I always thought that the Holy Bible was simply a vast collection of outdated, fictitious tales, written with the purpose of giving guidance through loose interpretation. But if that's the case, then why not just use something like Aasop's Fables instead? I'd say that you'd get way more bang for your buck as far as practical wisdom goes. And plus, they're easy to read and not all fluffed out with ridiculous exaggerations that make it so hard to believe.

But then again, I guess most organized religions aren't really based on practicality, but rather on relatively 'blind' faith.

So why do holy scriptures even exist? Are people using them for the right reasons?

I stuck to only mentioning the Holy Bible, as I have at least read a small portion of it (Genesis mainly), while on the other hand, I have no clue whatsoever as to what is contained in the Qu'uran or other religious texts (although I assume they aren't much different in terms of general context).

Since you've only read genesis and no other holy books you're making quite an assumption, why don't you go read the whole of the Torah, New Testament, Qu'ran, and the Talmud and come back to us with your knowledgeable interpretations.

This may sound kind of harsh but your view is really quite close minded.

Since you've only read genesis and no other holy books you're making quite an assumption, why don't you go read the whole of the Torah, New Testament, Qu'ran, and the Talmud and come back to us with your knowledgeable interpretations.

This may sound kind of harsh but your view is really quite close minded.

Alright, then let me rephrase to simply: What is the purpose of the Holy Bible?

Besides, I've never once heard a quote from any religious text that didn't sound like it was just supposed to be some form of guidance based on loose interpretation of a fictitious story, like I said.

And there is no way I am EVER going to even consider reading one of the major religious texts in full, unless a non-religious person can honestly tell me that it is worth the time to read merely for practical purposes (not just for educational purposes).

That is, assuming the bible is meant to serve a practical purpose.

You see, there are tons of questions in this thread you could still answer without suggesting I read every single religious text in it's entirety.

I have read the bible. It is an alright book. The plot is really hard to follow and I never really felt connected with the characters at all. I wanted most of em to die and when that one beggar got it I laughed my ass off at the witty convo between him and the thief hanging next to him. You could miss reading this one. Plot is just too hard to follow.

Seriously, the bible is written in riddles for the same reasons horoscopes and nostradomus are written in riddles. ITS BULLSHIT. You can go back and read what YOU WANT into them.

But the main purpose of the bible is a way to establish social control and order (and turn a tidy profit "saving souls" while your at it). It is a meme complex. It is a mind virus. It is asking a question that can never be known (what happens when you die) and then answering it with a steady stream of bullshit.

When the faith finally dies off this book will not even be considered a good work of fiction.

There are many, many different ways of looking at the Bible. the point can't really be put into words.

try learning how to silence your internal dialog before reading it again

Though scholars say it has been changed somewhat through the passage of time & many hands. The New Testament, though based a lot on the Old one?

It's a 'New' & different book. Start with that. Read the four Gospels & then read other parts if you like. No reason to start at Genesis & work through until the end of the Book of Rev. Though, you might find Rev is...rather interesting... :eek:

There are many, many different ways of looking at the Bible. the point can't really be put into words.

try learning how to silence your internal dialog before reading it again

There are many, many different ways of looking at the work of Nostradamus, the point can't really be put into words.

There are many, many different ways of looking at the horoscopes, the point can't really be put into words.

There are many, many different ways of interpreting text that is written in riddles. The point of this is to make it as generalized as possible so that it seems true in almost every occasion.

Religion is leaving the world on a rocket made of science...

The Bible is exactly what you say it is, but many people take it to be literal due to the fact that they can feel the spirit of God in/with/around/[insert preposition here] them. The stories in it give Christians rules for living and nice stories to entice the kids.

Read Genesis in its entirety; it's worth the shits and giggles as well as knowing what Christians are talking about. You'll find there are a lot of references in literature specifically to the Bible; so you should probably read a children's Bible... That's not to be insulting, it's just shorter and easier to understand than the whole thing, and you won't have to swim through the contradictions and misinterpretations of the four gospels.

Whether you like it or not, the Bible remains the most popular book in the world, and not to know the stories contained in it would be a shame.

^^^ This is coming from a secular humanist, btw.

In my RE class (I moved to Catholic school in October) when in Mark's Gospel Jesus was being prejudiced the teacher said he was being sarcastic. I thought that was funny.

And there is no way I am EVER going to even consider reading one of the major religious texts in full, unless a non-religious person can honestly tell me that it is worth the time to read merely for practical purposes (not just for educational purposes).

That is, assuming the bible is meant to serve a practical purpose.

You see, there are tons of questions in this thread you could still answer without suggesting I read every single religious text in it's entirety.

Seriously. You won't even consider reading a religious text? Why the hell not?

I'm also unsure how you can't get the point of the Bible. I mean, how can a person decide that they are a christian if they don't know what a christian is? It's like a history book, the only reason you know who you are in terms of national identity is because you are aware of the history of your people. Think of the bible in the same way. Kinda like an instruction manual of sorts.

As a secular humanist I still think it's a good idea to read some religious books to get a feel for what people are talking about, and especially those of Eastern religions (such as the Tao Te Ching) because of the philosophical implications and the beautiful prose contained in them. You don't need to believe in God to have inner peace and know how to live.

Your first mistake is that you expect there to be a point.

There isn't one.

Each seperate book of the Bible has its own point(s) but collectively they are just a bunch of books which some feel somehow contain God's message to us...along with some of the best poetry ever written, some great stories and some notoriuos dirty bits. And the history of Israel.

Maybe just start by reading the storys (actually often historical accounts).

I mean how do you top a story like that of a man pushing his girlfriend out the door to be gang raped so that they won't sodomise him and then when she dies on the doorstep he cuts up her body and Fedex's bits to all his Posse all around the country??!

It's not exactly easy to just fucking read the bible. It's cryptic with a shitty plot and its looooooonnnnnnnnggg.

Heck just pick a place in the middle & start reading.

If it flows for you keep on until it doesn't. Put it down...or pick a new place somewhere & try that. It has a lot of boring places & many places it flows well.

If your NT has the woids of Jesus in red? Try reading those...

Mark Twain was on the right track when he observed that the Bible contains "some noble poetry, a wealth of obscenity, and upwards of a thousand lies."

There are, however, a very few, very precious pearls of wisdom contained therein. Write small, you could probably get them all on a 3x5 card.

It's not exactly easy to just fucking read the bible. It's cryptic with a shitty plot and its looooooonnnnnnnnggg.

hahaha so true...

The same point as any other book? To be read...

To weigh and consider?

"Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for granted, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider."

The Bible is exactly what you say it is, but many people take it to be literal due to the fact that they can feel the spirit of God in/with/around/[insert preposition here] them. The stories in it give Christians rules for living and nice stories to entice the kids.

Read Genesis in its entirety; it's worth the shits and giggles as well as knowing what Christians are talking about. You'll find there are a lot of references in literature specifically to the Bible; so you should probably read a children's Bible... That's not to be insulting, it's just shorter and easier to understand than the whole thing, and you won't have to swim through the contradictions and misinterpretations of the four gospels.

Whether you like it or not, the Bible remains the most popular book in the world, and not to know the stories contained in it would be a shame.

^^^ This is coming from a secular humanist, btw.

Good post. Not reading the Bible is like never hearing Symphony No. 9, seeing the pyramids, tasting chocolate, having sex, and so on. It's a huge part of human history and deserves to be read to at least further your understanding of how it has shaped the past and present.

^^^ This is coming from a psychonuat tripster, btw.