Jared Woods’s Reviews > KJV Holy Bible: Beautiful. Trustworthy. Timeless > Status Update

Gonna read The Vulgate next ?:P

Ray wrote: "Gonna read The Vulgate next ?:P"

I'm gonna say no :)

I read (most of?) the Bible when I was at school - an all-boys Anglican school; plenty of them of lying around and not much else to do - and have often thought that this contributed to my Atheism.

What do you think of the quote by Isaac Asimov “Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived.”
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Do you think the Bible is more thoroughly read by believers or non-believers?

Ray wrote: "I read (most of?) the Bible when I was at school - an all-boys Anglican school; plenty of them of lying around and not much else to do - and have often thought that this contributed to my Atheism. ..."

I feel like the phrase "properly read" is unfairly loaded. Who is to say which is the "proper" way to read an ancient text so open to interpretation? I am sure many Christians would swear their way is the proper way too, and rightfully so.

Coming from an agnostic perspective, however, I do think many Christians would struggle to justify a large portion of this book. That said, I also think there's an undeniable power to these words, I was frequently amazed (and equally terrified) by its poetic teachings. Of all the religious scripture I've read in my life, the Bible has impressed me the most. I now love Christianity more than ever from a story perspective, but I also shudder to think that people still follow this outdated mess (The Old Testament in particular which is obviously just as tied to Judaism).

Once I'm done with it (two weeks?) I will be releasing a massively detailed analysis of everything, so hopefully I'll better state my position then :)

Thanks for correcting me that was a bad use of phrase.
What I meant to say was reading the text from start to finish in its (intended?) true structure as opposed to cherry picked scripture read/studied here and there.

I do agree that the Bible is an important work of literature but I don't remember being particularly impressed by anything it. I look forward to your analysis.

Ray wrote: "Thanks for correcting me that was a bad use of phrase.
What I meant to say was reading the text from start to finish in its (intended?) true structure as opposed to cherry picked scripture read/st..."

Ah right. Yeah, there's definitely an argument there. In many ways, it's a very dangerous text to base your life on especially in regards to modern living. But I think it's important to go into it with that factor in mind. It's so old that it's not fair to judge it too harshly. Times have changed, and it probably worked quite well back in the day.

If you treat it like a book of poetry, some of the phrases are the most elegant (and brutal!) I've ever read. But I'll be highlighting those in my summary too! :D

My biggest issue with that Isaac Asimov quote is that it disregards the concept of "God" by all other definitions. If someone reads the Bible and decides that the Hebrew tale of God is something they disagree with, I totally understand that. But what about all the other religious concepts of a higher power, some of which predate this little organised religious text quite substantially?

Christianity is not the final say on what God is, which is something I find many Christians and atheists alike struggle with,