paygan

I agree strongly but might go a bit further. The Bible is a product of competitive story-telling inspired and based on historical people and events.

Some bits are proved more accurate than others, it's awash with human themes and metaphors and has had a massive effect on our culture. Clear understanding of it's position in this regard does make it a fairly essential read for a balanced education in today's society. No more than the scriptures of any of the other world religions, but that kinda depends on where you live and what the culture is there.

Joan of Bark

With the exception of Song of Songs and maybe Ecclesiastes, the Bible's not worth much as literature. But everyone should read it for the purpose of self-defense (in the case of liberal Christians) and for ammunition (in the case of skeptics).

We can't leave the reading of this tome to the fundamentalists.

Von Bek

I would add Job to that list as well. My favorite book in the Bible.

Doug Shaver

I'm not about to argue against that, but it would be nice to start somewhere. Failure to teach other cultures is no excuse for failing to teach one's own.

0

My favorites are Genesis, Job & Revelations. I also like reading the Gnostic texts, namely The Thunder, the Perfect Mind, The Gospel According to Mary Magdalene and The Gospel of Thomas.

Roger Pearse

Just digressing slightly, does anyone notice how all these books have such pompous names?

Why is "the truth" never found in books with embarassing names? Why are there no gnostic texts with titles like The brain-fart, The Stupid book, The One Which We All Agreed Was A Bad Idea, The Gospel According to Some Guy I Met In A Bar Once, The Epistle unto the Idiots? (I feel that I have written a few of the last one myself, online)

I mean, is there any cosmic rule that cosmic rules have to appear in books with cosmic titles?

In my experience, the louder a book puffs itself in the title, the tighter you should keep your wallet (and your cod-piece) buttoned.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

0

For the same reason Stephen Hawkins' Universe is not titled A Bunch of Stuff in the Sky. It's about respectability. Historians also seem particularly fond of epic names as well.

Roger Pearse

And heaven knows we must always be respectable, conformist, and go to church twice on Sunday.

Well history is mostly a form of fiction. Time to worry when people believe historians.

Smash the cistern.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

0

You forgot the Bible study sessions given on Wednesdays.
Of course. But I do hope to study the cistern before you smash it. Fiction can teach as well as entertain, which is why I write it for a living. As an aside, your book titles made me laugh. Perhaps you should consider writing those as actual volumes. I'd certainly buy one.

Chili

I think the Poll is biased and should have a 'must not' column in it too as that is where my vote would be.

My reason for this is that it caters to the rich mans table that gets us doomed the minute we eat from it, which is not to say that the bible itself is wrong but simply our abuse it.

My reason for this is that, at least for us NT people, it deals with life after we enter Galilee and there find ourselfves as brothers of Jesus or Jesuits or Nazarites or Purgatorians on our way to heaven and to get there we must be the begger instead of the rich man, lest we become like a broiler chicken stuffed with [American] corn thinken we're gonne get there for sure.

A nice cf here is with Nietzsche's camel-becomes-lion allegory as he enters the desert and must be the lion before he reaches the oasis.