Why Would I Want to Read the Bible?

It's a valid question. I am, by my own admission, a strident atheist. Why would I want to take the next year or so and explore the main document of what I consider to be, essentially, Bronze-Age mythology rum amok? The short, glib answer I normally give is, "Know thy enemy" [Sun Tzu, The Art of War, 6th Century BCE], but the truth is a little more complex than that.
Many believers I know look to the Bible as a source of great knowledge. They tend not to be extremists; in fact, most of them are otherwise rational. They just have this blind spot where belief is concerned, and I'm curious about a piece of literature that could inspire such a thing. There are those who would suggest that the answers all life's questions can be found in the Bible, but I think that attitude leads to a lack of curiosity that cannot possibly be healthy. I do, though, wonder what answers are to be found within.

I've heard it said that less than ten percent of Christians have actually read the Bible, and if that's accurate, I find that to be very puzzling. If I was going to base my belief system on a single book, you can be damn sure I would read it. All of it. Maybe twice. It follows, then, that if I'm going to say that Christians are wrong, that their holy book is really just an ancient piece of historical fiction, I should probably know exactly what it is I'm against.

There's a small part of me that wants to be more knowledgeable about the Bible strictly for bragging rights, the same way I want to run a marathon and hike the Appalachian Trail. I want to do it because not many people have. It is, after all, the best-selling book of all time [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_books]. There have been more copies of the Bible printed than there are people alive on the planet today, and I find that to be an amazing statistic. Whether it's the inerrant word of God or not, it's still a remarkable piece of literature, and well worth my time. At least, I hope it is.

So my plan is simply this: I will read the Bible, in its entirety, beginning with Genesis and ending with Revelations, or "soup to nuts," as my mom would say. I'll break it up into small, digestible chunks, and every week or so, I'll report back here what I've found. Ideally, I would read it in the original Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic, but considering I don't have the four years or so I'd need to get a degree in Dead Languages, I'll be using an English translation, specifically, the New American Standard Bible. While there are problems with every translation, this one seems a little easier to read than the venerable King James Version. Also, since I'm approaching this as a student, rather than someone seeking absolute truth or dogmatic justification, small differences in language shouldn't prove too troubling. Finally, I was recently given a copy as a gift from a Christian friend (thanks, Jon!), and it would seem disrespectful not to use that copy.

I welcome your comments, I just ask that you keep them on-topic and respectful. For those of you wanting to read along, at the end of each blog entry, I'll include my plan for the next week's post, but keep in mind, real life will always take precedence, so don't be disappointed if the plan changes from time to time. Thanks in advance for your attention!

Next week's topic: Genesis Chapters 1 and 2, in which all things are created.