Many have read and memorized passages which their church feels are important but have never taken the time to study the book their religion is based on. This is understandable as reading the Bible is a lot like reading Moby-Dick.
I read the Bible when I was a teenager and now that I have retired I enjoy studying religion and consequently have read the Bible again several times. I have attended church from time to time, mostly when I was married and my wife would drag me to the service. Most Christians would not consider me Christian by any means, however I see a lot a value in this religion. I also see value in other religions, but to me this is the local religion and is part of my heritage and therefore easier for me to comprehend.
It didn't take long for me to realize that I needed to do more than just read the Bible to understand this complicated and confusing book. Consequently I have also read a number of books that discuss the Bible including some that debunk it and treat it as mythology and some that treat it as the literal word of God. There are many excellent books on this subject but the one I started with and would recommend to a person who is beginning a study of the Bible is Don't Know Much About the Bible: Everything You Need to Know About the Good Book but Never Learned by Kenneth C. Davis. I would say that this book is fairly balanced.
It also helps to study ancient mythology as many of the stories in the Old Testament are common to a number of religions (For example the Flood myth and Tower of Babel). Myths often are based on actual events and experiences. It is also true that a good story is worth retelling.
The Bible is filled with contradictions and it has become obvious to me that the book we have today is not the literal word of God but is at best a faulty translation of ancient or old documents and reflects early man's experience with the power of a supreme being. It was written by many men at different times and it does at times appear to have been edited or modified to fit a religious philosophy developed by church leaders of the time.
I find it to be a book filled with interesting tales that do help to help a person to lead a moral life. My son in law describes it as a book similar to Aesop's Fables and that Christianity is basically the Santa Claus story for adults. His argument is worth considering.
To say that the Bible is more accurate than a science book is foolish. However to feel that our scientific knowledge answers all questions is just as foolish and makes science a religion. We know far more about how our universe works than we did when the Bible was written but we are only scratching the surface of scientific knowledge. It may be possible that at some time in the future science and religion will find common ground.
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