I've never read bible
By Bionicman
@Bionicman (3958)
Czech Republic
25 responses
@Adoniah (7513)
• United States
25 Jul 10
The Bible or the Tanakh or as the christians call it the Old Testament, should be read from the beginning to the end. That is how it was written and that is how it should be read. You should read a Hebrew translation however, so that you get a proper translation instead of an "interpretation".
The Tanakh is the history of a people struggling to accept the concept of monotheism. These people, the Israelites, wrote down all of their trials and tribulations, failures and successes, with their discovery and interaction with the Master of the Universe; God.
Shalom~Adoniah
@Christoph56 (1504)
• Canada
28 Jul 10
I'm an atheist, and I've mostly read through the first couple books in the old testament.. I've done more skimming through the rest. I go through the first few chapters, because they are some of the craziest, and least factual, through a trying-to-be scientific basis from the early times of humans. If you go through those parts, then you can easily see how the bible is more stories about how to live life in those ancient times. I mean, nowadays, you wouldn't want to bring your animals to the church so you can have the priest spill the blood and burn the animal to make up for your sins.... thats just crazy.
@bestboy19 (5478)
• United States
28 Jul 10
Bionicman, I hope you won't take Christoph's comments to heart. If he had read the whole Bible rather than just the first couple of books of the Old Testament and only skimmed through the rest, he'd know that animal sacrifices ceased and why.
@Christoph56 (1504)
• Canada
28 Jul 10
Oh, I understand the difference between the old testament and the new testament, and the direction of Jesus just saying for us to all be good to eachother, and that will vanquish our sins... well, that, plus accepting Christ as our saviour. If we don't accept Christ as our saviour, then we'll burn in a fiery hell for all of eternity..... now..... doesn't that seem kind of weird? If we're good people, who want to help others, but we don't accept Christ, we burn in hell, in where if we are horrible murderers, but we do accept Christ, then we go to heaven. Don't you see a bit of a problem with that?
No matter what part of the bible you look at, it is filled with errors and inconsistencies. Sure, it's still a great read, but you have to take it as an ancient work of fiction, not unlike books like Beowulf. If you're taking it as something to live your life by, then it can make some big problems, as we've seen many times through history. You just have to look at all the pieces... if you're reading the bible as a way to live like, then read the Qur'an, too, or read the Hindu or Buddhist stories... there are many great stories to learn from, but you just can't take them all as pure fact.
@buenavida (9985)
• Sweden
27 Jul 10
Hi, Bionicman. 
I would recommend you to read the Bible. Even if you don´t believe what it says, it is an important part of the life of millions of people and you need to know something about it to understand them.
You can also read it and study it - like I have done for the latest 46 years. Following the advice in the Bible has protected me from many things that would have hurt me if I had not known how to avoid them.
If you want to listen to the Bible and literature that explains it, why not download it free from jw.org. Choose the language you want and understand best.
Wish you happy reading..
I would recommend you to read the Bible. Even if you don´t believe what it says, it is an important part of the life of millions of people and you need to know something about it to understand them.
You can also read it and study it - like I have done for the latest 46 years. Following the advice in the Bible has protected me from many things that would have hurt me if I had not known how to avoid them.
If you want to listen to the Bible and literature that explains it, why not download it free from jw.org. Choose the language you want and understand best.
Wish you happy reading.. @buenavida (9985)
• Sweden
28 Jul 10
I seem to be too old to do the math..
I have studied the Bible since 1959, that is a too long time to remember, it seems. 
Anyway, you can find great treasures in this Great Book.
I have studied the Bible since 1959, that is a too long time to remember, it seems.
Anyway, you can find great treasures in this Great Book.
@France7 (385)
• Philippines
28 Jul 10
Hello there bionicman. In my case, I read the Bible because of my believe that it is the Word of God that gives life. It gives life because the passages give me courage, strength, encouragement, satisfaction, and happiness. And with these advantages I get out of reading this Holy Book, I suggest you read it. Cheers!^^
@artizan (195)
•
27 Jul 10
i think to read the bible will bring you what you are looking for... if you wish to learn about Jesus then a good place to start would be the new testiment...
Reading the bible, is like reading an encyclopedia., depending what answers you are hoping to find, is where you would look..
I read the bible., almost daily and find i find answers to some of life's more difficult questions in the words. also i find it inspiring and funny too. not in taking the micky but some of the words make me laugh... it is life in a book.,
I was once told that the greatest love story was contained in the bible, and was a little sceptical, but the song of songs., is indeed a wonderful love story... however, it did take a couple of readings to get it fully., and even if i read it again., there would be more to discover...
I always ask God., to show me the answers i am looking for before i begin to read., this would apply if you do not believe... and when the going gets tough i ask for the understanding , for what i am reading .. this works for me...
so happy reading
best wishes
x
@goldeneagle (6745)
• United States
26 Jul 10
I would definitely recommend that you read the Bible. I have not read all of it, but I have read a lot of it, and I have to say that it makes some interesting reading...
@jdyrj777 (6530)
• United States
26 Jul 10
I would suggest that you read it. Not only read it but study it. I have for years. The best that i learned from was and is Jahovah witnesses. I know people shun them but from what i have learned it the best place to come to an accurate understanding of the Holy Scriptures.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
26 Jul 10
I have never read the bible from cover to cover. I would like to but to me parts of it are very hard to understan. Even in sunday school there are so many hard wors to understand & to pronounce & u don't know if u are doing that right or not.
@6precious102 (4043)
• United States
26 Jul 10
If you want to have an understanding of God, I think you need to read the Bible. There are things in the Bible that some find difficult. So if you do decide to read it, you might want to consider reading it with a commentary.
@anichka_pet (25)
• Bulgaria
26 Jul 10
I think You should read it when you are ready for this, not only just because there are many references to it. Only when you are ready, you can understand it. I haven't read the Bible, too.
@barehugs (8973)
• Canada
26 Jul 10
I was once a Sunday-School teacher with a class of teenage boys. I've read the Bible from cover to cover, and have a Bible Dictionary for support. Everyone should read the Bible, if for nothing else, just to be able to say," I've read it!"
It was the Sunday-School teaching that got me in deep trouble. The problem began when I suddenly realized, I didn't believe what I was teaching. AS long as I stayed with the bible, and the Bible dictionary I was ok, but when I began to think rationally using my own intelligence I was suddenly in deep water without a paddle. Nothing seemed to help so I gave it all up and walked away from the Church, never to go back again, and that was over 50 years ago,
@rafaelnadal007 (731)
• India
26 Jul 10
I am a hindu, but never went through our holy book "Geeta". I have read the story of bible when I was child. But never read the major part! This holy books help a lot and improves our mind. We can feel a little change in our mind after reading holy books. I cannot say anything about references but it shouldn't be there, instead many examples should be better.
@Guit08 (597)
• United States
26 Jul 10
I think that you should read the Bible. :) As a Christian, the Bible is very important to me. If you want to start reading the Bible I think that you should start in the book of John. Some other good books for you to read starting out would be Matthew, Mark, Luke, and 1 John. May I ask what translation (for ex. NIV, KJV, NKJV, etc.) of Bible you have?
@RONDOLAWE (774)
• Indonesia
26 Jul 10
no , i dont alot read bible because is the bible is language of arab and i just read what is the meaning of that laguage arab , my bible is AL-QURAN .
@nguyenthuha285 (14)
• Vietnam
26 Jul 10
To be honest, I have never read bible. And I am not a christian. I feel lucky about that
