That's part of being an Atheist. Every Atheist I know has read the Bible at least once Cover to Cover. I've known hundreds of Christians over my 58 years of being an Atheist, and only a handful actually read their bibles. Most of them pick up their bible, to,take it to church, open to what ever the preacher says he's reading from, and seldom do they even look! They pick the Bible up to go home and it sits there till the next church meeting. We read the Bible, we think about what is said. AND we THINK! Most Christians don't even realize that there is only ONE verse in the Bible about healing yourself! Yet there are churches that build their congregation on that one verse! WHY aren't there at least hundreds of churches based on Unicorns? After all they are mentioned in the Bible at least 9 times! No Christians don't read their bibles nor do they think! I honestly think they believe because they are LAZY! They want someone to tell them what to believe so they DON'T have to actually THINK!

Yes! I think it's because at a point in our lives we are curious of the other side (on anything) but tend to be great critical thinkers.

I especially feel that we know the OT WAY better!

I don't think I do; but now I am living in a very religious country here in Northern Ireland & I grew up without ever having or needing a god,in England.

Yes, it's a fact. I took an online religion test. In the end it broke down all the results by religion (including atheist) & we won by a landslide. I wonder, since it is a hard decision to make when religiosity is the norm, if we do a lot of research & questioning before coming to it. More so than if someone decided to change from Baptist to Methodist, for example. Perhaps even more than going from non-belief to belief, since that would seem to me to be a decision based on feelings, not knowledge.

That is true thats because we've looked harder for truth in it and got to where we are

Its true, we analyze stuff i think way more than someone who is often like a puppet

It's because we spit and don't swallow!

Thoroughly reading the bible is what cured me of my faith. Hallelujah!

If you want to make it really interesting try asking a bible thumper ABOUT the bible.. where it came from? what the history of it is? how many different ones are there? what was the council of Nicea? Why is the KJV have two versions? Any thing that has to do with real history and they are totally speechless.. bible school doesn't teach anything about the bible.

Speaking purely personally I know very little about the bible picked it up a few times as a child - very boring - left it alone - I was left to make my own decisions and all the books I read from the library were really exciting not half stories with silly endings

I think this has to do with having to believe it... the more you read of it the harder it becomes to accept as ‘divinely inspired’. So reading it is dangerous to a Christian mind, much easier to not read it and go about your business.

Yeah; the more carefully you read it the less true it becomes.

Most Xtians would be atheist too if they would actually read their own holy book!

I did some bible study in my youth but was not a believer, must confess I've forgotten most of it.

And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

~ John 8:32

And..it did..?

Yes because their brainwashed... They have the cognitive skill to analyze the Bible without emotion

I have long said that the moral majority/Christian right reads their Constitution with the same care and attention to detail as they read their bible.

Ive gone to several churches the first thing that the people as soon as you walk in the door is to judge you the secound is they go through the motions of being friendly they practice what they preach

LOL, that's exactly why we disbelieve!

yep because we don't let others tell us what is in it. We don't follow blindly we have open minds. That is why we have more liberals than conservatives.

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The more you read the bible, the more it sounds like bullshit which leads to atheism. As long as you're not reading it with your brain firmly in the off position which most Xians do.

I get told that quite often, and people are always surprised. IMO, they should be embarrassed - you believe this is the WORD OF GOD and yet my blasphemous godless self knows it better than you do! I agree with several posters - it is usually what convinces people what a crock it all is. Maybe that's why believers don't know it as well - they're afraid.

I have read Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Numbers, Leviticus, parts of Judges, Esther, parts of Job, Proverbs, Parts of Ezekiel, Jonah, Mathew, and Revelation. That's enough to know thats all a bunch of bullshit. I thought it was funny that the Xerxes guy from 300 was in Esther. It's a bunch of stupid shit.

I read the bible like it was a book of short fictitious stories.