The Bible

The creation of the Christ myth from out of the Jewish life and Roman death of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the greatest stories ever told. Including the extraordinary use by the Evangelists of the Hebrew scriptures.

The Christ myth is brilliant, powerful and seductive, at least for those ignorant of Hebrew scripture and messianism.

The point is not to"debunk" scripture but to understand it: ...who wrote it, when, where and why? What did it sound like and what did it mean to the authors and their original and earliest audience? Who compiled, edited, combined, redacted, or plagiarized? Who created the pseudepigraphia? Etc.

The Bible is endlessly fascinating. Whose fault is it if it helps get some people through the day, and what's the harm?

The real value of the Bible is in the way it changes lives. There will always be people who don't accept and believe it but that doesn't alter the Truth contained in it. Those who have embraced it, will agree with me and those who haven't won't.

He's Right, Ya DON'T have to be nice with others beliefs.

It's NOT ridicule to express your views on the views of others. It's healthy and makes for a good debate, as long as everyone is of a sane enough mind to debate. It's sad that some are just undebatable and will go to extremes to defend their beliefs or opinion of the matter at hand.

Review of this book, it is poorly written for this time and era, ambiguous in verbiage and cryptic at times.

Old testament: WTF!!! Not what anyone alive now would expect. Instructions on how to build a temple, sell your daughter into slavery, plant a field, harvest a field, masturbation, genocide, incest and even making statues of salt.

New Testament: OMG!!! Human weakness, plotting, depravity,different versions of the "truth", bondage, murders,incest, muzzling oxes, long speeches, shipwrecks, visions, strange beings. Too much for my feeble mind, BUT YET!

The "BUT YET" is the most perplexing. But yet I find truth and hope and a comfort in this strange book. It seems to talk to me with a way as disjointed, confused and perplexed as I am.

I know what I believe, I can debate it and learn for the person I debate. I didn't write it so I don't have a dog in the race of literary perfection. The book just talks to me. Spooky Hu?

In my honest, humble opinion this book is a must read. It'll talk to you deeper than any written words can. You'll find the strength of Scarlett O'Hara, Robin Hood, Lawrence of Arabia. The dead fast devotion to a cause as Martin Luther King Jr., the sea captain Ahab, George Washington and even Adolf Hitler. They weren't all rite, they just had devotion.

A strange book, very strange book. So what do you think about muzzled oxen?

Nobody has to be nice to anybody's beliefs.

While I don't prescribe to any religious ideas about the origin of the universe, it is wholly inappropriate to use this place to demonstrate 'how cool you are' outside of the context of an actual review.

This should be a lesson to those of you who can't take ridicule: Never publish your ideas, you will get feedback, both positive and negative. Accusing people of 'just being mean' or 'being biggots' only makes you look like an intellectual child.

All that being said, this isn't a particularly well written book, contradictions abound, morally questionable practices endorsed and enforced by the supposed author(s), Strong promotion of tribalism, xenophobia and misogyny. Way too much fluff (begat, begat, begat, etc...). The moral implications of most of the text are so vague that they can be twisted to justify nearly anything.

Despite all this it's a very good psycho-historical look at the peoples and the cultures that produced and translated these texts. I'll probably keep a copy of it on my kindle for reference. Whether we like it or not, this is an important cultural document.

I think it is rather pathetic that anti Christian bigots use the review section of this website to insult another religion and it's adherents. If you don't believe the Bible, thats your right. Leave other people alone...

The review section is to review this particular translation and version of the Bible. It's NOT intended as your own personal soapbox for your bigoted and ignorant snipes. Grow up!

I have read the Holy Bible but I think the translator didn't do a good job of translating it since I have seen tons (and I mean tons) of mistakes there. The rating I gave is for the tranlation and not for the content of the Holy Bible.

I find it disturbing that people can say this is hocus pocus. im not christian, but i read this to gain insight into their religion, and though i dont believe it, i dont say its gibberish. im a jew, so even though i dont believe in everything in this book, i still think it can be rude to call it out like that.

Anonymous? I can hardly say that the Bible was written by anonymous, but I digress...

For those nay-sayers who think the Bible is myth and not worth reading, I would disagree. At the very least, it is useful for life. Just read the Proverbs and the Psalms and the teachings of Jesus (Do unto others and you would have them do unto you...how could that be rubbish?). The amazing thing is that its not just a guide for how to live a good life, its the story of a God who loves people so much that he would die for them even after they turned his back on them.

Easily the greatest story ever told.

(I just wish the translation was different...that's why it gets 4 stars and not 5)

Wish it had more information as to the edition, so I could feel assured about the translation -- but I can't really complain too much for the price.

Worth owning, even if you don't believe in fairies and hocus-pocus.

Poorly translated fiction, the welsh version is better