Reading

[xjuggernaughtx]

The Bible is not getting any easier. I find that I have to put it down after 10 pages or so out of sheer exasperation. The people at the beginning of the bible are wholey amoral, and it makes no sense that God would have them as his chosen people

Comments

[co_cutthroat]

I got started talking with another friend of mine about the bible the other day because of its position on that top 100 books. He is a former believer (side note: What do you call these people? Un-born again christians?), and when I mentioned that I was thinking about trying to read it again, he gave me links to these two websites:

http://www.evilbible.com/

http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/index.htm

They're pretty awesome.

[xjuggernaughtx]

Oh, man! Those people at evilbible could have been reading my mind. They think about things exactly as I do.

[angry_american]

I can summarize one story using the very things you are describing:

God says: "Jacob, steal your brother Esau's birthright, marry two or your cousins, and fuck their servants while you are at it. I will make you the father of nations."
Jacob: "Only if you wrestle me."
And God wrestled with Jacob and neither of them won, but his brother died young and poor, his father was blind and deceived, and his wives had to give up their bed to their slaves.

The End.

-FW

[xjuggernaughtx]

I had to put it down yesterday and send my friend an IM about Jacob. I just asked him if everything concerning the guy was going to be totally ridiculous. Everything about the guy is totally counter to what Christians are trying to get you to buy into.

[angry_american]

Well, it's a Judaic myth, or perhaps a universal one, about how keeping your priorities straight make you rich and powerful. For better or for worse, Jacob is an ancestral figure, and he got that power by being a shyster, not a schmuck. As an object lesson, its worth understanding. However, as a moral tale, it's completely corrupt.

-FW