I initially started reading it because it’s the most read book in the world and I found it fascinating how old it is. Take into account I was 16-17 and atheist since birth so no religious baggage at all. Some parts were very boring like the one-two pages where it lists the name of every single worker who rebuilt the temple, or the genealogy of Jesus from Adam to himself. But most stories in there were actually quite good and a few made me emotional. I think the book is completely fine if you’re simply interested in reading some 2000-3000 year old stories. At the same time you learn to understand western society more as a lot of western morality, even secular morality, is based on things in the bible. A worthwhile read. Can’t say the moral of every story is any good though. Like I still think it’s insane how god just told the Israelites that they can genocide the whole promised land of the people already living there. It really reminds you of something else happening today… But if you read the bible as stories and not as morals then it’s totally fine!
A couple years later I tried reading the Quran but I sadly have to put that at 2/10 dugong skins. The chapters are out of order and Mohammeds personal war conquests and ramblings take up far too much of it and the classic old testament stories are all shortened down and changed. Can’t recommend that one too much, but reading another person’s summary of it can be enjoyable. Apparently the Quran is written in beautiful Arabic poetry but that’s all lost in translation.
It puts it even more into context when you realize the old testament was before the Romans had written laws etc - so it also acted as a standard what to do and what not.
A law book, if you will, but without the clear separation from other stuff, and the threat of a magical being being angry at you for not following it probably helped with a tribe of people being in remote places on behalf of being sheepherders etc.
7 out of 10 dugong skins.
I initially started reading it because it’s the most read book in the world and I found it fascinating how old it is. Take into account I was 16-17 and atheist since birth so no religious baggage at all. Some parts were very boring like the one-two pages where it lists the name of every single worker who rebuilt the temple, or the genealogy of Jesus from Adam to himself. But most stories in there were actually quite good and a few made me emotional. I think the book is completely fine if you’re simply interested in reading some 2000-3000 year old stories. At the same time you learn to understand western society more as a lot of western morality, even secular morality, is based on things in the bible. A worthwhile read. Can’t say the moral of every story is any good though. Like I still think it’s insane how god just told the Israelites that they can genocide the whole promised land of the people already living there. It really reminds you of something else happening today… But if you read the bible as stories and not as morals then it’s totally fine!
A couple years later I tried reading the Quran but I sadly have to put that at 2/10 dugong skins. The chapters are out of order and Mohammeds personal war conquests and ramblings take up far too much of it and the classic old testament stories are all shortened down and changed. Can’t recommend that one too much, but reading another person’s summary of it can be enjoyable. Apparently the Quran is written in beautiful Arabic poetry but that’s all lost in translation.
It puts it even more into context when you realize the old testament was before the Romans had written laws etc - so it also acted as a standard what to do and what not.
A law book, if you will, but without the clear separation from other stuff, and the threat of a magical being being angry at you for not following it probably helped with a tribe of people being in remote places on behalf of being sheepherders etc.
(Clapping emoji)