Should I read the Bible?

I don't mean in a spiritual sense since I'm not religious but are the stories in it actually any good? I have a general idea of the classics (David & Goliath, Kane & Able, Moses etc) but I've heard people tell me there's some really interesting stuff in there, particularly in revelations. 
 
So what I'm looking for really is a book review of the Bible. I'm sure there must be a fellow faithless individual on here who's read the book and can give me an honest opinion. A score out of 5 stars would be useful as well since, you know, nobody reads reviews anymore...

Stories are interesting, it's considered to be the book of truth. It's very metaphorical, you can't read it literally, it has hidden meanings.

I'm an atheist, and I didn't really get much out of the bible.  I found most of the stories dull, but I appreciate being able to understand references to the bible in other works, so it's useful to read it.  John 21:3 is my favourite. 
 
2 stars out of 5.

" They should make a game based on the bible.     To the OP: Ive read various parts of the bible and it all seems kind of interesting even if it is far-fetched to the point of stupidy. Read it if you have nothing else to read and if you have nothing else to read, I could recommend you some fantastic books. "

It will definitely make you less ignorant (not saying that you are) to others beliefs. I'm an atheist so idgaf. 

" They should make a game based on the bible."

i recomment you read some philosophical ancient books than this book load of fairy tales

Reading it in its entirety is NOT necessary but it's helpful to have knowledge of its contents since it's the basis for so much of western culture. That said, I don't believe a word in it.

Even if you don't believe the mumbo jumbo, it still wouldn't hurt to read it. Most of the stories carry good meanings, and it does try to push a good message. Well most of the stories anyways. 
 
If you want to read some good Christian mythology, you should pick up Paradise Lost. Or watch the last two seasons of Supernatural. Angles and Demons fighting is pretty cool.

" Reading it in its entirety is NOT necessary but it's helpful to have knowledge of its contents since it's the basis for so much of western culture. That said, I don't believe a word in it. "

no. if you arent religious you really dont need to read it. ive abstained from reading its so far and im pretty much a normal person. but really its a personal decision. its something you have to decide for yourself whether or not you think its a necessity to read.

They're not hard to come by :P
Why not pick up the english versions of the Qur'an and the Torah as well. At least if you're interested you can glance through them for some insightful wisdom.
Just remember to read them in the context of their culture and time period ;)

A surprisingly tame Bible thread... GB i am proud, you put the internet to shame.  If you're gonna read it then "The Message" version is the current most readable if not amazingly ridiculous at times by dumbing down stuff to "street level" if you know what i mean.
So in my opinion when you are forced to read the bible.... not so good.... reading it casually it can be surprisingly not what you expected and interesting.  But the fundamental survival fact....  if you start with a book like "Leviticus" and rapidly find yourself bored to tears try moving onto the "Kings" or "Samuel" books, somewhat more story like.
I guess everyone should read the bible once but i can't say that without saying everyone should read EVERY foundational Religious text once.... oh and  "Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman.

" @josty81 said:

" Reading it in its entirety is NOT necessary but it's helpful to have knowledge of its contents since it's the basis for so much of western culture. That said, I don't believe a word in it. "

this thing is the basis of nothing :P "

Well, set aside the fact that some people believe the bible to be written by God and so on, and you have a pretty decent compilation of stories.
The main-point of the bible is quite simple, and has nothing to do with God, Jesus or Mary - "Don't be a prick". If you would appreciate such a "plot" it's most definately a book for you.
I've read both the bible, the quran and alot of them ol' greek texts - I liked them all.

" @apoptosis61 said:

" @josty81 said:

" Reading it in its entirety is NOT necessary but it's helpful to have knowledge of its contents since it's the basis for so much of western culture. That said, I don't believe a word in it. "

this thing is the basis of nothing :P "

You mean my post? I concede, it's true. "

Just skip to Revelation

By the way - I'm a philosophy/psychology major from Denmark, and we've used this book ( http://www.amazon.com/Classics-Philosophy-Louis-P-Pojman/dp/0195148932 ) a lot.
It's parts of, or whole texts, spanning from ancient Greece, to modern philosophers - all good translations - you should check it out, if you're looking for such texts.

I highly recommend reading it, not just for the Spiritual significance, but also how the stories are crafted. I took a university course in Biblical Literature and if you stop and pay attention, the Bible is like poetry. The stories have a rhythm and a cadence, and very intentionally put together to create harmony to the point of even being mathematical. Definitely read it and I suggest picking up this version, to help you understand the meanings and the cultures that wrote the various books.   
 
That's the version I bought for the college class, it even has the Apocrypha included. 

" @josty81 said:

" @apoptosis61 said:

" @josty81 said:

" Reading it in its entirety is NOT necessary but it's helpful to have knowledge of its contents since it's the basis for so much of western culture. That said, I don't believe a word in it. "

this thing is the basis of nothing :P "

You mean my post? I concede, it's true. "

thing = bible ^^ "

I can honestly say that if you get interested by the stories in the bible then any written script in the history of man would also peak your interest. 
You would be better off with some Aesop's fables or Fairy tales. There are so many philosophers from our history that need to be read, don't bother wasting your time on the Bible.

" @apoptosis61 said:

" @josty81 said:

" @apoptosis61 said:

" @josty81 said:

" Reading it in its entirety is NOT necessary but it's helpful to have knowledge of its contents since it's the basis for so much of western culture. That said, I don't believe a word in it. "

this thing is the basis of nothing :P "

You mean my post? I concede, it's true. "

thing = bible ^^ "

Well what i mean is that there's SO many biblical references in all the fiction we consume on a daily basis that it helps to know at least some of its contents "

I vote yes for a few reasons: its the single best selling work of fiction ever published, it has multiple protagonists in the first half all of which are quite flawed (and flawed hero's is whats in now right?), it has twist after twist that after so many years may not surprise but still those twists were killer, and lets not forget that it was the fist book ever mass produced on a printing press...so history I guess?

While I haven't read it in any detail, the bible is a very interesting read, whether you believe in it or not. The old testament particularly,

I can certainly see good reasons for reading it and I've had a copy for a long time which I've dipped into a few times. The biggest problem for me is finding the time to commit to reading it. I do most of my reading on the bus and I think most people would think I was a weird fundamentalist if I was reading the Bible on the commute. 
 
I don't know why that stigma is there but I get the impression that most people don't believe you can read it as a work of fiction without having some sort of emotional or spiritual resonance with it. Anyway I've decided I will go on and read it so the next question is how exactly should I be reading it. Can the book be read simply cover to cover or is it better to go through the scripts in a certain order?

"

Stories are interesting, it's considered to be the book of truth. It's very metaphorical, you can't read it literally, it has hidden meanings.

"

For the Old testament read Genesis then chuck most of the rest. 
For the New testament read Matthew, Mark, John and maybe Revelations. 
Then if you wish read some of the stories that got removed from the Hebrew versions like the story of the first woman Lilith, which will either make you entirely sympathise with YHWH or hate him/she/it.

Purely as a book I tried reading it a few times in hotels when there was time to waste, buts it's just too damn boring imho, helped me fall asleep a few times tho.

Sure, it's better than that Stephanie Meyer shit, and every body reads that.

Just read The Chronicles of Narnia instead. 
 
Aslan > Jesus.

It sucks as a book, I would read the childrens bible if your interested in the stories.

Jesus dies.... oh sh** did I just ruin it?

" It sucks as a book, I would read the childrens bible if your interested in the stories. "

" Jesus dies.... of sh** did I just ruin it? "

So, anybody who is a part of Western civilization would gain a lot from reading the Bible, because it has/had been a cornerstone of that civilization for well over a thousand years. If you've read it, there are scores of images, allusions and references that will suddenly make sense to you, and most likely you will have a richer experience out of almost every other book you read (especially from the 19th century and earlier). Also, there are large parts of the Bible which are fantastic: the book of Job is one of the great classics of Western literature. Some of it is pretty uninspiring -- the Biblical author/s were inconsistent in their quality --  but the good parts are very good. It helps that the people doing the translating typically have done so with enormous amounts of love and care. I recommend the King James Version. It can be heavy going if you're not used to archaic English, but the quality of the poetry in that translation is simply wonderful.

You should read everything you can.  The Bible, the Koran, the Bhagavad Gita, the Talmud, the teachings of the Buddah, the writings of Confucius, etc...don't deny yourself because you are not a follower of the faith.  Educating yourself is always a better path to take regardless of how you personally feel about any particular religion or ideology.  

A lot of you are downplaying the history and influence of the Bible.  To the level of just sounding silly. 
 
I'd recommend reading a book that studies the history and influence of the Bible, instead of reading the book itself.

I imagian it has some very good stories if you read it as a work of fiction.

yes

Yeah, you should. 
 
Even if you don't like religion for some reason, it still has plenty of good advice on how to live your life.
 
But it creeps me out that you have to buy one. Bibles shouldn't be for sale....they should be like, free or something.....

You should... It's a comedic force. 
 
Actually, you should, just because you'd probably have a leg up on actual christians who claim to read it, but only know a few key passages. Remind them how fucked up that book is.

" You should... It's a comedic force.  Actually, you should, just because you'd probably have a leg up on actual christians who claim to read it, but only know a few key passages. Remind them how fucked up that book is. "

Um... I'm a Christian, so I might be biased towards it, but I find the Bible pretty good in a literary sense (Whole lotta nookie going on!)

well since it's the most influential book written in the history of mankind, everyone should probably read it

Depends if you like fairy tales.... oh I didn't did I?

" Depends if you like fairy tales.... oh I didn't did I? "

I find the sequel, "Bible 2: Holy Wars" and the remake, "Bible: Reloaded" to be much better than the original.