A tool used by others to gain control of my thought processes for their purposes. A loss of 25 years of my adult life.

An afterthought.
That's the best I can come up with.

A doorstop

A collection of myths and speculative bs of historical significance and cultural importance.

Historical fiction

Totally irrelevant… I view it as an often revised extremely distorted attempt to blend myth and history. The western world’s collection of folklore. The written, or printed equivalent of any number of cultures oral depictions and descriptions of ‘how we got here.’ Seems it’s become the equivalent of a flag, or an emblem representing those who continue to use it to validate the subjugation of others…

In an attempt to ‘read it,’ I got hold of the oldest version I could find, assuming that being a tad closer to the original intent - couldn’t get past the first 3 pages … not only filled to overflowing with ‘murder, death & war,’ but obviously open to any desired interpretation inimaginable… I’m pretty sure it hasn’t the power to stop a bullet

a book

To me saying 'the Bible says this or that' is like saying 'the library says this or that'.

There is no single 'bible', it is actually a collection of books, and which ones are in a particular bible varies depending on whether it is Protestant, Roman Catholic and there are variations between the Orthodox churches. And there are many versions, and if the translators had a free reign then hardly any verse would mean the same thing in every possible version..

My Mother revered the bible, in her words, "I believe the bible word for word," and in her last days, I sat by her bedside and read to her from the bible, and could see her lips saying the words, as I read them. I never saw Mother read the bible aside from when reading along in church. I haven't picked up a bible since, regard it and the philosophy it fosters, is the most dangerous thing we, as a people face, religions and religious people.

A book of mythology

And a lot of people get the direction wrong, things didn't come from the Bible, books went into the Bible. Job for example as I understand it was a play performed in Babylon with some additions at the start and end, and the historical books are pure fabrications.

If I have any confidence in the text in a Bible then I simply quote the text and say it was about 2,500 years old (OT) or nearly 2,000 years old (NT), that it happens to be included in a Bible does not necessarily mean it is nonsense.

Fiction.

The most misused publication in mankind history.

A book of beautiful poetry and imagery with a sometimes divisive and zealous fanbase - kinda like anime.

Much of the Old Testament is also found in The Torah and The Koran. But, a good place to start is, "Which Edition, version, translation or language of the Bible are we talking about?"

It is a magnificent influential historical document. Poetry, parables, allegory, love, war, prayer and life.

But, it is a book. To many, a holy book. To others its a bludgeon.

When I was a believer it was a general guide, I never thought it was the actual word of God and always knew that it was written by men, but I thought God may have inspired them. Most recently I have used a pocket bible that I picked up from a street preacher as rolling paper. Always wanted to light up John 3:16. It was very satisfying.

For me the bible is an inside look at the culture from the era in which it was written. Not completely historical but a written document of societies attempt at creating an acceptable life within the confines of their knowledge.

a waste of a tree

A story book

Its just a book in my eyes. Filled with a lot of scrap.

fire wood.

The bible is BS to me.

Just another book with stories contrived to a specific agenda, such as men superior to women, whites over blacks, and also meant to rule by fear of a vengeful god.

I think the Bible is a collection of stories that are mostly fictitious, although some aspects may have been based on actual events.

For instance, the great flood of Noah. At the end of the last ice age, the ocean levels rose and filled in the areas now known as the Mediterranean and Red Seas. The floods happened several thousand years before writing was invented, so the stories got carried down by word of mouth, and as the stories were told one could imagine a child asking questions, like "how did the animals survive?" After all, in that time period most people did not stray all that far from where they were born. To have such an area flood would seem like the entire world got flooded to them. So, over time the real story of what happened got (mostly) lost.

The story of the tower of Babel was based in the city of Babylon (Babel in the Bible). They built many towers, but there was one tower left unfinished for at least two hundred years. And so, somebody made up a story as to why it was not finished. Most likely to, once again answer the questions of children about the story being told. However, after over two hundred years of being unfinished, the tower actually was finished. (Oops). We also know that languages evolve and change over time. So, it is easily proven that the story of the tower of Babel was made up. (I am assuming people are familiar with the story).

With stories about Jesus.... I think there was a person who wrote fiction who asked, "what if one of our common "miracle workers" came to believe he was the messiah prophesized by the Jews?" So he wrote something close to what became the book of Mark, which had not virgin birth and no resurrection, but just had a guy who became deluded about who he was and got crucified. End of story. But wait, there's more...

As it turned out the book of Mark was popular.

When Cervantes wrote "Don Quixote" which was also popular, there were all kinds of people who wrote additional stories using the same characters to try to "cash in" on a popular story.

So, the same thing happened with the story of Jesus even if a lot earlier. Lots of people told similar stories, incorporating ideas from religions of the time, such as a birth without sex, the three wise men who followed a star, and added in miracles like raising the dead, walking on water and turning water into wine. Most of which were popular story themes of the time period. They also would tell the same story form different points of view. There were more than three dozen versions of the story within a very few years. Later, four of those stories were chosen, because they had the fewest contradictions although there are still quite a few. They were looking to create a consistent narrative, and then banned all other versions and ordered them to be destroyed. They managed to destroy some, but many survived and are known as the Gnostic gospels. One, the gospel of Judas, which was deemed heresy, was only recovered with the Dead Sea Scrolls, and is the only known surviving copy, which tells a very different story from a much different perspective.

Anyway. I think it (the bible) is all fiction with very little truth or wisdom in it.

Like all "holy" books it contains some observations of how people behave and does co9ntain some universal truths, but they are very few and far between. I see religious people latching on to the little nuggets of wisdom convinced there has to be a lot more. Kind of like a person who finds a coin on a dirt path and starts to dig a hole convinced he will find more coins there, until he digs a hole so deep he can no longer get out, and he has very little light coming in through the opening at eh top of the hole to see clearly by.

A waste of trees, and a money controlling tool, nothing more. Only the strong will break free and see it for what it is: a joke and allow themselves to be free..