to both Atheists and Christians, which have you read?

Question

The God Delusion
The Bible
The Da Vinci Code
Harry Potter


which was the most disturbing, insulting or influential on how you answer questions here, and which are you?

Answer 1

no --The God Delusion
yes --The Bible (a few times thru .. quite moving)
yes---The Da Vinci Code (excellent read !!)
yes--Harry Potter (3 or 4 books ... kinda wears thin)

having read a lot, I found none of them insulting particularly

influential ... in the far past, the Bible ... not really anymore

disturbing?
for a while, the Bible ... not really anymore on this count either

Having considered the condition : "how you answer questions here" (sic) I would say "none of the above"

a reasoned reflection on life-experience tends to influence most of my answers [ok, "reasoned" might be a bit pompous, but hey! ... yuh gotta give your life some thought once in a while"]

poetic license

I'm mostly agnostic

Dalai Lama's writings are choice renderings of ethical approach to llife

mostly, it's what I feel, hear, see and think, rather than what I read, that influences my opinions.

Answer 2

I've read the Bible and the entire Harry Potter series (loved it, and very sad it's over). I didn't read The Da Vinci Code (a friend of mine who is a fellow book-snob told me I wouldn't enjoy the writing style), but I did see the movie. I haven't read The God Delusion.

I probably found parts of the Bible disturbing the first time I read it--I know Paul used to irritate me. But I can't say I've found any of the three insulting, and only the Bible has been influential.

Regarding The Da Vinci Code: it's an interesting story. Not original, really--authors have suggested the same things for at least two decades--but still interesting. I thought it was peculiar that people got so wound up about it. First, what if Jesus had a wife and child--what would that really change about Christianity? Second, if he did--how would anyone ever prove it? Anyone got a nice fresh sample of Jesus DNA to test for paternity?

Oh, almost forgot the other part of the question. I'm a Christian.

Answer 3

I have not read the God Delusion, however, it's actually being shipped by UPS; should've arrived today, but hasn't.

Yes, I've read the Bible.

The Da Vinci Code, I haven't read, but I have read the prequel; "Angels and Demons," and the Da Vinci Code is set to arive along with the God Delusion.

I have read Harry Potter.

The most disturbing was the Bible, the second most disturbing was Angels and Demons, and the third most disturbing was Harry Potter. Obviously, not having read it, I can't speak for the God Delusion just yet.

The Bible insulted my intelligence.

I feel that anything and everything I ever experience, regardless of how great or small a detail it is, affects my life, my choices, my thoughts, and my thought processes. Therefore, they affect my answers here equally, but also no more or less than what type of cereal I have for breakfast does.

It's all a part of it, as far as I'm concerned.

Answer 4

Only the first three. I seriously tried to read the first Harry Potter, but it didn't really hold my interest. Seems I was alone there.
I have them all the Harry Potters and plan to give them another try someday.

The violence and God depicted in the Bible disturbed me the most. It is also one of the main reasons I am an atheist, and therefore most directly influences how I answer here. Although I will say I was not as overwhelmed by The God Delusion as others seemed to be.
The Da Vinci Code was my favorite, but due to the math and codes in it, not the main story.

Answer 5

I've studied parts of the Bible. The Da Vinci Code was much ado over nonsense; The God Delusion is a rant; have not read Harry Potter, but saw part of one of the films and was bored. I found none of those books to be disturbing or insulting. In the Bible, Christ's admonition to be kind and show caring to others will always influence my life. if you are in search of spiritual "reads", pick up "Four Quartets" By T. S. Eliot; "The Chalice and the Blade'" by Riane Eisler; and "The Kingdom of God is Within You" by Leo Tolstoy, which influenced M.Gandhi. These books are so disturbing and insulting to conventional thought that I'm sure many would ban or burn them.

Answer 6

All of the above..The Bible is the most influential. The God Delusion, I found inaccurate on many points. I love Harry Potter. The DA Vinci Code was kind of a rip off of books I have read before.

Answer 7

I have read most of the bible, thought it wasinfluential.
I read the Da Vinci Code, Thought it was just really dumb.
Didn't read Harry Potter because I have too many other books to read but I love the movies.
Haven't read the God Delusion, but sounds interesting.

Didn't find any disturbing or insulting

I'm Christian

Answer 8

I'm an atheist, and the only one of those I've read all the way through is the Bible.

I've read parts of Dawkins and some of the Harry Potter books, but I've never touched the da Vinci Code, nor is it on my list of books to read in the near future.

The Bible is interesting though pretty disturbing in parts. Dawkins is pretty good clear through. Harry Potter is uneven but tells a pretty good overall story.

I can't decide what to read next, some Proust or some Dostoevsky.

Answer 9

Read all of them.

The Da Vinci Code was probably the most insulting. Although it's not really the fault of the book, it was more a general disgust that anyone could think that the book was anything but fiction.

The others were pretty good, although I wish Harry Potter had as many sex scenes as the Bible.

Answer 10

The God Delusion
The Bible
The Da Vinci Code
The first three Harry Potter books.

I wouldn't rate any of them very highly at all. In the God Delusion, Dawkins very often comes off sounding like an absolute tit; the Bible is decent as a holy book but doesn't compare to classics like the Bhagavad-Gita; and the last two are absolutely dire and insults to literature.