The Bible and The Koran - ever read either??

[Nataly 38]

Considering how often these two books are talked about, remarkably few people have ever read either... I myself have many times meant to do so but I've never quite gotten around to it... I bet if you watch the two videos below, you will be interested *and* surprised by what can be found in each... Both are excellent speakers who bring up very good points, and they do it with a touch of humour to boot
This link examines The Bible: A Christian Letting Go of God. (Bit long, but hang in there - it's worth it IMO.)

This one looks at the Koran: An Agnostic Jew Examining The Koran.

"There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse."
- Chris Hadfield
« Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. »
- my boss

[freethefly 6]

I've read the KJV from Genesis to Revelations after being diagnosed with a potentially fatal illness. I found nothing in it but contradictions and passages telling me that I will burn in hell for bedding down with a whore. Even at the time I was reading it, I did not believe in a god. I was hoping for some comfort, but found only more sorrow.

The Koran, I grazed through and found that it is much similar to the Christian bible. They are very much the same book, but with minor changes to fit the authors point of view.

Both books have both good and bad in them.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[beowulf 1]

I have read the Bible but not the Koran. The older I got the more skeptical I became of the Bible. It just didn't make sense as the "Word of God" and it increasingly made more sense to see it as a mythology.

[Shotgun 1]

I've read a lot of the Bible, a little of the Koran.

I haven't yet watched the videos you linked, but I'm curious what you were surprised by that can be found in each?

[jgoose71 0]

I've read bits and pieces of both. The Koran is vengeful, kind of like the old testament.

If the Muslims ever got a new testament, it might bring them out of the dark ages. I think they have been living in the "Spanish inquisition" of the Muslim era long enough.

"There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss."
Life, the Universe, and Everything

[SpeedRacer 1]

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I've read the KJV from Genesis to Revelations after being diagnosed with a potentially fatal illness. I found nothing in it but contradictions and passages telling me that I will burn in hell for bedding down with a whore. Even at the time I was reading it, I did not believe in a god. I was hoping for some comfort, but found only more sorrow.

The Koran, I grazed through and found that it is much similar to the Christian bible. They are very much the same book, but with minor changes to fit the authors point of view.

Both books have both good and bad in them.

I found that the Bible, contrary to what some people say, does not mention sexual impropriety as the main area of concern re. sin. In the Old Testament the sin they're mainly concerned with is worship of false gods/idols.

And in the gospels the main message Jesus says is 1) be kind to people instead of just going through the motions of religious tradition and 2) recognize your need for God.

IMO the whole anti-sex thing is overblown.

Speed Racer
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[Nataly 38]

Quote

I've read a lot of the Bible, a little of the Koran.

I haven't yet watched the videos you linked, but I'm curious what you were surprised by that can be found in each?

Like you said, you haven't yet watched the videos

I'm not being facetious here - the speakers point out a bunch of things that surprised them - I was pretty much surprised by the same things. Seriously, watch the videos, you'll see what I mean - I don't want to spoil it, or just repeat what they say... Besides, they say it much better than I could

"There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse."
- Chris Hadfield
« Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. »
- my boss

[masterblaster72 0]

I've read King James (Christian Bible), Tanakh (Jewish version of Old Testament), and the Koran cover to cover, but a long time ago -- in my teens and in my early 20s. There's plenty of good to be taken from the Bible, depending on the attitude you take when reading it. You can find plenty of good in it, and plenty of bad, contradiction, etc. Some parts are worth reading from a literary perspective (psalms, proverbs, eccleciastes, etc), while some others can spark the imagination (revelation, for instance).

I found the Koran very unoriginal and dry, and it was a chore to get through it. I didn't find anything in it that was particularly enlightening that would make it stand apart from Christianity or Judaism. And that's after having read it with an open mind -- no offense to any Muslims here; just my opinion.

Be humble, ask questions, listen, learn, follow the golden rule, talk when necessary, and know when to shut the fuck up.

[devildog 0]

Read both. Most of the OT I even had to read through in Hebrew, like wise the NT in Greek (thankfully, not all, but more than enough to make me want to strangle my professors)

You stop breathing for a few minutes and everyone jumps to conclusions.

[jaybird18c 4]

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I found the Koran very unoriginal and dry, and it was a chore to get through it. I didn't find anything in it that was particularly enlightening that would make it stand apart from Christianity or Judaism. And that's after having read it with an open mind -- no offense to any Muslims here; just my opinion.

Just an observation. You found it necessary to qualify your critique in order not to offend any Muslims who might read it. It doesn't seem necessary or even desired to offer the same courtesy here with regard to the Bible and Christians. Just find it interesting.

[Shotgun 1]

Quote

Quote

I've read a lot of the Bible, a little of the Koran.

I haven't yet watched the videos you linked, but I'm curious what you were surprised by that can be found in each?

Like you said, you haven't yet watched the videos

I'm not being facetious here - the speakers point out a bunch of things that surprised them - I was pretty much surprised by the same things. Seriously, watch the videos, you'll see what I mean - I don't want to spoil it, or just repeat what they say... Besides, they say it much better than I could

Don't really have time to watch two long videos, but I was curious what the main points of "surprise" were. Oh well, nevermind.

[Southern_Man 0]

I've read both. Like a previous poster I've read a fair amount of the Bible in the original languages but not all (more of the New Testament than the Old). I've read the Koran but only once (parts more than once but only once straight through.

"What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

[david3 0]

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I found the Koran very unoriginal and dry, and it was a chore to get through it. I didn't find anything in it that was particularly enlightening that would make it stand apart from Christianity or Judaism. And that's after having read it with an open mind -- no offense to any Muslims here; just my opinion.

Just an observation. You found it necessary to qualify your critique in order not to offend any Muslims who might read it. It doesn't seem necessary or even desired to offer the same courtesy here with regard to the Bible and Christians. Just find it interesting.

You’re right. Why would Muslims be offended? It’s kind of like apologizing to people who liked Harry Potter when you didn’t. They’re just a fictional stories after all.

[DaVinci 0]

Read the old testament, new testament, and the koran, along with several other books on various religions and movements.

I read them all about 20 years ago... They all helped push me toward thinking there *might* be something, but that humans would be too stupid to understand it and too tempted to twist it for their own uses.

It was the difference between the words in the new testament and the actions I saw daily in christians that pushed me away from any organized religion. I also surmised that if christianity had these problems of hypocrites, misunderstandings, and power grabbers in the name of god.... then other religions most likely did as well.

[shropshire 0]

I reckon that Power Grabbers would still be Power Grabbers even if there was no 'religion' - They'd just find another excuse reason.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[kallend 1,623]

I had 13 years of enforced Bible study at regular school, + Sunday school.

I concluded that it is the ramblings of a neolithic people trying to make sense of a world which they didn't have the ability to understand. While they were invoking explanations involving supernatural invisible beings, the Greeks were inventing science and mathematics.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[jclalor 12]

I started reading and studying the bible a couple of years ago. Nothing will make you an Atheist faster than picking up a bible and reading it.

Julie Sweeney is great.

[rehmwa 2]

I tried, but when I touch them it burns like acid.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[masterblaster72 0]

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I had 13 years of enforced Bible study at regular school, + Sunday school.

I concluded that it is the ramblings of a neolithic people trying to make sense of a world which they didn't have the ability to understand. While they were invoking explanations involving supernatural invisible beings, the Greeks were inventing science and mathematics.

I agree to a certain extent, though I think the ten commandments is one of the great ethical/philosophical achievements of ancient times.

Be humble, ask questions, listen, learn, follow the golden rule, talk when necessary, and know when to shut the fuck up.

[kallend 1,623]

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I had 13 years of enforced Bible study at regular school, + Sunday school.

I concluded that it is the ramblings of a neolithic people trying to make sense of a world which they didn't have the ability to understand. While they were invoking explanations involving supernatural invisible beings, the Greeks were inventing science and mathematics.

I agree to a certain extent, though I think the ten commandments is one of the great ethical/philosophical achievements of ancient times.

The 10 commandments were mostly ripped off from the Egyptians (Chapter 125 of the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead) and Babylonians. They pre-date the OT.

Maybe we should revert to worshipping Ishtar, Tiamat, Apsu, Ra, Isis and Osiris.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[ryoder 1,384]

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The 10 commandments were mostly ripped off from the Egyptians (Chapter 125 of the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead) and Babylonians. They pre-date the OT.

And you can streamline them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzEs2nj7iZM

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[tkhayes 126]

I have read a lot of the Bible and did Bible study from kindergarten until i was 18. I am not sure I have ever seen a Koran.

not interested in even picking it up. The OT and NT were such contradictions to each other and within each others covers, i realized it was all bull by the time I was 14.

[ECVZZ 0]

Not in their entirety, no. But I've actually read maybe 60% of the New Testament, maybe 50%-60% of the Old Testament, probably 1/3 of the Koran, and about 1/2 the book of mormon.

I have a tendency to read books out of order. I've been known to read a 350pg non fiction history book from last chapter to first, so with the above mentioned religious works I skipped all over the books.

I'm Agnostic, but even if I wasn't, I'd find it extremely difficult to view these books as anything other than fiction, with maybe a smattering of actual history in the bible. IMHO, the Book of Mormon is simply pure, unadulterated bullshit.

To each his/her own... I'll never fault anyone for their Religious beliefs, so don't take my opinion as an attack on anyone's faith, because it is simply that...my opinion. I do find it outrageous though, the crimes that have been committed in the name of religion in general.

G. Jones

"I've never been quarantined. But the more I look around, the more I think it might not be a bad idea."

[Tink1717 2]

I've read both. They are nothing more than silly middle eastern desert mythology cloaked in something akin to lyrical poetry. Full of contradictions and falsehoods, they are in no way any sort of guide for how to live. They are the user agreements of religion: no one reads them but everyone checks the "agree" box.

Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off.
-The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!)
AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

[flashvortx 0]

What are some of the contradictions you have read? So many people that are against Christianity are so quick to talk about "all of the contradictions." Annnnnnd go....