I fear being wrong. Should I read the bible and will it brainwash me?

[IDontHateBelievers]

I'm 19 I was raised a christian (parents aren't particularly extreme) and while I tried to be a good christian church was always a chore for me. I've always had a strong sense of right and wrong which was not really influenced by the bible.
Edit: Interestingly enough while I care about my parents I don't feel I connect very deeply with them, my father has never been a strong figure in my life, more of a close friend. I thought this was interesting and was wondering if any of you had this.
I stopped believing when I was about 14, mainly due to the unfair rules I feel christianity puts on casual sex and gay sex (I realise we've all got our own views about it but to me there's nothing wrong with it), stopping believing hurt at first because I had to redefine how I viewed life but I think it improved my life and opened up a lot more possibilities.

My views haven't really changed since then, except the fact I've now seen the extremists who abuse people in the street and the fear of me being wrong increases. My mind can't help but approach the topic from the idea that god might exist and be pissed off with me right now. There's also the fact if I try to justify my beliefs or my objections to these people I know they'll have some complex answer that I don't know enough to argue with.

My question is this... should I read the bible so that I can argue from a more knowledgeable pov?

Although I try not to be biased, I really do not want to become religious because I know how it will alter my life and my perceptions - will reading the bible make me religious (considering the stories religious people love to tell about how "atheist scum reads the bible sees the truth"?
The idea of reading the bible doesn't really interest me and could turn out to be an enormous waste of time though, and even then there might always be another religious voice telling me "oh you should read our book it has a much better understanding of the true god than the christians".

What do you think?

[Recusant]

I'm 19 I was raised a christian (parents aren't particularly extreme) and while I tried to be a good christian church was always a chore for me. I've always had a strong sense of right and wrong which was not really influenced by the bible. I stopped believing when I was about 14, mainly due to the unfair rules I feel christianity puts on casual sex and gay sex (I realise we've all got our own views about it but to me there's nothing wrong with it), stopping believing hurt at first because I had to redefine how I viewed life but I think it improved my life and opened up a lot more possibilities.

My views haven't really changed since then, except the fact I've now seen the extremists who yell in the street and the fear of being wrong increases. My mind can't help but approach the topic but from the idea that god might exist and be pissed off with me right now. There's also the fact if I try to justify my beliefs or my objections to these people I know they'll have some complex answer that I don't know enough to argue with.

My question is this... should I read the bible so that I can argue from a more knowledgeable pov?

Although I try not to be biased, I really do not want to become religious because I know how it will alter my life and my perceptions - will reading the bible make me religious (considering the stories religious people love to tell about how "atheist scum reads the bible sees the truth"?
The idea of reading the bible doesn't really interest me and could turn out to be an enormous waste of time though, and even then there might always be another religious voice telling me "oh you should read our book it has a much better understanding of the true god than the christians".

What do you think?

Hello and welcome to HAF, IDontHateBelievers.

That's an interesting and worthwhile first post!

If you're not really interested in reading the Bible and are thinking of doing it simply to improve your ability to argue with Christians, I'd say it would very likely be a waste of your time unless you really enjoy arguing with Christians. 

However, there are online resources that might interest you. There's the Skeptic's Annotated Bible, in which contradictions and other issues with the Bible are highlighted. For a more entertaining take, there is the Brick Testament (new site here), which while not that overtly critical, does have a mildly subversive presentation of the stories in the Bible. There is also the very critical Evil Bible site.

As for the idea that reading the Bible will result in you converting to Christianity, I doubt there is much chance of that. I've discussed religion and atheism with many people over the years, and have read thousands of probably more than a thousand intro posts on this site alone. A recurring theme is that reading the Bible was instrumental in a person losing their Christian faith. Evangelists are infamous for their willingness to depart from honesty when they think it will serve their purposes, and the "I used to be an atheist until I read the Bible" trope is a common example of that. I'm not saying it never happens, but several of the people I've encountered who've said that have shown themselves to be deceitful in other ways, so that I doubt whether their "atheist who read the Bible and became Christian" story is real.

I hope you enjoy your time reading and posting here. 

[Edited to modify possible hyperbole. -- R]

[IDontHateBelievers]

Thank you, I appreciate that!

[Waski_the_Squirrel]

Reading the Bible as an adult is what made me an atheist. There is some good stuff in there, and there are good cultural references, but there's an awful lot of nonsense and evil too.

[Guardian85]

Hello, IDontHateBelievers! Bit of a mouthful, that name.    Don't be surprised if you get a nickname. 

It is my experience, much like Recusant, that there is too much wrong in the goddamn bible to take it seriously if read from cover to cover. What believers do is they cherry pick a few nice bits to read in church on Sundays. If properly read (picked up at "In the beginning..." and put down at "...the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen!") the contradictions and immorality of the bible is very hard to ignore.
http://www.thethinkingatheist.com/page/refuting-the-bible

[Buddy]

I tried to read the whole bible at one point when I was trying to be a good little Baptist but honestly I got so bored that I gave up. I feel like unless you are actively trying to win arguments there is no point.

[Sandra Craft]

I've read the bible twice and frankly consider it an interesting book, altho yes, the first reading is what helped make me an atheist.  I have no interest in arguing with believers, but I do have a love for myths from all cultures.  Another big plus of bible reading for me are all the places that are (I assume) unintentionally funny. 

I always encourage reading the bible, particularly for Americans since familiarity with it really helps understanding our general culture and politics.  After all, this is what a lot of people are using to base their personal and political opinions on.  It's also useful in understanding Western literature.

[Asmodean]

Don't be surprised if you get a nickname.

Fred. So Spaketh The Asmo.

Yes, Fred, I think you should read the Bible. And the Qur'an. And pretty much anything else that has power over so many. Harry Potter... Not so much, no. It really is crap under all the upspin.

When it comes to people and their long-winded lobbying for support of their own bias, you don't have to engage them in debate. If you find their arguments persuasive, you can fact-check them on your own. You don't have to be able to argue the finer points of the Holy Quadrilateral of Christian apologetics, for instance, not to buy what they are selling outright.

Minor edit: Oh! I don't have deep emotional attachemnts to my family either, so if you want to psychoanalyze it... I'm game. Also, the no sex before marriage bullshit is an axcellent reason to dump your controlling godfriend. I had casual sex at fourteen (Actually, I was still technically 13, but with days to go to my birthday), if you can call your debut... Casual. You can, and from the height of decades gone by, you should. It just didn't seem so at the time.

My point is, a lot of people screw each other even before mid-teens, and they turn out OK. Also, they are bloody awesome in bed in those late teenage years. Why I used me to demonstrate that point... We can psychoanalyze that too.

So yeah... Welcome and thanks for being interesting in your intro post.

[Crow]

My point is, a lot of people screw each other even before mid-teens, and they turn out OK. Also, they are bloody awesome in bed in those late teenage years.

Indeed but I hope you aren't still messing about with them.

[Asmodean]

My point is, a lot of people screw each other even before mid-teens, and they turn out OK. Also, they are bloody awesome in bed in those late teenage years.

Indeed but I hope you aren't still messing about with them.

With who? 14-year olds? Late-teenagers? People who are good in bed? Too old for a and b, but I certainly do mess about, as you put it, with "appropriately-aged" people who know their way around great sex.

[Bad Penny II]

Harry Potter... Not so much, no. It really is crap under all the upspin.

Blasphemer!

[Bad Penny II]

Should I read the bible and will it brainwash me?

Swear your self to HAF and you will be gifted an unholy bundle of string which you can use to extricate yourself from unwanted washing, as long as you believe in the string, believe in the string, believe in the string, believe in the string, believe in the string!!!

[Recusant]

 

I'm using this one, I don't care what anybody says. 

[Sandra Craft]

Don't be surprised if you get a nickname.

Fred. So Spaketh The Asmo.

What's with the naming people Fred lately?  I don't object to the name at all and it does simplify things, but why "Fred"?

[Asmodean]

Don't be surprised if you get a nickname.

Fred. So Spaketh The Asmo.

What's with the naming people Fred lately?  I don't object to the name at all and it does simplify things, but why "Fred"?

It says why. Because so spake The Asmo.