The Bible

I read somewhere that the Bible is , year after year, on the best seller's list.

In my "about me" section, I state that I am not a religious man.

I was born Catholic and was hussled off to church, every Sunday as a youth, guided by my mother who I know  now was only following "standard operating procedure" for the son of an Irish and Italian in that era (1955 - 1965).  And I know this now because after receiving the crowning glory of "confirmation", my mother never got dressed up on Sundays any longer, and I was not forced to go to church.

And unlike school, I was never told that "not going" would get me in trouble. So , I was very happy to be over with religion.

When I surf through blogs in different categories, I will more often than not, encounter Bible related blogs, with stories of blessed lives, accompanied with passages from the Bible.  Some even have whole scriptures as the post for the day.

I would have to say, without hesitation, that the extent of my knowledge of the Bible would have to be whatever television shows or documentaries I have viewed during my lifetime, that had some religious content.  I have been to plenty of motels, during the time that they put Bibles in the night table drawer, and never once bothered to read a single passage.

So , here is my point to this blog post today.  I started to read an "online" English version of Genesis from page one.  I am assuming that what I selected is the beginning of the Bible.

Now, I am hoping  since I discovered that a huge segment of bloggers seem to have a genuine faith, that my many questions about passages from the Bible, be addressed and commented on from any objective and informed reader. 

My plan is to read a few pages of the "online English translation" of the Bible every day, and enter any queries in all my future blog posts.  I am also going to post what I think I learned from the pages I am reading.  Please comment on anything that you feel I might not be getting right. 

So, after my first readings, I am asking myself :
Why could man and woman live to be centuries old in the beginning?

And then I couldn't mentally grasp the meaning of this passage : 8:20 And Noah made an altar to the Lord, and from every clean beast and bird he made burned offerings on the altar.  What did he burn?

So far the Bible is interesting, and what I am reading seems like general knowledge that I accumlated through the years from TV.  Just those couple of questions above are presenting me with belief issues.

I am going into this Bible reading thing with an open mind and the premise that I should take what I read "in good faith" that it really happened that way.