Back to the premise though, there are a lot of different ways to read the Bible and quite honestly it’s usch a big, complicated book that I don’t think any one strategy would work.

As I said, for me I prefer to concentrate on Letters because they contain a lot of good information on the formation of the early Church and there isn’t much contradictory information in there. I also think it’s important to use ancillary materials to supplement the Bible. For example, the Rule of St.Benedict is a good resource for also understanding the early Church. It also helps to have a general understanding of history during that period.

While the Bible is of course an important touchstone for Christians, it’s also just one piece of the puzzle, IMO. As a Catholic we have our own internal documents and traditions that have been passed down since Peter. They aren’t necessarily contained in the Bible, but they are still important tools for our faith.

Z, if I understand your core criticism it’s that clearly the Bible is a flawed document filled with contradictions, etc so how can it be an effective tool for Christians? My answer is that I think it’s about the connection between modern Christians and those who were there in the early days…using the Bible as a bridge between the two. We know the bridge may be flawed (see Herodotus) but we still find the exercise to be worthy.

I don’t think it should be taboo to say that ideas are wrong, illogical, or silly. I believe in the value of the marketplace of ideas; I think we are all looking for truth and if we talk about it, we are more likely to find some truth eventually. It was never my intention to say — and it is certainly not my belief! — that certain people are bad people for thinking particular ideas are true. Again, I’m very sorry for having come across that way to you. (And, it seems, to Mike. Mike, I’m not calling anyone a dunderhead.) I hope you (both) can forgive me.

Atheists have no use for scripture, and I, as a religious person, do not have any use in “converting” (or trying to convert) Atheists; nor do I have use for head-butting dialog with Atheists to justify my own faith. Maybe the opposite is true for you, judging by the nature of the responses you’ve made in this post. Why care about reading the Bible if you have no use for it? It would be different, IMHO, if it were two religious people arguing about their shared text. But Atheists have no use for the Bible and therefor shouldn’t give a damn about how others read it.

And since Atheists are quick to complain about how conservative Christians constantly try to tell them how to go about religion, I would think Atheists would not try to dictate the proper way for a religious person should live religiously.

After all, the Rule of Reciprocity is not bound by any one faith; nor is it unique to religious thought; and it probably did not necessarily originate with religion alone.

Your lack-of-religion vs. my religion amounts to apples vs. shoes. At least when I discuss Atheism, I don’t pass judgment on it. Nor do I feel superior for believing in the Almighty. Like I said: apples and shoes.

Additionally, I really don’t see a point in continuing this dialog, since it seems people will inevitably be talking over one another’s heads. So.. have fun, kids.

Uh, also, I write about my atheism here from time to time, and this is an articulation of some of the reasons for my atheism. This may be surprising to you, but some people actually cite the Bible as evidence for why they believe in God (and then cite God as the reason the Bible must be true), so here is my explanation of why I don’t buy that evidence.

…maybe people are confusing their gut instincts and their consciences for the voice of God “moving” them…

I don’t really bother to separate the two, since i believe that the force of the Almighty works through humans; rather than as simply a static “Sky Faerie” looking down on us from above the clouds.

Emily K: Well, okay. “Study” is study of scripture, though, or of other people’s writings after having studied scripture. Correct? “Prayer,” or “being moved by the Holy Spirit,” or whatever one calls it, is something I can’t really say anything substantive about because it’s such a personal, subjective experience. I can conceive of a system in which one is supposed to pore over contradiction-riddled texts, study them, argue about their interpretation with others, and then sit down to meditate quietly on those texts, whereupon a heavenly voice would reveal the correct answer. All I can say is, that sounds kind of silly to me, that maybe people are confusing their gut instincts and their consciences for the voice of God “moving” them, and that if the resolution for all these contradictions is to be worked out through prayer anyway, there’s no point in reading the super-confusing scripture in the first place.

I believe Christians label a similar sort of endeavor, “being moved by the Holy Spirit.” That is, an ordinary person can personally be moved by a unique “experience of God.”