# Atheists, agnostics, & non-believers: do you enjoy reading any part of the Bible? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 18, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606 "2009-09-18T16:08:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606/1 "2009-09-18T16:08:55Z")
Suggested by several posts in the thread [“What books have you lied about reading?”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=532269) I do. It’s all fairy tales, of course, but there are vast stretches of it that are good reading. The David cycle stands out; it’s an interesting story even if you think the son of Jesse is as mythical as the son of Odin. Anybody else? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606/2 "2009-09-18T16:15:20Z")
My family is not especially religious, but we do have a tradition of sitting around the tree on Christmas Eve while my father reads aloud the story of the birth of Jesus. I enjoy that. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606/3 "2009-09-18T16:16:41Z")
I very much enjoy Ecclesiastes. It’s my favorite book. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606/4 "2009-09-18T16:16:53Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > My family is not especially religious, but we do have a tradition of sitting around the tree on Christmas Eve while my father reads aloud the story of the birth of Jesus. I enjoy that. Just out of idle curiosity, do y’all read the version in Luke or that in Matthew? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606/5 "2009-09-18T16:18:35Z")
I love the language, particularly of the King James version, myself. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606/6 "2009-09-18T16:42:39Z")
Not really. I read most of it in my youth, and didn’t find it all that enthralling. I did enjoy reading “Don’t know much about the Bible” by Kenneth Davis, though. A great expository on how the various books came to be in the Bible, and when and how they may have been written. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606/7 "2009-09-18T16:49:03Z")
I was raised Lutheran but leaning agnostic in my old age, and I still haven’t gotten around to reading the entire Bible…many parts, especially at the beginning, are very dull. But I really do enjoy Bible study, on an explanatory level, because for one thing it helps me figure out what I am thinking might be bullshit. I can’t go around just assuming I think the Bible is bullshit unless I have actually read it and comprehended it. I also really dig the history, like **Qadgop**. On the other hand, the more I read the more I am comfortable with the idea of the Bible as a nice book of parables and life lessons - not some set of un-breakable rules. Heck, I like one verse so much that I had it tattooed on my leg! It’s great as a nice big book of Quotable Quotes 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606/8 "2009-09-18T16:49:13Z")
The story of David and Jonathan is dear to my heart. Actually, I love the entire story of David / Saul. ‘Jesus’ was a philosopher. He was deep. Till this day I have yet to meet a Christian that seemed to understand Jesus in the same way that I thought he was laying himself down in the bible. Full disclosure, I guess I am more pantheist than atheist. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606/9 "2009-09-18T16:51:15Z")
My entire interest in the Bible and ancient history began with being enthralled by Bible stories in sunday school. I still find much of the Bible very interesting as a window into a specific ancient culture, but a lot of it is dead boring as well. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606/10 "2009-09-18T16:51:49Z")
Another vote for David as my favorite Biblical cycle. Also the story of Abraham in Genesis. Both have such raw human believable emotions. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606/11 "2009-09-18T16:52:47Z")
Sure. I find the Sermon on the Mount a compelling and radically moving account of an ethical position. And I love First Corinthians 13, especially in the New International Version- pure poetry. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606/12 "2009-09-18T16:53:42Z")
I always imagine reading the bible to be like reading LOTR but worse. Tedious. Long-winded. Dull. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606/13 "2009-09-18T16:55:37Z")
It’s not like I pull it down from the shelf for fun, but parts of the Bible are very entertaining to read. Of course, I discovered all these parts back when I was a believer; otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered to read it in the first place. My list of cool Bible stories: Elijah and the priests of Baal’s altar contest Elisha and the mocking children eaten by bears Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego Jael and driving the stake through the guy’s head Job (just to see how fucked up God can be) Samson (I was shocked that someone on the Dope was unfamiliar with Samson) Revelation Like **Zsofia** , I only read the King James Version. Since I don’t care about “accuracy” anymore, why not pick the version with the coolest language? Plus, most of the references in English literature also use the KJV, so it just makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606/14 "2009-09-18T17:01:02Z")
I love the Bible, especially the KJV, which has some of the most beautiful English ever written. The OT contains a lot of boring bits, but these can be skipped unless you have a real fascination with ancient Jewish law. I also find it quite moving, though I don’t believe that it’s actually true. If you can get your hands on [this edited and abriged version of the KJV](http://www.amazon.com/Bible-Designed-Living-Literature-Testaments/dp/B000OL88B8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253293057&sr=8-1) it makes the thing really readable by cutting out the genealogies and laws, and reformatting the text for readability. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606/15 "2009-09-18T17:07:18Z")
Some of the most famous ones (Jonah in the whale, Danielle in the lion’s den) bored me to tears as a kid. But Job was my joint! Erdosain, thanks for reminding me of him. And like Larry, I should have stressed the King James Version. ---
**Author:** ![Purgatory\_Creek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/74df32/32.png) [@Purgatory\_Creek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purgatory_Creek)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606/16 "2009-09-18T17:17:06Z")
Not the least bit interested. I remember that as a child my favorite parts of the bible were the sheets of vellum that were placed so as to protect the illustrations. I don’t have any particular hatred of the bible; I just don’t have any interest in it, the same way I don’t have a desire to read automotive manuals or economics textbooks. Interestingly, I usually do fairly well in the biblical categories on Jeopardy :D. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606/17 "2009-09-18T17:32:13Z")
I can’t enjoy anything as an adult that i was forced to do as a child. This goes for eating vegetables and reading the bible. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606/18 "2009-09-18T17:36:17Z")
Oh, yes. The Judeo-Christian scriptures are among the great wisdom literature of the world canon. I’ve never had a real problem with them as a corpus. I only deny their authority. ---
**Author:** ![Kalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/df705f/32.png) [@Kalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalypso)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606/19 "2009-09-18T17:50:38Z")
I like the parables and stories, and I really love to read the rules in Leviticus and think about what ancient practical reason there might have been for each rule. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606/20 "2009-09-18T18:04:35Z")
Genesis, Exodus, The Evangelists. and, of course, Ecclesiastes. I’m not fond of the Psalms or the Proverbs, which I find tedious. But Genesis, Exodus, and the New Testament, besides having read many times, I also have on audio, and have listened to many times. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-do-you-enjoy-reading-any-part-of-the-bible/510606.md?page=2)