I like your idea. I've been trying to wade my way through the Bible, swapped over to the Quran hoping that would make easier reading... neither book is an "easy" read. But I felt it is part of a full education, to know first hand what these books say, that are the base for so many people's faith. The Bible had poor editing. Or hardly any in places it seems. But it would be an interesting discussion what "normal" ( i.e. not the fundamentalists) people get out of these books.

What a good idea-I was advocating studying the three religious histories so we can better understand and communicate with each other. Judeo-Christian-Muslim notin any particular order.

It's a slippery slope, as there are multiple versions of the bible, each originating from a group of bible scholars with varying opinions on how to translate it into English. So, to get to the root meaning of any passage, you'd need to learn Hebrew for the old testament, Aramaic, and Greek for the new testament. Learning just the basics in each one makes you dangerous... but delving into the details and nuances and cultural influences in each language is a lifelong endeavor.

read Misquoting Jesus by Ehrman ... tells how the bible has changed myriad times over the centures. Mistranslated, miscopied, changed by popes, etc. The bible of today is very different from the oldest manuscripts.

This can be very helpful. A few years back went to a study group questioning the bible-backed arguments against homosexuality. Surprisingly there ain't much. It was mostly theists in the group but I was there to learn how to argue against christians' homophobia from within their own teachings. I learned a lot. Think I'll check out the website @joeandbarb listed too. Sounds interesting. Good post!

I personally have found the greatest resource for self educating about religion is the website called "the skeptics annotated bible" it lays out all the inconsistencies and contradictions in the bible and is easy to use as a research tool. It also has the Queran, and the book of Mormon broke down the same way. I spend about an hour a week on the site myself and have no problem holding my own in any discussion about religion with true believers.

Try meetup.com.

You might be too busy studying their religious books to enjoy your own secular life. Believers spend lifetimes on understanding their own religions. Balance in your own life is important too.

There are books on the Mystic Interpretation of the Bible. Geoffrey Hodson is one author that impressed me. After reading him, I looked at the Bible in a completely different way and saw that MOST modern day Christians do not understand their own book. I read the Quran after 9/11....didn't seem there was much to discuss about Mohammed's view of the World. It is very repetitious.

I think education in the History of Religion would create more open-mined and tolerante individuals/societies. I like to read , but I will not being reading the Bible, Quran or any other religious writings in their entirety. What i find ivery interesting is, for just one example, is the history on the selection of popes & bishops through out the ages. With all the in-fighting and wars that went on, how could any reasonable person then, not question their religious dogmas.

first Quran is one book and that is what makes it strong than the bibles, the second about the Muslim woman it is one of two possibilities 1- she does not understand Islam well. 2- she knows Islam very well and she tries to do what she has to do in the situation being outside and weak and how to get people outside their power more comfortable to them so they can get them in their side and the next generation will be more dangerous. it is very difficult to me to explain more by writing but be careful

I would join your club, great topic to share and discuss more with like minded people.

You should read Resa Aslan. 2 books, 'Zealot', a biography of jesus and his followers and 'No God but God' the history of Islam. Both very good. He has a new one out titled 'God" history of God. It should be pretty good, it's next on my list.
Being raised Catholic that extra hour everyday of religion class didn't hurt as it was in High School, about ethics, history, literature and psychology and a lot of " Shut up Mr. Vance, it's a miracle! Now sit down!!!" LOL We had questions they couldn't answer! LOL

I could go for that. The Bible is a very interesting book. And while I've read the Qur'an a few times, I'm not at all as familiar with its origins as I am with the Bible's.

The history of religion is a very real thing, but most Christians don’t want to talk about it honestly. There are way too many problems with Christian history for them to be comfortable with it. I would join that group.

You might be interested in looking at the Gnostic bible and gospels..
It's pretty interesting..

BAM! I think I put this somewhere else, but the number one thing the world needs is tolerance. And I find religion fascinating. All of them.

I don't believe in guns, still there are guns in my residence, I don't believe in the bible, still if I look around I may find one somewhere, show no interest in nra regulations or what they stand for, same with the bible.... I do see the results... the damage done by guns or by religion, understanding guns or religion won't change the results. I don't try to de-convert gun owners or bible worshippers. They are on their own. Victims of their own devices. But it pains me of the results. The Lives Lost!!!

why?

Well the first thing you should understand is that the Bible and other ancient manuscripts are actually ORAL histories that were passed down for generations and subject to mutation by the various story tellers and then eventually written down and embellished upon by the various writers and translators and priests and theologians and should not be considered historically accurate documents but rather glimpses into the past. And, I'd like to join your club .

Hi, I saw your post and so I thought I'd try to ask if there's anything I can do to help out. I'd love to discuss the idea with you further. Possibly see if there is a way I could help you start a group. Feel free to message me if there's anything I can do.

Thats a very good Idea. It has crossed my mind to start something like that here. I have read every major piece of religious literature out there everything from the quran-the satanic bible. Its all very fascinating to me. Im not sure I could get enough people on board in the deep south to join. It might be worth a try. I think its sounds like a great idea!

I think its better to study history [ especially recent history [ 200 years ] to understand how we got here. Even then you have to study it from the losers point of view to truly get the correct picture. Follow the money is a great adage

Hmmmm.... it might help you if you decide to teach at a university. Knowledge is power there. Get your doctorate degree and teach. I just don't understand why you would torture yourself with all this studying for the knowledge thing. What power would you gain from this? To me.... I would find a way to remove yourself from the problem. I often wondered why we sent food and water to people starving in a desert? Couldnt they just move closer to where the food and water was at? The American Indians did it all through time. Before we distroyed their lives. Another story there. You want to help others? That's commendable! Remember this. Crazy christians go to other countries and get head cut off for trying to get others to become christians. It was in the news.

Start with ancient sumerian cuniaform* tablets....pretty much all the stories in that r in some form of religion or another