wanted to read it for myself. But I' d always start at the very beginning (Genesis 1) and frankly it bored me to death and never really made any sense anyway plus it was long and tedious....so I quit trying to read it after a short period of time. I stayed away from discussing this or anything about Scripture with anyone else because I didn't want to be pressured about joining or believing....my faith was truly personal.

The way that I was able to break through that difficulty was two-fold....I read the gospels first in the New Testament and it was through the lens of the New Testament that I started to understand the Old Testament. Most importantly for me I started to read the Bible out loud for a group of Seniors at an assisted living home. Reading out loud changed everything for me about understanding the Bible...

I'm not suggesting that this will work for everyone but the point is that if it isn't working for you one way, then shift gears and try something different. If you have a significant other...read to each other or perhaps one of you prefers reading to the other...go for it. That is how I came to read the Bible all the way through, now several times over. And there is definitely something dynamic about reading or hearing it read out loud...it comes alive and his intensely three dimensional. You can start to picture it, feel it almost taste it.

Honestly I'm not sure it would have made any difference in changing my spiritual life then, I suspect it wouldn't have but I would have had a better understanding of the TRUE nature of Christianity...and that would have certainly helped me.

The Bible is a profound book no matter who is reading it & why. And I believe today like Christians do that it is the WORD of God. But I think there is benefit in anyone reading it, particularly if you dislike Christians or Christianity. For me...my dislike and mistrust of Christians was NOT based on the Bible but on stereo-types and distortions of the religious side of Christianity. Once I read the Bible...I understood that I was completely wrong about what Following God was all about.

Finding out what God was all about changed my life in a very positive and profound  way...perhaps it may for you too.