Have you actually read the entirety of the Bible, from start to finish?

Question

And if you have, did it in any way change your view of Christianity, for better or worse?

AMS700CX4u2 · Accepted Answer

I am diabetic and in 1995 I started having trouble with feet. Many short term disabilities. I started reading at Genesis and finished at Revelations. My take away is that God's will and human respectability will never agree. Churches are all about what is respectable and we Christians are very reticent to do what the Father ask us to do as well as what Jesus ask us to do. It seems we will only go so far. Peer opinion is Lucifers greatest tool. What will everyone think if I help an individual less fortunate than I. How many churches will not allow AA chapters to use there buildings for meetings. How many times have you seen prostitutes welcomed into the fold. Yet that is what we are asked to do. To love the unloved and unlovable.

stepyo99 · Accepted Answer

Yeah, it took me two years and eventually I left Christianity because of it. Outside of the Pentateuch, the Old Testament is by far more interesting than the New Testament. The history books, wisdom literature, and prophets are all very entertaining and insightful. I found Ecclesiastes and Job particularly difficult and eye-opening. Reading the New Testament afterwards was pretty bland compared to the richness of the Old Testament.

But there was also plenty of stuff that was really strange and nonsensical that made me realize that the Bible wasn't written for me, but for the tribe of Israel. Yahweh is their God, not mine, so I gave up Christianity and became more interested in learning about old pre-Christian European religions.

zeitgeist057 · Answer

No, I haven't. I have read most of it, but there's a lot of really tedious parts of it where it just goes on and on for example parts about lineage:

Genesis Chapter 5, for example:

When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.4 After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 5 Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father[b] of Enosh. 7 After he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters.8 Altogether, Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died.

9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. 10 After he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters.11 Altogether, Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he died.

12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. 13 After he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. 14 Altogether, Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he died.

15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. 16 After he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. 17 Altogether, Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then he died.

18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. 19 After he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 Altogether, Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died.

21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. 24 Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. 26 After he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27 Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died.

28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son.29 He named him Noah[c] and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.” 30 After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. 31 Altogether, Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then he died.

Only so much of that is interesting, and after a few chapters like that, I started skimming over them when they started out. I've probably read about 80%-90% of the Bible though.

As for changing my understanding of Christianity, maybe a little. I read it when I was younger, and my understanding of Christianity has changed a lot over the years. Though back then I think the biggest thing I realized is that Christians all interpret the Bible in a different way, and they use it as a tool to justify what they want to justify. If they want to eat meat, for example, then they will quote:

Deuteronomy 12:20- When the LORD your God has enlarged your territory as he promised you, and you crave meat and say, “I would like some meat,” then you may eat as much of it as you want.

Genesis 9:3- Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

&c.

If they are vegetarian, then they will quote:

Genesis 1:29- Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.

Roman 14:20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.

and so on... The same thing for whatever political stance they want to take about abortion, death penalty, racism, misogyny, whatever. The Bible has enough verses and loose poetic interpretations to make everyone happy and self-righteous in believing their personal choices are backed up by omnipotent powers.

Have you actually read the entirety of the Bible, from start to finish?

Reading the Bible really brought it home to me that it was written by mortals, not by an immortal deity. I saw ego and pride in the writing, personal opinions of mortals that today other mortals believe are the opinions of an immortal, just by virtue of being really old. I saw contradictions and dreams, poetry and prose. It's a cool book, no cap. But I don't see it as a divine work by any means. More accurately, it is a religious text, written by followers of that religion.

D_Bone_Steak · Answer

Sort of. I went through the entire Bible verse by verse when Dr. Gene Scott was still alive... They'd film it and put it on television, so I'm sure you can find out what I'm talking about. He learned old Latin and it was way more in-depth than just reading it... a single verse could take like 30 minutes to get through.

Then when I lived in Japan I basically did the same thing with "The Bible Reloaded"

https://www.youtube.com/embed/3TDrtuGIHrs

I watched all the Quran episodes as well.

I've tried reading it directly by myself and I just can't do it without someone there commenting on it... too dry and boring. It's the same as the news for me... it's extremely dry and annoying to read by myself, but I enjoy when Tim Pool basically does that with news articles.

So no, I haven't read it technically... I basically would follow along though as someone else was reading it aloud. I'd say for not being religious at all, I probably know more than some of the Bible thumpers out there.

Kaneki05 · Answer

Only needed one page and a few quotes from it to understand it's got outdated views in it. Which... welp it was made years upon years ago so wasn't a shocker. It baffles me people don't see how outdated it is.
And when people say you must read it all before you can understand and etc as their argument I just say "Yeah so you've read all religious texts in the world to get the full context? No? Didn't think so." one don't need to do a through search to make a logical conclusion.
Otherwise we would all just be wasting our time reading every book with a belief in it no matter how absurd.

OldWomanBySoul · Answer

Okay so I'm not religious person nor do I have anything against religious people! I started to read it out of curiosity, the original book of bible or whatever its called, not the one that's Made to be easier to read I don't know how its called lmao, couldn't finish the bible read like 1/4th of it and, there was so much incest and I understand that I didn't get the whole story and just the first part of it but it was just not only kinda awful but it was written in a very not flowy way. No offense or disrespect to any people who like it and stuff but just not my cup of tea. Might try to finish it one day tho

Lionman95 · Answer

Yes I have read the whole Bible. It took some time for me to read it from Genesis to Revelation and it changed my perspective on the Christian faith for the better though there are many stories and incidents that are weird to me. It changed something for the better because it showed to me that a different perspective on its origin than the impression I got from my visits to church.

Before that church always had been about money since most churches in my area have membership fees and they also ask for money in their services. Another thing I always connected to church was Sunday as the Church day and that it´s important to go to the right church with the preacher.

Reading the Bible I found out there´s some truth to right/wrong teachings but the original attempt to me seemed like a try of giving people hope with a story that sounds too good to be true and it turned out that money isn´t that important.

Paris13 · Answer

I am Currently Reading the Easier to Read Version of The King James Bible. God/Jesus (All One man) Was Always Part of My Life, Family and My of My Blessings. I APPRECIATE HIM MORE with a Better Understanding of HIS WORD and Christ Who Died on The Cross for Us. xxoo

LiamJHayden · Answer

Yes, several times in different English translations. Parts of it, like much of Numbers, can be tedious. Other parts are exciting. Ultimately it helped me better understand the Christian concept of why Jesus came, what was accomplished by his sacrifice, and why it was needed.

Robbey · Answer

I have a number of times. Although, now a days I tend to focus more on the parts I find most interesting. I’ve also found reading the Bible in conjunction with various commentaries to be very illuminating. I’ve been a committed Christian since I was a child but studying scripture and how it’s been variously interpreted has made me I think a smarter Christian.

asphaltrhymes · Answer

Furthest I got was starting through the old testament, sure I skipped a few pages. And I can honestly say, from every literal page, I've never read the Bible. It's just so long, and some pages almost read a little odd to me. Like one I recall I thought that talked about a whole lineage or family tree which was worded so long I no wonder I skipped pages. Anyways.

humanearth · Answer

Yes I have and it made me change my views on religion

Like sacrifices of white goats and white doves to cleanse your sole

Its talked about a lot in the old testament

The santic bible makes a lot more sense

KostasKouvalis · Answer

I have not. I don't even know where mine is. But I've heard bits and pieces when I went to Sunday school, but like Jews, I think the New Testatment is irrelevant. I watched, "The Bible" and it didn't even include the New Testament.
Though i think Catholicism is the only denomination that follows both.

jshm2 · Answer

Which one?

Also, each denomination has it's own, and their interpretations are very different too.

So anyone claiming to have "read the bible" is telling a blatant lie. They've only read their denominations interpretation of one.

AngryCarl2 · Answer

I've never read the whole of the Bible but I came top of the class at Religious Education at school. Yep, back in the day they used to teach Christianity in schools. I was also dragged to the Methodist chapel on Sundays by my parents. And I was the last kid in school who still believed that when you die you go to Heaven.

art84 · Answer

I read some of the Old Testament and New Testament but never the entire bible. I know my old church had a contest where you had the read the entire bible in a year and some church lady actually did it. I have a bible though haven't read it since I was a teenager or in my 20's when I used to attend Singles class at my church.

YesterdaysChild · Answer

I claim half-read. Although the New Testament is the most important part of all the 66 books.

slatyb · Answer

Julia Sweeney did that, and when she finished she was an atheist. She wrote about it "Letting Go of God". There's also an audio book.

reds-noro · Answer

Made me realise that the Bible is not very reliable. Genesis alone just falls apart after thinking about it for a while. AND THAT'S THE FIRST BOOK! If the Christian god really exists he probably deviates a bit from the Bible.

Simslover92 · Answer

No I haven't. It's just too long and some parts are just boring... I'm sorry God.

MementoMori777 · Answer

No but I don't let anything that's thrown at me effect my faith, I know God is real, it's not the Bible itself, I'm not going by just the word, I've had unexplainable spiritual experiences, my mind isn't changing.

ChristLover21 · Answer

I've been following Christ now for a little over 2 years and I still have yet to read the entire Word. I do plan on finishing the entire Bible before the end of the Summer tho. Reading the Word and being full of the Word is essential if you want to walk in holiness and purity before the Lord. Thanks for the question!

BoopBoopBeep · Answer

I read really quickly so "the boring parts" don't last long. I've actually read it throughout a few times. Same with several other religions major texts.

imawfulatusernames · Answer

So I’ve read the Torah many times but I have read the Christian bible and the Koran once through as well as a few other holy texts

purplepoppy · Answer

Not the whole lot but enough to confirm my atheist beliefs.

lightbulb27 · Answer

no I bailed out of some areas as too difficult to read. I got the jist of it just fine... I still suck, I pray God reinvigorates me.

Agape93 · Answer

Yeap, catholic and kjv. Still have copies of both and various other texts from several religions. Didn't change my stance one bit

najekim · Answer

I actually have. And it confirmed the fact that it is used for clergy to have total control of the lives of followers through fear and intimidation. Which is basically the premise of any religion.

Nikki1989 · Answer

Yes I have. It is one of the reasons why I am an atheist.

Blueeyes81 · Answer

As a child. What I recall was that there where a lot of contradictory versus. I also found it strange that god would do a complete 180 from pre christ birth vs post birth.

Pudsmucker · Answer

I have read the Bible several times. Because what I've read sparked my curiosity about other religious faiths. It also increased my faith in my and God more so.

collie22 · Answer

I've probably study more of the old testament. Some day I hope to get through the old and new and the lessons are amazing I can't get enough 😊

TracyF · Answer

Yup and if you read it you immediately understand that nobody in religious circles have ever seen one.

strateguy632 · Answer

no. i have not read every chapter... but i needed the IMPORTANT parts for leadership training so at least ALL the important parts.

poetic_pisces · Answer

I'm not a Christian so I didn't read it fully to be honest but I've read planety of pages

Googlemyahoo · Answer

Just the good parts with stoning and torturing the rest is pretty boring

OddBeMe · Answer

Yes. Fastest way to become an atheist.  I’d wager the most diehard Christian’s are the ones who never read it.

Hispanic-Cool-Guy · Answer

Read the whole new testament around 3 times.  A big part of the old testament. In total I have read about 95% of the entire Bible.

admles · Answer

Yep and I'm still an atheist. A Christian challenged me to read it, guaranteeing it would turn me. They were wrong lol. Very wrong.

AviatorTom · Answer

I've read, and studied, much of the bible, mostly in pieces, but never the entire thing. What I have read has changed some if my religious beliefs.

Anonymous · Answer

love to see religious post... keep doing the good work...

Adam1978 · Answer

No and I wouldn't waste my time doing so. I know enough about it as it is.

EmmaMary · Answer

No, but I have read an awful lot of the Dandy and Beano comics! 😂

Dargil · Answer

No, I have not, although I have almost all of in small doses/

Anonymous · Answer

Twice and lots of individual parts countless times. I'm certainly still a work in progress

zagor · Answer

I set out to do so one time, but the begats and begets in the Old Testament really got to me and I didn't make it all the way through Exodus.

clampfan101 · Answer

Certainly over time, but never in one sitting.

EssenceOfLight · Answer

No, bible isn't useful knowledge it's propaganda

peterrezeeek · Answer

i hear it in the church but i didn't read it completely yet

riverrat3 · Answer

i have read it twice, cover to cover, the King James version, i found the Old Testament to be conservative and the New liberal

OfMiceandMen · Answer

I have not, different belief system.

CrimsonAngel09 · Answer

Never read the Bible.

Kingofkings1992 · Answer

Nope. I have no interest whatsoever in doing so

SnowedIn · Answer

Yes I have.

SawerBrown · Answer

It just gave me a better understanding

Minahh · Answer

I haven't. It's on my list tho.

Firepoint_525 · Answer

Our church did a read-through in one year.

BCRanger10 · Answer

No, I have not. I'd like to though.

Static_In_The_Attic · Answer

What’s A Bible?

Charliefretz329 · Answer

As well as many apocryphal books. Much more info

whistlingwh0res · Answer

16 times. I went to seminary

Mimi_758 · Answer

Yes i have

Have you actually read the entirety of the Bible, from start to finish?

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Have you actually read the entire Bible?

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