why read the bible?

Christians read the Word of God to feed their Spirit. Sinners read it, because their looking for answers, and Atheists read it to find discrepancies.

Holy Bible:NIV

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Originally posted by PureRWandB
Christians read the Word of God to feed their Spirit. Sinners read it, because their looking for answers, and Atheists read it to find discrepancies.

Holy Bible:NIV

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Actually, I've read it, and found it wanting. "The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully." The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

Originally posted by Palynka
Let's get real. Who reads the Bible as if it were a literary work?

The "Bible as Literature" is taught in colleges and universities.

John 10:10

10. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

This is Jesus' words ... doesn't sound like God is out to get you.

Originally posted by EcstremeVenom
why read a book if you know you do not believe in it? a lot of atheists and agnostics know more about the bible than most christians in this forum; what is the point of that, i dont get it? and did you give it a chance, or did you read it with the mindset that it wasnt real and you wanted to make fun of it? were you laughing at how stupid you thought it was the whole time?

Presumptuous much?

Maybe your statement is just you realizing that most zealots (of any religion) just aren't hyper intelligent, and tend to reduce everything into rigid black/white terms. The often read what they are told to and would probably prefer it if their religious leaders just handed them: cliff notes, a gun (or torch), and a pointing finger in the right direction.

I don't mean to be mean, but that's really the historical attitude of zealots.
"Oh lord! Who would you like me to slay, I mean save, in your holy name today?"

Many people read... anything they want to read... because they enjoy the freedom of being educated... and possibly enjoy making informed decisions.

You might try it. Why don't you read the Quran, Bagahvadgita, Upanishands, Lou Tzu, Confuscious, Hamaguri, and then maybe come back to this forum with an informed mind and something intelligent to say.

One day you're going to realize that you really don't have any right outside of your ego to go around offering salvation to people. In fact, it's kind of rude, as a rule, to presume to know so much because you're the pawn of some religious entity.

You know that's you right? Nothing different about your posts to distinguish you from any other zealot, from any other religion, from any other time. Might as well forget religion and throw nationalism in there too, they have the exact same logic, if you can call it that.

if u r truly a christian U should read the Bible it's God's Book of instructions a manual to us 4 us to follow

Originally posted by EcstremeVenom
but harry potter does not claim to be a true story; the bible does.

my bother you read the Bible and everything in it that has ever happend has came true!!!

Originally posted by LivingForJesus
my bother you read the Bible and everything in it that has ever happend has came true!!!

Lets see.... If it happened then of course it came true! Duh.

But not everything in the Bible has come true.

Most of it is a history book and it even gets most of that wrong.

Originally posted by EcstremeVenom
why read a book if you know you do not believe in it? a lot of atheists and agnostics know more about the bible than most christians in this forum; what is the point of that, i dont get it? and did you give it a chance, or did you read it with the mindset that it wasnt real and you wanted to make fun of it? were you laughing at how stupid you thought it was the whole time?

I read the Bible in order to be able to debate with Christians. I also am interested in it's tremendous cultural and psychological significance in my country and the world. Plus, magic stories are fun. I read fantasy and all kinds of mythology. When I was a kid I was really into the Greek myths simply because they were cool, not because I believed Zeus existed.

Originally posted by Palynka
Let's get real. Who reads the Bible as if it were a literary work?

Loads of English teachers, for starters. Comparing and contrasting creation mythology was all I did for a semester last year.

Originally posted by doodinthemood
But nobody reads it and finds it connects them to god unless they had decided beforehand that Christianity is correct. The bible does nothing for anyone.

Ever heard of people converting, especially via missionaries?

Do you really think someone would be a devout Jew, for example, and suddenly come to the conclusion that s/he had it all wrong and "choose" Christianity? I personally would think s/he would read some of the Bible.

Originally posted by Palynka
Let's get real. Who reads the Bible as if it were a literary work?

Baptists!!!

I personally believe that reading the bible is a common courtesy to Christianity. I don't claim to have read all of the bible, or indeed any other holy books. But to me, reading the bible is simply me trying to be open-minded, to look at different aspects of spirituality, and why so many people disagree with me because of some book. It must be pretty important.. right?

Originally posted by EcstremeVenom
why read a book if you know you do not believe in it? a lot of atheists and agnostics know more about the bible than most christians in this forum; what is the point of that, i dont get it? and did you give it a chance, or did you read it with the mindset that it wasnt real and you wanted to make fun of it? were you laughing at how stupid you thought it was the whole time?

I read a lot of fiction books and I don't believe in them. I read newspapers and I don't believe all they say. You need to believe what a book says to read it? You wanted atheists to discuss about the bible without ever putting eyes on it?

Originally posted by Stregone
Actually, I've read it, and found it wanting. "The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully." The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

Something must be wrong with Richard Dawkins.

Even in the Old Testament there are too many instances showing God's mercy, kindness, faithfulness, long suffering, love, forgiveness.

There are 150 Psalms. I wonder why in all of those 150 Psalms Dawkins couldn't notice much kindness and mercy from God.

Besides, God had to establish in our minds His hatred for the abomination of sin. Otherwise we could not appreciate that He comes in Christ to bear its guilt on our behalf on the cross.

But from Genesis, through Exodus, through Leviticus, and the other books of the Bible there is no shortage of accounts and passages revealing plenty of kind attributes of God.

Sure, there are many passages of God dealing harshly with the sins of man. But the unprejudiced reader should notice also the multitude of merciful acts in the Old Testament in God's longsuffering with man's rebellion.

I see His mercy with Adam, with Cain, with Noah, with the many offerings designed to atone for the sins of people in Leviticus. With David and Solomon (who were by no means perfect) God's mercy is seen. And of course the returned Isrealites of the Babylonian Captivity.

How did Dawkins manage to miss that one entire book, the book of Jonah, is reserved for the single subject of God's unwillingness to harshly judge a nation?

All this kindness of God is in the Old Testament.