Scan barcode
kentuckysheart's review against another edition
you can't stop me from five star rating the fuckin king james bible bitch
deep_in_the_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Foreshadowing is too blatant--with all that prophesying and predictions from the characters, you see that ending coming from a mile away. And then even after the ending happens, it drags on for another 23 books. Also, Jesus is such a flat character. In fact, you could call him lifeless. Or wooden. He really nailed that character arc though.
erickibler4's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not even a believer any more, to be honest. But nevertheless, the Bible contains more great stories, history and wisdom than countless other books. Likewise, it's chockful of quotes we take for granted nowadays, and it's illuminating to see where they actually come from.
djmcewen's review against another edition
1.0
So hard to list all the problems with this books. Lies, hypocrisy, inconsistencies, totally changing the rules of the game except when they weren’t changed.
It you want an example of poor world building, here it is.
It you want an example of poor world building, here it is.
fairchildone's review
Outline of the Old Testament:
Creation story and prophets you typically hear about - interesting and familiar
Moses - fascinating on more levels than I was expecting
The law then - mostly boring with occasional insights on the law now
David, Saul, and others - incredible, as good as Greek epics and Shakespeare
History - okay
History again, only told worse than the first time - not okay
Elijah and other prophets you might have heard about - interesting, occasionally quite good
Psalms and Proverbs - poetic and a nice read
Isaiah - Isaiah
Stuff after Isaiah and before the very end - God is very creative about the ways he's going to destroy Israel for their wickedness. Again. And again. And again.
The very end - Last days stuff
People who say that the Old Testament isn't good literature are correct only if the book is considered as a whole. However, if you read the book as a collection of different genres, the parts that would count as literature are quite good, even compelling. The stories of David and Saul, for example, were fantastic.
As scripture, I found it mediocre. There's a lot of fluff, the inspirational parts seem to come in fits, or are scattered through droll/destructive material, and the God of the Old Testament seems very different from the God of other scripture(s).
Am I glad I read it? Yes. Will I read it again? Probably not.
Creation story and prophets you typically hear about - interesting and familiar
Moses - fascinating on more levels than I was expecting
The law then - mostly boring with occasional insights on the law now
David, Saul, and others - incredible, as good as Greek epics and Shakespeare
History - okay
History again, only told worse than the first time - not okay
Elijah and other prophets you might have heard about - interesting, occasionally quite good
Psalms and Proverbs - poetic and a nice read
Isaiah - Isaiah
Stuff after Isaiah and before the very end - God is very creative about the ways he's going to destroy Israel for their wickedness. Again. And again. And again.
The very end - Last days stuff
People who say that the Old Testament isn't good literature are correct only if the book is considered as a whole. However, if you read the book as a collection of different genres, the parts that would count as literature are quite good, even compelling. The stories of David and Saul, for example, were fantastic.
As scripture, I found it mediocre. There's a lot of fluff, the inspirational parts seem to come in fits, or are scattered through droll/destructive material, and the God of the Old Testament seems very different from the God of other scripture(s).
Am I glad I read it? Yes. Will I read it again? Probably not.
daeus's review
2.0
Preface: I was not raised religious and never went to church or read the Bible before now (just heard some stories through politics, TV, movies, other books, etc).
It was okay (2 stars instead of 1 because of impact on society/history). The writing is focused on actions without too much fluff (ie 'he went here, killed him, and then did this' vs 'he was feeling excited so he decided to...'). It was also very repetitive at times. Really it felt like a collection of arguments (to convert someone)/logical statements IF you have a premise of their being a God (ie do this because God). If you don't believe in God, then there are philosophical carrots and sticks (ie heaven and hell). I could see it be very comforting (reaffirming believe, guide book) if I grew up with it being preached in my community.
It was nice to read the bible directly, vs just hearing about the stuff it is often used for (ex. homophobia, anti-choice, etc, which after reading all feel like quite a stretch/not the main focus at all - ironically using the bible for politics reasons was much more so condemned as hypocrisy). Granted, a lot of it is to push people to believe in God/listen to Jesus, but also to do good things. "So faith, without works, is dead also" [ie gotta do stuff, not just believe stuff]. Lots of good stuff on not being a hypocrite/being a good person (hard for a religion to grow if people don't like you, so some of it is how not to be an asshole to others and take care of people in need, no matter how low). There is a lot of writing that tries to thread that needle between conversion (believe in God) and retention (be kind and humble). This is where I felt the human writer coming through - like an academic clarifying something or specifying specific ways to be (with nuance). There were some good general guidelines, like 'love your enemy,' which is one of my favorites and very most thought-provoking.
Side note: I thought some translations were funny: "do this and he doith it."
Quotes:
- "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
- "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
- "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
It was okay (2 stars instead of 1 because of impact on society/history). The writing is focused on actions without too much fluff (ie 'he went here, killed him, and then did this' vs 'he was feeling excited so he decided to...'). It was also very repetitive at times. Really it felt like a collection of arguments (to convert someone)/logical statements IF you have a premise of their being a God (ie do this because God). If you don't believe in God, then there are philosophical carrots and sticks (ie heaven and hell). I could see it be very comforting (reaffirming believe, guide book) if I grew up with it being preached in my community.
It was nice to read the bible directly, vs just hearing about the stuff it is often used for (ex. homophobia, anti-choice, etc, which after reading all feel like quite a stretch/not the main focus at all - ironically using the bible for politics reasons was much more so condemned as hypocrisy). Granted, a lot of it is to push people to believe in God/listen to Jesus, but also to do good things. "So faith, without works, is dead also" [ie gotta do stuff, not just believe stuff]. Lots of good stuff on not being a hypocrite/being a good person (hard for a religion to grow if people don't like you, so some of it is how not to be an asshole to others and take care of people in need, no matter how low). There is a lot of writing that tries to thread that needle between conversion (believe in God) and retention (be kind and humble). This is where I felt the human writer coming through - like an academic clarifying something or specifying specific ways to be (with nuance). There were some good general guidelines, like 'love your enemy,' which is one of my favorites and very most thought-provoking.
Side note: I thought some translations were funny: "do this and he doith it."
Quotes:
- "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
- "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
- "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."