The Bible is a treasure trove, rich and deep! Among all the books, this is the Book with a capital letter. Its literary forms include poetry, prose, law, letters, biographies, psalms, histories, and prophecies. It was written by kings, peasants, lawyers, fishermen, a doctor and a tax collector.
The regions in which its authors lived covered the entire known world at that time, from Babylon to Italy. Its parts differ from each other in literary style, origin of the author, place and time of writing. However, its theme remains unchanged.
The Bible is the very Word of God, breathed out (2 Tim. 3:16) over a period of 1600 years - beginning with Moses, God's greatest prophet, and ending with the Apostle John (A.D. 96). It was confirmed 300 years later (in 397 A.D.) at a Council held in Carthage in North Africa.
The Bible, being a revelation of God, is extremely profound. On the surface it contains simple doctrines, but deep and important truths are hidden in the depths. The doctrines of the Bible are easy to learn, but it takes more grace to understand the deeper truths revealed in the Bible. For example, in In. 1:29 says that the Lord Jesus died on the cross as the Lamb of God to bear our sins for our redemption. All true Christians know this. However, in the same Gospel, chapter 12 v. 24 it is revealed that the Lord also died as a grain of wheat, falling to the ground, in order to release His life, to multiply and become many grains for the formation of His Body (1 Cor. 10:17), that is, the Church (Eph. 1:23). We may not have seen these depths of God before (1 Cor. 2:10).
The whole Bible is the Book of Life, and this Life is none other than the Divine and Living Person, Christ Jesus himself, who is our portion (1 Cor. 1:9; Col. 1:12). The Bible is the revelation of Christ as life. When we turn to the Bible, we must always realize that we are about to touch Christ as our life.
We should not turn to the Bible without turning to the Lord. When we open the Bible, we should say, “Lord Jesus, You must be here. This is not just a book, this is Your revelation. I don't want to hear anything from this Book without hearing You. I don't want to read this Book without seeing You. I want to see your face. On these pages I want to see what You are like. O Lord Jesus, fill Your Word with light and anoint every line so that I can touch You.” We need such a spirit to speak to this living Word.
When we come to the Divine Word, almost our entire being is involved. We must come with a heart that seeks God, with a clear, sober mind and an open spirit. If we open our spirit to God and His Word, then between the lines we can touch God Himself. We not only read with our eyes, understand with our minds, and seek with our hearts, but we also touch God in our spirit. If we engage our whole being in this way, we not only receive revelation, but the Divine element revealed and presented by His Word will be transmitted into our spirit. In Eph. 6:17-18 says we need to receive “the Word of God...by all prayer and supplication, praying at all times in the Spirit.” We must accept the word of the Bible not only by reading and studying, but also “through all prayer.” We must read and study the Bible prayerfully, that is, we must exercise our spirit and contact the Lord through prayer and reading the Divine Word.
Understanding the Bible requires spiritual maturity in life. Understanding the Bible is directly proportional to the maturity of life. When our spiritual measure of life grows to a certain extent, then our understanding of the Bible will reach the same level. We cannot understand certain passages in the Bible in our present spiritual stage of life, but when we grow to a certain extent, our eyes will be opened. Therefore, when we read the Bible, we should not worry about those passages that we do not understand. We should simply take those passages that we understand and turn them into prayer or memorize them. As we grow, we will understand more and more.
The Bible is Divine revelation. It reveals to us not only God, but also God's plan. If we want to see God's plan, we must come to the Divine Book, the Holy Bible. The center of God's eternal plan is man. According to the Bible and scientific data, man is the center of the universe. The universe consists of the heavens, the earth and millions of different things created by God, including the sun, that is, the center of our solar system, but the center of the universe is man. If there were no human life on earth, there would be no meaning in the universe.
The Bible says in Genesis 1 that God first created the heavens and then the earth. Then He began to create what belongs to the lowest unconscious form of life - plant life. Following this, God created animals because animal life is a higher life with consciousness. In the end, God created human life as the highest life of all creation.
MAN IS AN EXPRESSION AND REPRESENTATIVE OF GOD.
Man is the center and meaning of the universe, because God completely entrusted His plan to man. God did not rely on any other of the millions of creations. After He created the heavens and the earth, God arranged for Himself a conference between the three Persons of the Godhead: Father, Son and Spirit. Genesis 1:26 says, “And God said, Let us create...”. Notice the word “Let us create” used in the plural. There is only one God, but God said, “Let us create.” From this it is clear that a meeting took place in the Godhead. God said: “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.” At this meeting of the Divine, it was decided to create man in His image and likeness.
The second half in Genesis 1:26 reads, “And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Here it is shown that at the meeting of the Divine it was decided not only to create man in God's image, but also to give man Divine power, dominion over all living beings. In addition, God gave man the power to rule the earth and even conquer and conquer the earth (Gen. 1:28).
CHRIST AS OUR LIFE AND LIFE SUPPLIES.
In Gen. 1 we see man having God's image and God's dominion. Then in Gen. 2 we see the tree of life (v. 9). As we read the Bible, we learn that the tree of life is a symbol of Christ. Christ is the tree of life. In In. 1:4 says, “In Him (Christ) was life,” and in John. 10:10 Christ says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.” In In. 14:6 Jesus said, “I am life.” In In. 15 He said that He is a vine. Christ is the tree and the life. Therefore, Christ is the tree of life.
Thus, besides these two words “image” and “dominion” there is another important word - “life”. For any business you need a corresponding life. If we want to express God and exercise God's authority, we need a life that can do this. Human life is neither suitable for expressing God nor for exercising God's authority. But human life is suitable to receive another life capable of expressing God and representing God. All animal life such as dog life, cat life or bird life are not suitable for accepting another life. God created them differently. But God created us in such a way that we can accept another life. This life is the eternal life of God Himself, that is, Christ.
God created us so that we have a human spirit (Job 32:8; 1 Thess. 5:23) - a receiving organ that allows us to receive God Himself as our own life (John 1:12; Col. 3:4). Human life is only fit to receive a more capable life, namely, eternal life (1 John 1:2). In 1 John 5:12 says that he who has the Son has life, but he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. It is a one of a kind life that signifies the tree of life. Ultimately, Christ came and presented Himself to His disciples as life. Christ is not only our life, but also what sustains life.
There is much in the realm of human life that we cannot do, but we can all breathe, drink and eat. We can breathe Christ (John 20:22), drink Christ (John 4:14; 7:37), and take Christ as our food (John 6:35, , ). Christ is air, breath; Christ is water, drink; and Christ is bread and food. God's intention is not at all for people to express Him on their own or to do things for Him on their own. God's intention is for us to express Him and do things for Him by accepting Christ as our life (Col. 3:4; John 6:57; 14:19). Thus, without Christ everything becomes empty. Without Christ everything is vanity. Man is the meaning of the universe, and Christ is the meaning of human life. Without Christ, man is devoid of content and reality. Man, like an empty vessel, needs Christ as the content. This is why we need to open ourselves to Christ and accept Him as our life. In addition, we need to understand that today Christ is the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). He is the living Spirit who is with us all the time. He is the present, active, accessible and instantaneous Spirit. Just enjoy Him. He is your life and your content.
Bible in RuNet. (Brief Analytical Review)
The Holy Scriptures are the foundation for any Christian. In addition, the Bible is a closed corpus of texts (although its exact composition is not entirely the same in different denominations), which exists in many electronic versions, including with commentaries and additional reference materials. All this makes posting biblical texts online relatively simple and convenient. Therefore, as is not difficult to expect, Christian resources on the Internet pay great attention to it. The Russian-language sector of the Internet (Runet) follows the general trend in this regard.
Here we will look at what biblical resources already exist in RuNet, how they can be used, and what is still missing in RuNet. The sites will be divided into conditional categories. Although it is rare that a resource performs a single task, it is usually possible to determine its main function or role (roughly speaking, why it is worth going to this site). It is based on this main function that our classification is carried out.
It is simply impossible to describe absolutely all Russian-language sites on which the Bible is presented in one way or another. The purpose of this review is to give an idea of all the main resources: independent, original, visited. In addition, in this review I deliberately do not touch upon purely Jewish sites, even if they are of some interest (for example, comments and translations https://www.geula.co.ua/shop/tora-tanah-proroki-pisaniya.html ), and especially Muslim ones (like https://members.tripod.com/abdullah.abdulvahab/Articles/quest_2.htm), because they are intended for a different audience, to which this review is not addressed at all. Here I am limiting myself to Christian or relatively neutral resources, except those that are too general (for example, https://ru.wikipedia.org).
At the end of the review, some conclusions will be given about how the Bible is presented in RuNet and what are the most promising and popular areas for further development.
Bible Reading Sites
1. The undisputed leader of the biblical RuNet can be considered the
Bible Center (https://www.bible-center.ru).
By the way, it is not limited to the Russian version - it can be read in English and even in French, although it is not very clear why - there are already a huge number of English resources dedicated to the Bible, and the French audience clearly differs from the Russian one in their interests and expectations. The basis of the site is daily updated Bible passages in five reading cycles: Orthodox and Catholic lectionaries, as well as three reading cycles of the Society of Friends of the Holy Scriptures. These passages are accompanied by short reflections or sermons, always anonymous. Readers can submit their own reflections to the site's editors, and they may be published, possibly in edited form, at the editor's discretion. It should be noted that this is the only site that offers this feedback option.
The site has a fairly simple, but convenient and functional search engine for the biblical text in three Russian translations (Synodal and two New Testaments, Cassian and “Good News”) and selected versions in other languages. There is also a very small library, composed of very different books and articles, apparently according to the personal tastes of the site’s editors (no specific system can be found in it). Also on the site there are about one and a half hundred questions and answers on the biblical text.
The content of the site, apparently, was formed quite a long time ago and is updated extremely rarely; it is automatically rotated daily. News is stated, but in fact absent. The latest news on the site is the announcement of the 2009 conference, the previous one is the announcement of a similar conference in 2006, there are no other news for these three years (although the same conferences are held annually).
The site is very convenient to use for those who want to regularly and according to a certain system read the Bible and reflect on it. The site is also quite suitable for searching words and expressions in Russian or other modern translations of the Bible.
2. The Bible online (https://jesuschrist.ru/bible) contains the text of the Synodal Translation, a search engine (the same as on the Bible Center), the ability to download some free programs (for example, “Quote from the Bible”) to read the Bible without an internet connection.
3. Bible (https://www.rusbible.ru) - a simple site with the Synodal translation and a very simple search engine.
4. Super Book - Navigator (https://superbook.org/index_ru.htm) - a navigator that displays various Russian translations and reference materials online. The design is minimalist; the user is asked to understand the program’s functions and the characteristics of the materials independently. Today the site engine is hopelessly outdated, but this is one of the few examples of an attempt to create a customizable user interface (and not just a static page with one chapter of one book of Scripture).
5. The nameless and completely devoid of design site at https://www.romkor.ru is another example of a completely primitive, but still unique engine for the RuNet. It offers a convenient tool for working with Strong's numbers (they allow a reader who does not speak the original languages to see which words in the original correspond to which Russian word of the Synodal Translation). The site also has a lexicon and a fairly functional search engine, both focused on working with Strong's numbers.
6. Bible projects (https://www.bible.in.ua) - a completely original site that offers its own Greek-Russian interlinear translation of the Bible (including the Greek text for the Old Testament) in PDF format. On the same site you can download various versions of this interlinear (WAP, Java, modules for the “Quotes from the Bible” program, see point 2 above, some other programs (for example, the Koran with a symphony or a program for testing your knowledge of the Bible)) and a number notes from the site's compiler A. Vinokurov.
7. Bible illustrated with icons (https://biblia.okis.ru) - the name of the site speaks for itself. On it you can download (but not read online) beautifully designed biblical texts in Church Slavonic with icons as illustrations. There is a gallery of icons, lives of saints and other materials. An obvious drawback of the site is the need to download materials in order to read them.
Libraries of reference and scientific materials
1. The library of Ruslan Khazarzar (https://barnascha.narod.ru/books) is perhaps the brightest, richest and at the same time unusual collection of books on biblical studies and related disciplines in RuNet. It collects and correctly classifies a considerable number of original texts from the tale of Gilgamesh to the Koran (they are provided with introductions and sometimes comments, presented in the original language or in Russian translation, i.e. any publication is made of very high quality). In addition, the library contains many scientific and critical works on biblical studies, including the works of R. Khazarzar himself (we will not discuss them now, we will only say that his views are quite original and do not completely coincide with traditional Christianity). The site is made simply, but conveniently and functionally.
2. The website of the Department of Biblical Studies at the MDA (https://www.bible-mda.ru), of course, is dedicated primarily to the life of the department. At the same time, the site contains an impressive and completely original library, which includes almost exclusively the works of pre-revolutionary Russian biblical scholars (this is the majority of it) and current employees of the department. The library is conveniently organized and well structured. Also on the site you can find links to other resources, an overview of Bible programs and links to them.
3. Russian Bible (https://biblia.russportal.ru) - a site containing the Synodal translation, a large number of materials on the history of its creation, other old translations, the Lopukhin Explanatory Bible, etc. The peculiarity of this site is that absolutely all texts are typed in pre-revolutionary spelling. The site structure is logical and navigation is convenient.
4. Sinai (https://www.sinai.spb.ru) - personal website of the priest. D. Yurevich, which houses, in addition to his own works, a collection of various materials on biblical studies. The website of the Department of Biblical Studies of the Moscow Academy of Sciences (see above), which appeared later, essentially took over the baton of this personal website, and now it is no longer updated.
5. Bee. The website of Orthodox exegesis (https://www.beebible.narod.ru) is a small collection of various kinds of exegetical materials in Russian and foreign languages, prepared under the leadership of Archpriest. G. Fasta. Amateur design.
6. The Bible and Christianity (https://www.magister.msk.ru/library/bible/bible.htm) - a small library made in a minimalist style, including various biblical translations and other materials.
7. Theology and Life (https://theologian.msk.ru) - A. Komelev’s personal website with his own and some other notes that do not pretend to be of great depth and thoroughness, but are sometimes interesting.
8. The library of the publishing house “Bibleist” (https://www.bibleist.ru/biblio.php) is a fairly large but heterogeneous collection of books and articles on the Bible that have different values. There you can also order books published by the publishing house itself.
9. Biblical studies. Russian Pages (https://www.biblicalstudies.ru) is a medium-sized library on biblical studies and other disciplines, apparently compiled without any particular principle. The articles are predominantly in English.
10. Heritage College (https://www.nasledie-college.narod.ru/read.htm) publishes reports made at Bible readings in memory of Fr. What about me. The rest of the site's materials are dedicated directly to the college. There are not many materials on the site, but they are original and the quality of publications (mostly in PDF format) is high.
11. The ABC of Faith offers a small, but very high-quality and well-structured selection of isagogical and apologetic texts about the Bible (https://azbyka.ru/hristianstvo/bibliya/index.shtml), as well as the text of the Bible itself. Most of these materials can be found on other sites. Navigation is convenient.
12. Portal Tradition (https://www.predanie.ru/mp3) offers audio recordings of the Russian text of the Bible in the Synodal and some other translations.
13. The magazine “Foma” (https://www.foma.ru/articles/foma/cerkov_hristova/mir_biblii) offers an electronic archive of some of its publications on biblical topics, but it does not include all the articles published in the paper version. There you can also find podcasts (audio recordings) of the same focus, but there are very few of them (https://www.foma.ru/podcasts/mir_biblii).
14. Dmitry Dobykin’s Library (https://www.sravnika.narod.ru) is a small and not very conveniently organized collection of texts (mainly from Russia in the 19th century) on biblical and near-biblical topics.
15. Yakov Krotov’s library (https://www.krotov.info) offers, among other things, interesting materials on biblical studies. The files themselves are often raw scans of book pages, but the library has an excellent catalog with various indexes and a system of cross-references that make it easy and quick to find everything that interests the reader. This is the most convenient and logical system for presenting books and articles of all those mentioned in this review. Unfortunately, the library is updated quite rarely and reflects, first of all, the interests of its compiler, so it is difficult to count on completeness of coverage.
16. There are also personal websites of individual Russian biblical scholars, for example, Fr. I. Pavlov (https://www.inn-pavlov.narod.ru/index.htm) and A. Desnitsky (https://desnitsky.ru/andrei.htm), on which some of their works are posted. However, these sites are made at an amateur level, and not all the works of these authors are published there. Separately, it is worth mentioning the beautifully designed website of D. Shchedrovitsky (https://shchedrovitskiy.ru), a very original author with his own system of views, which differs from both traditional Christianity and secular science. This site contains his works not only on biblical studies.
The text of the Bible, as well as individual books and articles about it, can be found on many websites of a general Christian or Orthodox nature (for example, https://www.bogoslovy.ru), as well as in many network libraries of a general humanitarian nature (for example, https://www. gumer.info). There is no need to list all such sites; moreover, the materials there are usually duplicated on other sites.
News
Perhaps the only site that tracks news in the field of biblical studies is the Theologian portal (https://bogoslov.ru). It would seem that the text of the Bible has remained unchanged for many centuries, and there is no news to be expected here. Nevertheless, if the Bible remains the focus of attention of Christians and not only Christians, some events are constantly connected with it, and talking about them can be interesting and instructive. As for this portal, biblical topics are not its main profile, so the selection of news is to some extent random and incomplete, but there are no other sites where biblical news is tracked at all.
In addition, on this portal you can find various materials related to the Bible, many of which are original. But while these materials are quite small, the classification is sometimes questionable (for example, the article “The Anthropological Significance of the Mysticism of Light in the Apostle Paul” is classified in the “Textology” section; the article “Russian Translations of the Old Testament of the Mid-19th Century” is classified in the “Biblical History” section). If in the future the library of this portal increases, it should think about a more accurate classification and thematic catalog for the “library” menu section.
Communities of interest
1. Bible section on the Forum Fr. Andrey Kuraev (https://kuraev.ru/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=63&board=113.0) is the most interesting and diverse at the moment, but far from the only example of discussing biblical issues on Christian forums. It makes no sense to mention all the forums that have a section dedicated to the Bible, but a few words can be said about the specifics of this format. The forum allows you to feel the mood of the audience, receive feedback, etc. On the other hand, communication on the forum as such takes a lot of effort and time and often takes place at the level of personal skirmishes, not allowing serious subjects to be discussed in a calm atmosphere. Apparently, the forum is good for finding out the mood of people, their attitude towards various issues, but it is better to discuss serious issues in other places, for example, on blogs (see below).
At the same time, in this section of the Kuraev forum, the only attempt known to me was made to collect a systematic, annotated and updated list of biblical resources on the Runet (https://kuraev.ru/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=63&topic=121317.0), which, of course, very helpful.
2. Biblical history (https://community.livejournal.com/bibleist) - a community on Live Journal, organized by R. Khazarzar (see above). As is usual in this environment, you can find anything there, but in general it is an interesting platform for the exchange of opinions and news, primarily of an academic nature.
3. Ancient Judaism (https://community.livejournal.com/drevnij_iudaizm) - an even more academic community; its interests include both the Old and New Testaments, but it views them rather as historical documents.
4. Study of Scripture (https://community.livejournal.com/ru_bible_) - this community is intended, rather, for live and direct Christian communication.
5. Bible Students (https://www.biblestudent.ru) - a very small blog dedicated to various issues of Bible study and translation. There are still very few materials, and they appear rather slowly. There are practically no discussions on the blog; apparently, it is simply not known to anyone.
Websites for distributing books and programs
1. Slavic Bible (https://sbible.boom.ru) - a site for selling software products, primarily the original development of the site’s author, the “Slavic Bible” itself. In addition to it, on the site you can order various other programs and collections of electronic books, mainly scanned Western publications (I will not consider questions about copyright and licensing purity of all these products now). The program itself is constantly evolving, new modules are posted on the site, but you can only use them if you have the program itself. Among other materials, the site contains a scanned version of the Explanatory Bible, edited by. Lopukhin, there is an opportunity to subscribe to the “Questions of Biblical Studies” mailing list. The site is useful primarily for those who use the Slavic Bible program or who want to look at the text of the Lopukhin Explanatory Bible (but this is far from the only place where it is posted).
2. The Bible and Russia (https://www.bible.ru) - the site of a program that has not been updated for a long time, which acted as a kind of competitor to the Slavic Bible. The site contains the electronic text of the Bible in Russian and the program itself, nothing else.
3. Another Slavic Bible (https://www.ipmce.su/~lib/bible.html) is a completely independent program, despite the coincidence of names, and it’s free. Offers the text of the Bible in Church Slavonic, both online (PDF format) and as a simple downloadable program.
4. Electronic Bible (https://ibt.org.ru/russian/bible/info_bible.htm) - a program for reading and printing biblical texts in different translations, downloaded for free, supplemented with various modules. There you can also download translations of the Bible into the languages of the peoples of the former USSR (both in PDF format and for this program), prepared at the Institute of Bible Translation. This page is part of the website of the Institute of Bible Translation (https://ibt.org.ru), where you can find a lot of materials devoted to the translation of Scripture into these languages. It also announced the imminent appearance of a version of the program for mobile phones.
5. The website of the Russian Bible Society (https://www.biblia.ru) allows you to get an idea of the books that are sold there and the translations that are carried out there. Some of these translations can be downloaded in PDF format.
6. The website of the Biblical Theological Institute (https://www.standrews.ru) allows you to familiarize yourself with the books published by this institute and order them.
Conclusions and prospects
So, we can say that there are indeed quite a few biblical resources on the RuNet. All major published translations into Russian are presented, as well as the main Russian commentary - the Lopukhin Explanatory Bible (and in different versions, from scanned pages to text format in the old and new orthographies). A lot of articles and reference materials have been posted. But it is absolutely impossible to say that the network already has everything you need.
On the contrary, only a period of “primary accumulation of material” passes: individuals scan or copy what seems interesting to them, and then post these materials in a more or less successful and convenient design. In essence, this process is similar to arranging books and photocopies on shelves. But in the biblical RuNet there are so far few attempts to use the network not just as a kind of repository of electronic texts, but as a special environment with its own capabilities and requirements. Even without talking about such things as the Web 2.0 methodology (see https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%B5%D0%B1_2.0), we can wonder: what, really, What is missing in the biblical RuNet, but what is already presented in it in sufficient quantities?
1. Truly interactive Bible text
There are many sites on the RuNet where you can download or read the biblical text. But there is still no truly interactive text of the Bible that would allow the user to open one or several translations simultaneously in a convenient form, with the possibility of a variety of contextual clues and comments, with transition to parallel passages and reference materials (and vice versa, with the ability to move from reference materials to the biblical text). Some sites (Bible Center, Super-Book Navigator) contain a few basic elements of such a system. A similar integrated system already exists on the English-language Internet; this is, first of all, Net Bible (see https://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=4269). There are similar programs for working offline, and, apparently, such a system would be the most promising step. As far as I know, something similar is currently being developed by the team of the Predaniye portal (https://predanie.ru).
It could become the basis for different sites that would access a single and constantly updated database, generating pages for visitors to this site through their interface. New modules could be connected to this database as they appear: Bible texts in different languages and various kinds of reference materials. As a result, it would be possible to obtain a truly interactive text of the Bible, where the text would be presented in different versions, provided with comments and notes, and links would lead to maps, dictionaries, articles, interpretations, and works of art on a given topic.
This seems to me to be the main task for the future.
2. Updating the Scriptures
Another, no less important task is updating Scripture for the modern reader. Yes, he can read the text itself and some commentary on it, but will he find any connection between this text and his own life?
We are talking, first of all, about helping modern man to form, on the basis of Scripture, his own vision of the world, in agreement with Church Tradition and at the same time corresponding to modern realities, to awaken in him a keen interest in Scripture as a source of Truth, to teach him to read and understand the Bible, be guided by the Word of God in your thoughts and actions. To do this, you need to talk in an intelligible and attractive manner about issues that people really care about.
In the West, this movement, often called Scripture Engagement, already exists (see https://www.bible.org, https://www.scripture-engagement.org). Of course, in the Russian environment, Western models in their original form do not work well; they must be adapted to local conditions, but a closer acquaintance with this experience will clearly not hurt us. Of the existing sites in RuNet, practically no one works in this direction, although individual materials on this topic can be found in many places.
In addition, updating involves immersion in the news flow. Of course, new books do not appear in the Bible, but new translations, studies, works of fiction on biblical subjects are constantly being published, conferences and lectures are being held. All this can and should be announced and discussed.
3. Communication environment
Interactivity also implies the possibility of feedback. Currently, of all the biblical sites, only Bible Center allows visitors to express their opinions about this or that passage of the Bible, but even there such comments are edited and published anonymously (this is the principle position of the site). In all other cases, users can write letters to the site administration or leave entries in guest books and on forums (in those rare cases when they exist). This is unlikely to be enough for a person to truly feel a sense of belonging to the biblical text and to those who study it.
Apparently, various forms of interactive discussion of the Bible should be developed (subject to moderation, of course), and should not be limited to general Christian forums or blogs due to their unique specificity. However, there are also examples of fairly successful communication on forums and blogs, and you should not neglect them.
I believe that such a discussion should be authored and not anonymous. Network discussions between specialists should also be encouraged or even organized, as the Internet offers unique opportunities in this regard. As for ordinary people interested in the Bible, their contribution can be very significant: they identify relevant and interesting topics, they can collect and systematize existing materials, etc. In general, the emergence of a full-fledged environment for communication on the topic of Scripture should lead to some blurring of the boundary between “experts” and “users,” because each of us is partly an expert and partly an ignoramus. Some analogue of such a platform for successful communication at the proper level can be a professional translators forum (https://www.trworkshop.net/forum).
4. Materials on biblical studies
Books, articles and reference materials are currently presented in RuNet in very small quantities, and this despite the fact that different people have gigabytes, if not terabytes of this kind of materials in their hands (mostly we are talking about scans or copies from Western publications, but there are and original Russian works). But they, as a rule, are completely heterogeneous, not classified, not indexed, not annotated in any way, and posting them on the network in this form is simply pointless. In addition, problems with copyright will immediately arise: most of these materials can be used for yourself, but cannot be posted online.
By the way, with the current levels of search engines, it no longer makes much difference which site a particular book or article appears on; it is important that it appears, and a user who knows its title and author can easily find it even in a completely unfamiliar place. Therefore, any sites where one or another person collects a personal collection of articles make sense only if this collection is quite well structured and designed (for example, the library of R. Hazarzar). Otherwise, there is no point in wasting time on publishing already published material.
But this, of course, only applies to those cases when a person knows in advance what exactly to look for. In most situations, he is looking for material on some issue, which he cannot even always clearly formulate. Such a person needs a competent and detailed catalog with various indexes (for example, the library of Ya. Krotov).
Therefore, it seems reasonable to me to move in two directions. The first is the creation of a well-structured library (or several libraries, but based on common principles and mutually compatible), where the most interesting materials would be laid out in a clearly systematized, convenient form. These materials should ideally be integrated into the database discussed in point 1. Such a library should strictly follow copyright rules.
Secondly, it would be necessary to create some kind of environment for exchanging files (via anonymous file hosting services) with professional materials (scans of scientific articles and reference manuals, etc.) for those who want to engage in biblical studies, but do not have constant access to Western libraries - and this applies to all biblical scholars living in Russia. If such a platform is unofficial, and the files are used strictly individually, then a fairly liberal attitude towards distribution rights is possible, which in our conditions, unfortunately, is inevitable. In any case, a single, public and constantly updated catalog of such resources will be very useful.
In conclusion, I would like to express the hope that the biblical RuNet is now truly emerging from the infancy of its first steps in order to truly become a full-fledged and completely independent environment for the study of the Word of God and related communication.
CHRIST AS OUR PERSON.
In In. 15:4 The Lord says: “Abide in Me, and I in you.” You, as a person, abide in Christ, and He, as a Person, abides in you. Christ is a Person. He is not just strength, strength, power or life, but a Personality. A tree has life inside, but the tree is not a person. The engine has power within, but the engine is not a personality. Christ is not only life and power for us, but also an indwelling person (John 15:4, ; 14:23). In Eph. 3:17 a says, “...so that Christ, through faith, may make a home for Himself in your hearts.” A person needs a home. Christ wants to make a home for Himself in our hearts. This means that Christ, who makes His home in our hearts, is a Person. God's intention is that we humans accept Christ as our person. This means that we need to live not by ourselves, but by Christ as our person (Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:20-21; John 6:57; 14:19).
When we accept Christ as our person, it simply means that we love Him. We say to Him, “Oh Lord Jesus, You are so sweet and capable. Therefore, Lord, I simply forget about myself and accept You as my person.” If we accept Christ as our identity, we will naturally express God and represent God.
Where to begin?
If you are just beginning to get acquainted with the Bible and have the Restoration Translation of the New Testament with Footnotes, we recommend that you first read the two short articles located at the end of this edition: “The Meaning of Human Life” and “The Bible is a Treasure House.” This will help you get a general understanding of what the Bible is and what this Book says.
After this, read one of the four Gospels with which the New Testament begins. The first Gospel, the Gospel of Matthew, tells about Jesus Christ, who is the Savior-King who came to call sinners to the kingdom of heaven. The second Gospel, the Gospel of Mark, is the shortest; it shows Jesus Christ as the Slave Savior who came to serve God and people. The Gospel of Luke presents us with a Man-Savior living a proper and normal human life. In the Gospel of John we see Jesus Christ as the Savior-God coming as life to man.
See the article Where to start reading?
GOD'S PLAN IS TO FIND THE CHURCH.
According to the divine revelation of the Bible, the church is directly related to God's eternal purpose. God is a God of design. This is not the God of nonsense. This is not a meaningless God. According to revelation and pattern in the New Testament, the church is the assembly of believers in Christ whom God has called out of the world. Such a congregation is viewed on the one hand as the house of the living God (1 Tim. 3:15), in which God dwells and carries out His will according to His will and for His pleasure, and on the other hand as the organic Body of Christ (Eph. 1: 22-23), which becomes the couple of Christ in organic union with God's new creation (Eph. 2:13-16; Col. 3:10; Gal. 6:15). There is one such church in the universe, which is the house of God and the Body of Christ, and it must be revealed and expressed on earth.
God's main purpose is to gain the church. As we have already seen, God created the heavens, the earth, and billions of other things, and then God created man for the church. Thus, the church is the ultimate center of the universe. This is in accordance with God's eternal purpose in Christ (Eph. 3:10-11).
Christian Library of God's Messages
There are 77 books in the Orthodox Bible, each of them tells about a certain period in the history of mankind and the formation of faith in the Creator. How to read the Bible correctly in order not only to be filled with historical information, but also to understand the meaning of God's revelations?
Orthodox Bible
You can get closer to the concept of God and learn His plan only from the Holy Scriptures.
Unlike Protestants, the Orthodox Church continues to study the Word of God, transmitted both in the Old and New Testaments, and through Traditions recorded from the oral memories of participants in those events. Since the 16th century, Protestants have abandoned the Sacred Traditions as not divinely inspired, for they were not written in Hebrew.
CHRIST DIED FOR THE CHURCH.
Christ not only loved us and died for us on the cross (Gal. 2:20), but also loved the church and died for the church. In Eph. John 5:25 says, “…just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it.” Christ loved the church - not just individual believers, but the corporate Body - and gave Himself for the church. According to Acts. 20:28 God purchased the church through His own blood. This shows the precious love of God for the church and how great the value of the church is in the eyes of God. From the pierced side of the Lord came two substances: blood and water (John 19:34). Blood is needed for atonement, to solve the problem of sins for the acquisition of the church, water is needed to impart life, to solve the problem of death for the production of the church.
THE ACHIEVEMENTS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF CHRIST ARE INTENDED FOR THE CHURCH.
In Eph. 1 says that Christ was raised from the dead and seated in the heavenly regions (v. 20). All things were put under His feet, and He was given to be the Head over all things for the church (v. 22). The resurrection of Christ, the ascension of Christ, the enthronement of Christ and the glorification of Christ are all for the church. All the main achievements and accomplishments of Christ: His death, resurrection, ascension, enthronement and glorification are intended for the church. All that Christ, the Head, has achieved and all that He has gained is transferred to the church, His Body. In this transmission the church shares with Christ all His accomplishments: the resurrection from the dead, His being seated in His exaltation, the subjection of all things under His feet, and the headship over all.
THE CHURCH IS CHRIST.
Also in 1 Cor. 12:12 reveals that the church is Christ. This verse says, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, although they are many, are one body, so is Christ.” When we say that the church is Christ, we do not mean the individual Christ, but the corporate Christ. This corporate Christ, which is the church, is the expression of the individual Christ. In the four Gospels we see the corporate Christ, the church. The Church is the sum of all saints together with Christ.
How many books are in the Orthodox Bible
The Orthodox Holy Scripture consists of 77 books, unlike the Protestant Bible, which has only 66 messages.
66 books are considered canonical, their texts were found in Jewish primary sources, 11 Old Testament books were translated from Greek, and their texts were questioned as inspired by God. The Old Testament in Orthodoxy consists of 50 books, 39 of which are recognized as having been written under the direction of God, for their texts are found in the Jewish Tanakh.
11 books written in Greek are considered non-canonical: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach, Epistle of Jeremiah, Baruch, second and third books of Ezra, three Maccabees books. Without these books it is impossible to imagine the historical and spiritual value of the Creator's revelations.
Ancient scroll
The 27 books of the New Testament that describe Jesus' earthly life are not controversial. They contain 4 Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, 19 Epistles of the Apostles and the Apocalypse.
THE CHURCH IS AN EXPRESSION OF CHRIST.
God designed the church to express Christ; therefore the church is an expression of Christ. But how can the church be an expression of Christ? How can the church express Christ? Only by being the Body of Christ.
If you look at yourself, you will realize that your body is your expression. Without the body we cannot express ourselves. In the same way, the church cannot express Christ without being His Body. Moreover, when we say that the body is an expression, we must understand that the body is always one with the head in life and nature. Our body has the same life and the same nature as our head. This shows that the church is one with Christ in life (1 John 5:11-12) and nature (2 Pet. 1:4). In other words, from the point of view of life and nature, Christ is the church. Christ is not only the head, but also the body, because the life of the body is Christ and the nature of the body is also Christ. The Body is Christ, and Christ is the Body.
Today the church is simply the Body for Christ—the Body that is produced from Christ and is a part of Christ. This is why in Eph. 1:22-23 says that the church is the Body, and the Body is the fullness of Christ. Christ is the One who fills everything and in everything. He is as great as the universe itself, and this universally great Christ needs a Body that would be His fullness, His expression. There is only one church in the entire universe as the Body of Christ, as the expression of Christ. Christ is a testimony, an expression of God, and the church is a testimony, an expression of Christ.
Why should Christians read the Bible?
The Holy Scriptures are God's revelations to people; in order to understand them, one should prepare to read the Bible. Even in monasteries, young novices are recommended, before studying the Holy Scriptures, to first read the traditions of the Church Fathers and the letters of the apostles in order to understand the essence of the matter.
The Bible is a mirror of human nature, and sometimes not everything it says is what people like. In this case, we should think about what is wrong in our lives, maybe the Creator wants to change our character in this way, awaken our conscience, reduce our pride, and all this only in order to bring us closer to Himself, to fill us with the Kingdom of God.
If a person does not want to hear the voice of the Creator, then he listens to the devil. There is no middle ground on this issue.
The church does not require memorizing biblical passages, but by regularly reading a particular text, exploring revelations on certain issues, such as love, obedience, faithfulness, healing, and others, writing down favorite passages, and there will certainly be some, people begin to quote them by heart. This does not require special memorization.
Regular reading of the Holy Epistles will eventually become a necessity and will fill you with spiritual strength. This process can be compared to the hard training of athletes who dream of becoming winners. There is no need to strive to embrace the immensity; you can read 1-2 chapters every day, preferably in the morning after prayer, in order to “drink” of living water, receiving God’s knowledge for the whole day.
Modern Christians should thank God for the grace given to have their own Bible, to freely read the Holy Scriptures every day, to go to church; under Soviet rule, this could lead to imprisonment. Truly, we have and do not value.
Daily reading of Holy Scripture in obedience will allow us to find in it God Himself and Jesus Christ, whose existence runs like a red thread through the Old and New Testaments.
By getting to know the Creator, Christians merge with Him into one whole, filling themselves with the Creator’s love. According to one priest, reading the Bible is like sailing in a small boat on a huge ocean.
Bible in Church Slavonic
FINAL WORD.
The Bible is the complete and complete Divine revelation about God and His plan for man. This God is triune: Father, Son and Spirit - and has one heart desire (Eph. 1:5,). According to the desire of His heart, God created an eternal plan, which is to make man like Himself in life and nature, to unite Himself with man and man with Himself (Eph. 1:10; 3:9). Thus, God created man in His image and likeness (Gen. 1:26-27) so that man would express and represent God.
Because man fell into sin, God in His incarnation became man in order to partake of human nature (Heb. 2:14); lived human life to express His qualities through human virtues; died an all-inclusive death to redeem man; and rose again to become the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45).
In the resurrection He gave Himself to His chosen people, to regenerate them with Himself as their life and life supply for the production of many sons (1 Pet. 1:3). From His believers, as His many sons, He formed the church, which is His very expression. As His believers enjoy Him, partake of Him, and are filled with Him as life, they grow and are constituted into the Body of Christ. May all the Lord's children who are redeemed by His blood and regenerated by His life see this supreme revelation and enter into His corporate expression.
