Should I read the bible?

[Rivius]

I was wondering, should I read the bible. Now, obviously being raised in a christian community and having to sit through these things in christian schools, I know a little bit.

But the truth is, when it comes to the biblical stories, major characters, historical happenings...etc, I am biblically illiterate.

Now, is it worth the attempt. I have alot of free time over the summer. Would I glean any knowledge from the bible? I'm atheist, and that won't change, but I figure I may be missing on some important information.

The thing is, it seems a bit....daunting? It's very long, and the language is terrible. It's worse than reading Christopher Paolini's Eldest.
Any advice on how to tackle this and what the essentials actually are.

I'm just looking to being a more knowledgable human being. -_- Trying to make up for years of poor schooling as I realise just how ignorant I am.

 

[SIGScienceISGod]

Yes, it is good to know all sides of every story, so it helps you in discussion of religions in this case, and it can also reinforce your belief by showing you false facts in the bible.

 

[enterman]

If you want to learn more about the bible you might as well. It would be useful if you ever had to argue with another christian anyways. Sites like http://www.evilbible.com/ should help you.

 

[Otokogoroshi]

Of course you should read it. And the Qu'ran and anything else you can get your hands on

I have several bibles to reference and there are plenty of online resources. One of the things you'll be shocked by in reading the bible is first off, how poorly written it is. I don't just mean its boring but its so inconsistent. It can't even keep things straight in a single chapter! Another thing is just how disgustingly violent and evil it is. I haven't really read as much of the New Testament as I would like but oi is the Old crazy.

 

[Aught3]

lol at the Eldest comment :lol:

If you were a christian or thinking about becoming one, then I would recommend a good reading of the Bible to cure that little problem. Since your already an atheist I wouldn't bother - there are many more interesting and worthwhile things to read. It's not like you need to have a good understanding of the Bible to counter the claims of christians.

 

[ImprobableJoe]

The Bible is almost completely terrible, from a literary standpoint. I've read it cover-to-cover 5-6 times, and every time I do I am surprised again at how terribly STUPID it is.

 

[Xaska]

There really are no 'essentials'. It's all opinionated drivel. (If someone tells you what you need to know, and what you don't need to know.)

If you're looking to read the entire bible, and find logical inconsistencies, well, Just read the whole thing. But yes, If you're looking to expand your knowledge of religion in general, Read all the scripture you can get your hands on. As SIG said, It will aid you in arguments over religion.

 

[Durakken]

#1. it is always wise to learn the opponent's opinion when trying to counter it.

#2. there are 2 place I would suggest skipping. They are all the begats. It happens in two major places and is rather boring beyond anything else.

#3. Figure out what bible you want to read...KJV is as far as I know generally the accepted version, but is full of translation problems due to the way the translators thought of words. Some versions take out large chunks. Some do literal translations which are quite worthless in my opinion.

#4. While it is said you should read the bible to understand literature better, since so many come from that background, it's important to note that while true, they probably never read it and know just as much as the common person.

#5. Greek, Roman, Japanese, Viking, Celtic, Gealic, Egyptian, Native American, Chinese, and most other mythologies are far better than the Abrahamic mythologies, including the ones that the abrahamic faiths most liberally stole from, in terms of education, composition, and just pure story telling.

$6. If you do read it and play any sort of RPG, pay attention to genesis and solomon, as they are where a lot of games pull stuff from. Cain, Enoch, Lilith, Solomon's power over demons. These characters are ingrained into RPG vampire lore in many games.

 

[DarwinsOtherTheory]

I was thinking about joining a bible study group, I am too a bible illiterate which in my view is not a bad thing, heh.

 

[Epicion]

I think all of you should join any religious book reading group. It will help you all in some way or another. It will also avoid you using refuted crap or easily avoided attacks.

Knowing about your opponent is crucial. As for reading the Bible. The way I knew it is largely by watching debates. People use quotes alot, So you check them out, You memorise them, You have the preaches explain the context, and in this way I managed to cover the bible and memorise many quotations. Well, I'm an english student. So It was not too hard for me.

-L

 

[buzzausa]

I was thinking about doing that (reading the bible and other religious texts for that matter) myself, for the very reason everyone else already discussed: you have to know what the basis of your opponent's argument is.
Although there are a lot of good channels on YT that analyze the bible critically and point out its inconsistencies and outrageous claims, it would be nice to do the job yourself and come to your own conclusions.

 

[rulezdaworld0]

Try the http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/

There all the inconsistences etc are pointed out for you. Just easier & quicker, not to mention you don't actually have to buy a bible...
There's also a Qu'ran version, and The Book of the Mormon.

 

[Rivius]

Try the http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/

There all the inconsistences etc are pointed out for you. Just easier & quicker, not to mention you don't actually have to buy a bible...
There's also a Qu'ran version, and The Book of the Mormon.

Holy crap, that website is awesome. Thanks a bunch O_O. Makes things much easier.

 

[theatheistguy]

I'd just advise you to read a bible that has been translated word for word (as opposed to phrase for phrase). The New American and New International versions are always pretty good, and maybe New King James as well. Although I understand the people saying you should read the sceptics bible or evilbible.com, I think first you should read it as it was written and then if you want to study it further, read more into the historical inaccuracies, the contradictions, the twisted evil shit that this so called loving god is said to have done, and worshipped for.

Actually what you should really read is the 1631 edition of the King James Bible, where they made a slight typo and the left the word 'not' out of the 7th commandment, make it 'Thou shalt commit adultery'. good times

 

[Rivius]

'Thou shalt commit adultery'. good times

now that's MY kind of bible.

 

[Durakken]

I'd just advise you to read a bible that has been translated word for word (as opposed to phrase for phrase). The New American and New International versions are always pretty good, and maybe New King James as well. Although I understand the people saying you should read the sceptics bible or evilbible.com, I think first you should read it as it was written and then if you want to study it further, read more into the historical inaccuracies, the contradictions, the twisted evil shit that this so called loving god is said to have done, and worshipped for.

Actually what you should really read is the 1631 edition of the King James Bible, where they made a slight typo and the left the word 'not' out of the 7th commandment, make it 'Thou shalt commit adultery'. good times

Things that are translated word for word are the worst translations. Other languages are nowhere near the structure of English and when you do word for word what you get is a really poor understanding.

 

[Moky]

It's better to read it and see what the people believe in. I tried to read it a few years ago, but when I got to the story of Sodom, I became to disgusted to read further. I'll pick it back up one day when I have the time.

 

[Jotto999]

I've tried, but I never get very far. For me it's just too full of crap. It's not just that it makes no sense, it goes much farther than that, when I try reading from the bible it feels like an endless grind of putting up with inconsistencies and ridiculous fairy tales.

Kudos to anyone that has read it, and yeah you probably should read it, I know I probably should. If nothing else, you'll get a good laugh, and plus you'll learn their arguments. If you can put up with it, certainly read it.

 

[pointyhairedhumanist]

Personally I would recommend you read an entire book of the Old Testament, such as Genesis. I would also advise you read at least one of the four Gospels, most likely John, which is the one that tries to convince you that Jesus is the literal son of God.

The problem is that you can either go to the Christians, who will give you the nice excerpts (plus the bits about gays), or to atheists who will generally point out all the nasty stuff. By reading an entire book you are likely to get a more balanced view. Unless you read Leviticus or Deuteronomy, which are both pretty nasty.

 

[Squagnut]

#2. there are 2 place I would suggest skipping. They are all the begats. It happens in two major places and is rather boring beyond anything else.

The begats at the start of Matthew's gospel is one of the most interesting bits of the whole Bible, IMO. It shows how Joseph has direct patrilinear descent from King David - so when at the crucifixion, Jesus is mocked as being the King of the Jews, there is something to the claim - IF Joseph is Jesus' father. If Jesus is the son of god then the King of the Jews line makes no sense. My bet is that if Jesus existed, and there is some reason to suspect that he did, then he was the product of Joseph fucking Mary.