Paul said: give thyself to reading of the scriptures

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Willie T

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What scripture was Paul talking about?
And, to whom was he speaking? It was Timothy, not you or me. I know three quarters of a church full of people I would hate to have to sit and listen to them TRYING to struggle through publicly reading the Bible aloud.
 
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Helen

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1 Timothy 4:13 13Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.

My dad was 90 , the night he died we took him to his room (more like my hubby and I half dragged him , his legs gave out) I settled him down , he was on oxygen and in heart failure.

An hour later , when I came up the hall to check on him...I heard him gasping out Psalm 86 , his big old bible was in his hand ...he always read the bible aloud.
It is one of my sweetest memories. He died 4 hours later. ❤️
 

bbyrd009

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What scripture was Paul talking about?
The Old Testiment and such parts of the New that they had.
fwiw imo this is an assumption that the Bible does not bear out, even if this is what we are taught. "Scripture" surely had a diff meaning to Paul, and Paul can even be Quoted repeating much that was not within...those parameters, which essentially deny the existence of the many Roman and Greek gods in our Christian "Scripture."

Hades would be a good example I guess, who is "Hades?"
see, he was not invoked out of thin air, nor invented by Paul or any other believer
Hades has been made into Hell for us, but this is surely not what Hades meant to Paul, who was intimately aware of Hades' mythology.

So, should Hades' mythology now be admitted as "Scripture?" tht is up to you, but I suggest that if "...the gates of Hades will not overcome it" is true, a believer should at least be aware of what "the gates of Hades" represents, which is certainly not "Hell."
 
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Windmillcharge

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this is an assumption that the Bible does not bear out
They had the OT, they were Jews so would have that and as Peter says in 2Peter 3 they had Pauls letters .
The experts believe that Marks gospel was the first written so that they also could have.
 

bbyrd009

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They had the OT, they were Jews so would have that and as Peter says in 2Peter 3 they had Pauls letters .
The experts believe that Marks gospel was the first written so that they also could have.
who is "Hades?"
or the likely more pertinent, "are we having a conversation or not?"
wadr
 

Willie T

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If Paul wrote a letter to Timothy or one of the church groups in towns hundreds of miles apart, why in the world would we assume anyone else had that letter?
 
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bbyrd009

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And, to whom was he speaking? It was Timothy, not you or me. I know three quarters of a church full of people I would hate to have to sit and listen to them TRYING to struggle through publicly reading the Bible aloud.
I didn't get you here at first, but good point imo :)

we have contrasting passages that suggest that...others read privately--exclusively, even--for 3 years, huh
 

bbyrd009

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If Paul wrote a letter to Timothy or one of the church groups in towns hundreds of miles apart, why in the world would we assume anyone else had that letter?
hmm, imo the fact that we have it today answers that? Or at least I am persuaded to believe that Paul was quite well known and respected in his day, ergo that his correspondence would be disseminated?

or to maybe rephrase, "why in the world do we have so many faithful copies of this letter?"
 
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Willie T

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I used to go to a very boring Bible Study where the leader had every one of about 20 men read, in turn. Only about four of us could capably read out loud, and it was total torture to sit and listen to the rest of them butchering the book. I finally just quit going. They probably got nothing out of their readings, and the rest of us certainly didn't.
 
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Willie T

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hmm, imo the fact that we have it today answers that? Or at least I am persuaded to believe that Paul was quite well known and respected in his day, ergo that his correspondence would be disseminated?

or to maybe rephrase, "why in the world do we have so many faithful copies of this letter?"
Copies of all those separate letters finally existed after probably decades. But they did not have stenographers at each church to make copies, nor Postal Service or e-mail to facilitate distribution. Shoot, it took more than three hundred years to finally collect enough to make a book called the Bible.
 
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Willie T

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Paul was writing a letter to Timothy, so he was addressing only those Scriptures that existed at the time.... especially since Paul told him to do that until such time as he arrived in his town.

Letters the various Apostles wrote were not yet designated "Scripture" at that time.
 
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farouk

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My dad was 90 , the night he died we took him to his room (more like my hubby and I half dragged him , his legs gave out) I settled him down , he was on oxygen and in heart failure.

An hour later , when I came up the hall to check on him...I heard him gasping out Psalm 86 , his big old bible was in his hand ...he always read the bible aloud.
It is one of my sweetest memories. He died 4 hours later. ❤️
Psalm 86:

Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy.

2 Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.

3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.

4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

6 Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.

7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.

8 Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.

9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.

10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.

11 Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.

12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.

13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.

15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

16 O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.

17 Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, Lord, hast holpen me, and comforted me.