ATHEISTS: How many times (if any) have you read the Bible?

Question

If none, how educated can your questions really be?

Sorry, by "read" I meant "read in its entirety".

Answer 1

Three times cover-to-cover. Took about 2 years each time.

Answer 2

Did you know that over 95% of Christians have not read the Bible in it's entirety? I'd be willing to BET that percentage-wise, more atheists have read the Bible than Christians.

I have read both the Old Testament and the New Testament cover to cover. More than once. And the people above me who said that the Bible is a reason a lot of atheists become atheists are absolutely right. When I was on the edge of believing and not believing, it took a reading of the Bible to push me over the edge into atheism.

Answer 3

I'm not an atheist but I am a Neo-Pagan.

I have read the Bible many times. I attended a conservative Christian seminary and was 80% of the way to completing an M.Div. when I found that I just couldn't believe what was being taught. I was also an interim pastor of a church at the time. I can read Koine Greek ( a bit rusty at present) and have exegeted large portions of the New Testament.

I'm actually pretty educated about the subject.

Answer 4

Never from cover to cover so can't give an exact number. But definately more than most "christians".

How educated can a christian's input be on religion if they never read the bible?





According to a Gallup poll, 59 percent of Americans read the Bible at least occasionally. While that might seem impressive, readership of the Bible has actually declined from 73 percent in the 1980s ("Six in Ten Americans Read Bible at Least Occasionally," Gallup News Service, October 20, 2000).

Answer 5

I've actually read it a number of times (I've read the Quran, the Tao and other religious texts as well) and it's large part of the reason I became an atheist in the first place. It's also the way I've shown other christians the absurdity of their beliefs - they've since become agnostic/atheists.

You will find that atheists generally know the bible better than most christians which is certainly part of the reason they don't believe anymore. When christians read the actual bible and see all the BS they are supposed to believe (Unicorns are real, god says to kill babies against rocks, to murder rebellious children, women are property only worth 30 shekels of silver, you're supposed to slaughter every man, woman and child (as well as their innocent animals) that's not Israeli, and so on) they quickly realize how foolish and insanely evil the whole thing is.

Answer 6

Twice... the first time I was completely shocked and that was enough to convince me of its fictional nature when I read it I thought immediately that it had been written by man to control man and I didnt even hear anyone say that before... when I studied further and found out that I was not the only one who had drawn that conclusion immediately and conclusively then I read it again just so I could make sure of my opinion. The second time just made me mad and for the logest time I really couldnt stand anyone who read and believed what I saw as so transparently propagandized fiction.. then after a while I read a couple portions now and then to provide a background knowledge for my debates and here I am... an agnostic who doesnt believe in god/s of any kind, doesnt discount the possibility but rejects the bible as fictional.

Answer 7

Jeez, hundreds of times, I'm sure. Like most American atheists, anyway, I was raised Christian. I did nine years of religious education, plus some adult education courses, and spoke from the pulpit numerous times.

Are you assuming that atheists don't know about religion? You're about to learn what a mistake that assumption was.

I also wonder why you would feel the need to indirectly question how educated our questions are. You can see as well as I can that the atheists understand religious belief quite well - considerably better than the believers do, on the balance. You're not going to get very far suggesting that atheists aren't educated about these topics: that's an obvious falsehood.
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You really dug yourself into a hole with this one, didn't you? I hope you're going to consider learning the obvious lesson from this. Your narrow little worldview doesn't line up with the simple facts.

Answer 8

Well...no one should thumbs down personal answers I agree Sho...well unless they are really nasty, lol.

You cannot use the Bible as a reason to not believe in God if you do not allow Christians to use it as proof of why they believe in God. Do you see the double standard here?

I find many atheists very knowledgable about the Bible, which is good. But I also know that you have books, and websites that teach you how to argue against Christianity...and I read them too and I am a scientist. So...the playing field is even here.
The Skeptical Christian
Grace and Peace
Peg

Answer 9

I have never sat down and read the Bible cover to cover, however, I studied the entire Bible numerous times over the course of 10-15 years both in religious study groups and on my own.

Unlike some people, you will find that most atheists educate themselves on a topic before speaking about it.

Answer 10

You mean, cover to cover? Just once. However, I did study various sections in college, which required reading and re reading. Over the years, I've re read numerous other sections, whenever some delusional Christian starts throwing quotes at me. I suppose a meaningful answer would be greater than 50 and less than 100 times.

Answer 11

I grew up Catholic. Guess. Many times.

Most Atheists used to be Christians, you know. And you'll also find most Atheists are much more educated on religions than any religion is. Often even more than those involved in the particular religion.

And before you start.... even most Christians haven't read their bible in its entirety. Its always obvious when a Christian hasn't when they don't pick up on the contradictions in the bible.