Gotcha... so even IF "J" didn't exist yet, then where is this other Law that David talks about?

Just playing devil's advocate here, but couldn't the writer of Leviticus (under the JEDP theory) have seen all this stuff about "The Law" in the OT and decided he was going to write something after the fact that just LOOKED canonical (ala Gospel of Thomas, etc.)?

Thanks Clover!

Slacker.

I thought you guys were talking about the Billy Idol song.

I usually don't cry out to God until AFTER the seven layer burrito.

Harsh but true... though I'm not sure I entirely agree with the line about going to a church that will kick you out. I do, however, agree with the general sentiment that they need to call out sin and keep their members accountable. I wish my church was better about this.

While I'll tend to read whatever version is in front of me at the time, my preference is to hop onto BibleGateway.com and hop back and forth between a literal and a paraphrase version. Usually this means NIV and The Message. NIV because it's the obligatory literal translation (though I'm not otherwise attached to it; if you have better recommendations, lemme hear 'em), and The Message, because I love the plain English way it puts things (I often find myself finally understanding passages I didn't quite 'get' in other versions, as well as looking at old familiars in a whole new light).

The reason for this is because I find that sometimes literal versions will lose important ideas in the translation over to English, and paraphrase versions are prone to the translators' opinion (at least more so than literal versions). Literal versions are less prone (but not immune) to opinion. Paraphrases bring over important concepts from Scripture that usually get lost in translation in the literal versions. Next to actually being able to read Greek and Hebrew, I believe that studying several different translations is the best way to understand what the original text is trying to communicate.

That sounds like a very interesting idea. I might have to check that out.

It's kinda cliche, but I just talk to him like he's standing right there next to me. I don't bow my head, close my eyes, and go into "talking mode" with my friends... we just start talking. I think the same goes with talking to God.

Except, I usually keep the conversation relatively telepathic, lest people around me start to get weirded out.