Has anyone actually read the Bible?

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I read it, studied it, decided it was a load of crap, and moved on... it's just a bunch of nonsense designed to control the weak minded...

I have. I have the whole Bible on audio CD's, because I retain things better when hearing than when reading. For that reason, I also have a lot of Scripture-song tapes which have better helped me to memorize key verses and their references. I've listened to the entire New Testament 4 times, and the entire Old Testament once, in addition to listening to and reading certain books of the latter several times. Jesus' words are always fresh and alive to me; I could read them for the rest of my life. And Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes are so empathetic in speaking to the human condition. I just never cease to be amazed at how much the Bible knows about people.

Thanks for posting this uplifting topic, by the way.

I've read the entire Bible a few times and the New Testament many times. For
a number of years, religious issues were an obsession. I studied every word as if my eternal salvation
depended on it.

Looking back on the experience, I guess my obsession wasn't too surprising, given that I
was raised by a family that was both deeply religious and thoroughly scientific. After a prolonged
religious crisis, I became atheist. Now I rarely mention religion. In fact, I go out of my way
to avoid discussions of religion. I tell people I'm atheist, and they generally assume that this means
I know little about whatever religion they belong to.

ive read it through once like most other books i read

though i got my education in it's sayings all the way through highschool through church and youth gatherings and camps and friends (well i didnt consider them friends... but that's another story)... and so i am generally familiar with the stories i hear people discuss... though there's always room to learn a new interpretation for these things i processed from my perspective.... as i do not have verbatum words on the tip of my brain

right around when it stopped having answers for my questions that i sought in earnest and still seek to this day in earnest... i began finding these answers from within myself and a variety of teachers in life. and i find i am much more at peace than the days where i was effectively trying to shove a square peg in a round hole

Sounds like you just didn't fully understand it in your younger years. Not surprising; it's a VERY deep book. It's nothing more study wouldn't cure!

I don't think I could call it anti-Christian ammo, but it is rather effective at sorting out those who just say they are Christians and those who really know their stuff and can actually follow it and discuss and refute claims. The denomination of church I attend has built into its liturgy reading the bible over a 9 year span. I think they skip the so and so begat so and so parts due to them just being the tracing of Jesus' lineage. So as I have been attending church for 25 years I have heard the bible twice. That is in addition to the bible school, catechism, and other more in depth bible studies that I have done.
I have a hard time just sitting down and reading parts of it though. My brain just starts going "I know this already, skip to something new ". It is incredibly annoying and very counter productive. I also have trouble transferring what I read into my daily life.

quit surmizing my reading skills

i was reading classical literature in 3rd grade......... which i later had to reread in highschool and college and didnt gleen that much more from

i could dig my essay out somewhere comparing rascholicoff (sp, i know) from Crime and Punishment to Jesus Christ.....

i won some kind of honorary award for that one.... you think they LIKED giving me that award? lol

Christ has inspired more literary characters than any other one human being in history. Your reading interpretative abilities sound impressive, but Bible study is only very basically about careful/astute reading and interpretation. Reading it at surface level is not going to present a crystal clear meaning in the case of every verse. In-depth background studies are necessary to obtain the most accurate readings one can. Historical studies, etc.

I read a chapter a day. It took 3.5 years.

yeah and i did study it.... thanks for not noticing

you always think you have the right way to interpret everything

you dont so quit criticizing me

edit: it doesnt sound like you know who rascholnicoff (sp) is....... he's a murder who did not repent his actions... real christlike huh? i doubt you'd see the connections... but i doubt you read the book... let alone reading it carefully/astutelya or bla bla bla background smackground

i rolled joints from the pages that didnt have ink on them

I've tried reading religious texts, but they bore me to death. I much prefer reading non-fiction. One of my friends told me that he would buy me a donut if I would read the Book of Mormon. I tried reading the B of M, but after 3 pages I was so bored my eyes rolled back in their sockets, and I almost entered a boredom induced coma. A few days later he asked me how much of the Book of Mormon I had read. So I told him "About a donuts worth!"

I read it often, but not sure if I have read everything in it. I don't read through the entire bible, I look up things as I struggle with something in life.

I hate trying to read parts where it goes so in so is the son of so and so for about 2 chapters.

I am christian, and have read the entire new testament, and some of the old.

Tried to, gave up. Contradicts itself, and is actually incomplete. 40 books were left out when Constantine commissioned the putting together of it back in 312 CE, and I mostly believe that it is a book of stories and legends with a political bent to them, and has been embellished through time. Sure, there are historical things there, like the flood and the earthquake that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and other things, but most of those stories were given the God slant to make them more spectacular. Considering the time it was written, when the earth was smaller (population wise) people were more prone to threats of doom by supernatural beings, and the bible and its laws had more of an impact. Could be one reason I am now Pagan, because I'm not convinced that Christianity is 'right'.

And to me, being a Pagan, my thoughts on Jesus are that he was a great philosopher, teacher, healer and leader. His movement may have succeeded, had it not been for the fact that he had to make a martyr out of himself just to prove a point. Crucifixion wasn't meant to be something to be proud of (as in Christ died for our sins to make us better people); it was a Roman punishment to suppress and repress the masses so that they wouldn't step out of line. As I said, Christ was a great leader (not a messiah or Son of God), and it was a real shame that he had to sacrifice himself just because of some misguided belief that he was going to save mankind in that way.

If people want to believe in God or follow their religious beliefs, that's fine; but why should I (or people who believe like I do) be threatened with eternal damnation just because we see things differently? Satan is a Christian concept, heaven and hell are states of mind on this physical plane. We can transcend to something better, but not in the way that Christianity would have us believe.