# Favourite/least favourite parts of the Bible? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2006, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387 "2006-03-29T11:28:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387/21 "2006-03-29T18:16:10Z")
My favorite single chapter is the eighth chapter of Romans, and it’s conclusion, about how nothing at all can seperate us from the love of God. I like to use that to counter people who think sexual orientation is relevant to whether or not God loves us or “hates” us. And besides, knowing we are loved no matter what is a real upper when we’ve done something bad. Next up would be the parts of the Gospels where Jesus does things everyone is surprised, or indignant at, like not condemning the adulteress, or eating and associating with social outcasts. Although I’m not a literalist I love the spectacle of the first chapter of Genesis, trying to imagine a picture of the world being created. It’s cooler than the second story in the next chapter. I like the tales of Judith and Susanna, from the Apocrypha. Damn, Judith was tough. If I’d had a daughter I’d like to have named her Judith. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387/22 "2006-03-29T18:21:28Z")
Are you guys christians? If not, how come you have read so much of the bible? ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387/23 "2006-03-29T18:25:41Z")
The Song of Solomon here is the first chapter … 1. The song of songs, which is Solomon’s. 2. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is 3. better than wine. Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as 4. ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into 5. his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee. I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents 6. of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked 7. upon me: my mother’s children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept. Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where 8. thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by 9. the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds’ tents. I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in 10. Pharaoh’s chariots. Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains 11. of gold. We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver. 12. While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth 13. the smell thereof. A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me; he shall lie all 14. night betwixt my breasts. My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards 15. of Engedi. Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast 16. doves’ eyes. Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed 17. is green. The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387/24 "2006-03-29T18:30:51Z")
I like the parts of Genesis dealing with all the family intrigue. I also like the first part of Exodus dealing with the enslavement in Egypt, the plagues, and all that. I like the book of Ruth. I also like Esther, but that may be because of the association with Purim. > [@Kythereia](#): > > Does _anyone_ out there like Numbers or Deuteronomy? The part in Numbers where people get swallowed by the earth (Numbers 16:30-33) is pretty cool. > [@mr. jp](#): > > Are you guys christians? If not, how come you have read so much of the bible? Dunno about the others in this thread, but I’m Jewish. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387/25 "2006-03-29T18:45:56Z")
> [@mr. jp](#): > > Are you guys christians? If not, how come you have read so much of the bible? I’m not a Christian now, but I was raised one. When I was a kid, I tried (and failed) to read the Bible straight through. As a teenager, I’d read the Bible during church to avoid the deadly dullness of the sermon. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387/26 "2006-03-29T18:46:50Z")
Sure, Ecclesiasties is cranky-profound, The Song of Solomon is sexy, and the Book of Job is gloomy-subversive. But for sheer drama, you can’t beat the story of the reigns of David and Solomon in 2 Samuel - 1 Kings; it is like an iron age version of _The Godfather_, complete with the ordering of “hits” by a dying David. 😉 And who can beat Rehoboham’s immortal line: “my father chastised you with whips; I shall chastise you with _scorpions_!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387/27 "2006-03-29T18:58:12Z")
> [@mr. jp](#): > > Are you guys christians? If not, how come you have read so much of the bible? Atheists often are more familiar with the Bible than many theists. Mine is in my SF collection. (filed under God - house pseudonym.) As for the OP - Chronicles is boring. Bleah. I like Genesis, since more good stuff is packed in there per page than in just about any other part. I’m fond of Malachi, but that was because it was my Haftorah portion for my bar mitzvah, and was nice and short. \ Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? Can’t say I ever heard of them Everyone knows the Bible ends with Malachi. \ ---
**Author:** ![hellotherepoodle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8797f3/32.png) [@hellotherepoodle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellotherepoodle)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387/28 "2006-03-29T19:11:53Z")
What part is the section about building the tabernacle in? I swear that goes on for at least a hundred pages. A hundred DULL DULL DULL pages. Favorite part would have to be Genesis. It’s so soap opera-like (not that the rest of the Bible isn’t to some degree). ---
**Author:** ![Bertie\_Wooster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/58f4c7/32.png) [@Bertie\_Wooster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bertie_Wooster)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387/29 "2006-03-29T20:08:38Z")
I like the part, I think it’s in Exodus, or Numbers, or one of the other early books, where God commands his holy chosen folks to kill all the people of Midian, except for the little girls, who are forced into slavery. That’s a laugh riot, that bit. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387/30 "2006-03-29T20:11:36Z")
Ecclesiates is the only thing that really floats my boat. I think we all could use a little more of a get-over-yourself attitude. I don’t much like Genesis. It’s got some ripping yarns, but a handful of verses have been used so badly in the wrong hands that it ruins the whole thing for me. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387/31 "2006-03-29T20:20:18Z")
Actually, I liked the bits about building the tabernacle when I was a kid. A long-time fascination with weaving. There’s a bit somewhere in the middle where craftmanship is counted among the gifts of the Spirit, which I think is really cool. I also almost sob when I read the bit in Ezekiel where God tells him that He’s going to make his life a sign by the death of his wife. \*15 The word of the LORD came to me: 16 “Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears. 17 Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet; do not cover the lower part of your face or eat the customary food of mourners .” 18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded. \* I’m a Christian. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387/32 "2006-03-29T20:20:44Z")
> [@Bertie Wooster](#): > > I like the part, I think it’s in Exodus, or Numbers, or one of the other early books, where God commands his holy chosen folks to kill all the people of Midian, except for the little girls, who are forced into slavery. That’s a laugh riot, that bit. Joshua, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387/33 "2006-03-29T20:22:09Z")
The same theme comes up in 1 Samuel, when Samuel rebukes Saul for raiding the Amalekites for booty, instead of exterminating them all as God commanded. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387/34 "2006-03-29T20:25:49Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > And who can beat Rehoboham’s immortal line: “my father chastised you with whips; I shall chastise you with _scorpions_!” 😃 “Scorpion” = a whip with metal barbs in it. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387/35 "2006-03-29T20:42:37Z")
> [@hellotherepoodle](#): > > Favorite part would have to be Genesis. It’s so soap opera-like (not that the rest of the Bible isn’t to some degree). Disfunctional family after disfunctional family after disfunctional family. And they’re the patriarchs. Favorite sections? Most have already been listed - Song of Songs, the Psalms (especially the ones that start off pissed at God & the world and end in hope - you are allowed to rail at God). Lamentations, which is not only pretty, but also a word game (sadly, I don’t know Hebrew, so I can’t truly appreciate it. But I’ve been assured that it’s there). Least favorite - some of the minor prophets get a wee bit redundant. Especially if read one after another. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387/36 "2006-03-29T20:53:16Z")
My favorite books include, in no particular order, [ul] [li]Genesis[/li][li]Job[/li][li]Ruth[/li][li]John[/li][li]Acts[/li][li]Proverbs[/li][li]Song of Solomon[/li][/ul] > [@mr. jp](#): > > Are you guys christians? If not, how come you have read so much of the bible? I’m Catholic, but that’s only part of the reason I read the Bible. There are gobs and gobs of great literature out there that reference the Bible, build scenarios from it, or even offer alternate view points. To have a decent understanding of those works, I believe one needs to have a decent of at least the parts of the Bible that they reference. Like it or not Western Civilization has a lot of culture rooted in the Bible. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387/37 "2006-03-29T21:07:26Z")
> [@Dung Beetle](#): > > I’m not a Christian now, but I was raised one. When I was a kid, I tried (and failed) to read the Bible straight through. As a teenager, I’d read the Bible during church to avoid the deadly dullness of the sermon. Dang, I wish I’d thought of that. People would have thought much more highly of me, too. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387/38 "2006-03-29T21:12:19Z")
> [@Oslo Ostragoth](#): > > Dang, I wish I’d thought of that. People would have thought much more highly of me, too. Well, we got in trouble when we tried to play cards. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387/39 "2006-03-29T21:18:32Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > “Scorpion” = a whip with metal barbs in it. Cool. I did not know that. I sort of pictured Rehoboham as a James-Bond-Villian-like character, complete with scorpion pit. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387/40 "2006-03-29T21:20:32Z")
I like Genesis, Exodus, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Samuel I and II, the Gospels, and Revelations. You’ve got the stories of the patriarchs, Moses and Egypt, great wisdom, sexy poetry, more wisdom, King David, Jesus, and the end of the world. I don’t believe in it, but the Bible is a great piece of literature. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-least-favourite-parts-of-the-bible/350387.md?page=3)