Should you be required to read the bible at least once to call yourself a Christian?

It blows my Mind that you can have a major religion that counts over a billion people as it's flock and yet less the one percent have actually read the sole book it's based on.


Now correct me if I'm wrong, but in Islam and judiesm you are required to have read the Torah and Koran, right?



I just can't comprehend how you can have millions of people subscribe to a religion, base there life and soul on it, and never bothered to read the whole bible.



Multiple studies have been done showing that Christians (on average) know less about the bible then atheists!!! How can that be!?!


m.christianity.com...


So what do y'all think??

Of course you should have to read it. It's surprising to see so many people that call themselves Christians but know next to nothing as to what's in the bible. So how can you call yourself a Christian when you don't even know what your religion is about?

Of course.

Thats the only book I have ever read that was more boring than the hobbit.
But yeah, they should read it or at least try. It reads like a dictionary.

a reply to: Entreri06

I was born in a catholic family, went to catholic schools, and I can remember the exact moment I started to question the faith I was raised in. It was in my religion class in high school and I asked the teacher how did a god such as one in the bible create life? He went on some tangent about the whole eye ball complexity, and all this other straw man arguments.

I went home that night and started reading into the bible, and finding videos of Kent Hovind and his weird seminars on creationism, which lead me to finding more and more about guys like AronRa and Thunderf00t trampling all over Ken Ham and Hovind, and VenomfangX.
The final nail in the coffin was when I tried to read the whole bible, Genesis was just out right ridiculous and could barely make it to Numbers. It took me a good year to complete it all, I think I skipped a few, mostly the new testament as I knew most of the stories already, but the old testament was bizarre and quite unsettling.
I think if most catholics and christians did read the entire bible they would question their faith more, but then majority would still continue to practice their faith because any priest or pastor or what ever will simply just say that testing your faith will make it stronger, and Gods love works in 'mysterious ways', then leave it at that and ignore the scientific world.

a reply to: Entreri06

To be a christian, all you need is faith that Jesus died to pay the debt of our sins. To be a good christian, you should study the bible.

a reply to: Entreri06

Christians should be FORCED to read it once a year, if you do that, you have true faith.

I'm not religious and I've read it, that thing is part of the reason I sold my soul (the other reason was money and access to occult powers).

a reply to: buster2010

They play along and believe and call themselves Christians to not be shunned from their family and friends I suppose. When you're told to believe something enough times, you'll end up believing it especially during childhood years. That's when religion comes in, during the childhood years.

It amazes me that the book Christianity is based on wasn't even written by the man their religion is based on. Hell he didn't even write the forward. Also apparently he was illiterate even though he was the embodiment of God himself! So if God can't write who made the tablets Moses brought down from the mountain?

Ah fairy tales and pixie dust I tell ya.

Does this mean that somebody with dyslexia or just illiterate can't be a Christian?

originally posted by: Hoosierdaddy71
Does this mean that somebody with dyslexia or just illiterate can't be a Christian?

They could always get the audiobook.

Would it make a difference to you if they did, or would you simply move on to a different reason for ridiculing them?

Biblically speaking, one does not have to read the bible to be a xtian, and live a xtian life.

I've read it twice, from "In the beginning," to "Amen." There are a few good stories, but over all, it did nothing to make me a believer.
Ditto with the Quran, the Baghvad Gita,the Bardo Thodol, and the Satanic Bible.
The best religious book I've read is the Book of the Subgenius.

a reply to: skunkape23

Praise Bob.

I'm a Christian and a Subgenius. Am I insane or do I just like free will?

Maybe the 1% represents the number who have read through the entire Bible straight through, cover to cover. (I admit that I have not)

But don't forget, the core element of Christianity is that salvation is not based on any level of knowledge, biblical understanding, or good works. Instead, it hinges on one specific moment that can be attained by anyone, no matter how poor, sinful, or uneducated. So therein lies the point, that you don't need to read anything or complete a check list to get it.

But you have a good point: true Christians would be driven to read the Bible, fellowship with other believers, and live their lives differently. Unfortunately, what you're alluding to is probably correct: that many of these folks are no more Christian than an athiest.

I also think that some denominations, Catholicism for instance, stray so far from biblical teaching, that it even further decreases that statistic.

I don't think you should be required to read the bible to call yourself Christian, but it would show credence in your beliefs to at least know what you believe. I have been in arguments regarding the Christian faith several times and on each occassion the other person did not know much about the religion they practiced i.e. going to church at least once a week. It's obvious to many athiests or agnostics like myself that many Christians don't even follow their religion seriously, as they do not follow the morals and values that it teaches, yet they will be the first one to condemn me for something I say or do. That I believe is hypocritical, being as I have read about 60% of the Bible and choose not to follow it for my own reasons.

I would rather follow the teachings of multiple fiction writers that offer much more insight on human nature and their values taught through other imaginary though realistic charachters. It is the same type of teaching, just not flooded with God and has the same amount of false history.

originally posted by: Yeahkeepwatchingme
a reply to: skunkape23

Praise Bob.

I'm a Christian and a Subgenius. Am I insane or do I just like free will?

You can be both. Light can be both a particle and a wave.

I'm not even actually considered a Christian anymore and I have read it quite a bit over the last twenty years. I have probably read every part of it over time with much of it being read over and over to try to understand why people would interpret it wrong. It has a lot of history of the chaos in the Jewish people's lives before Jesus was born in the old testament. There is also a lot of good in there also. It actually has some good advice for structuring a peaceful society. But of course, people have twisted the content of the bible to fit their desires throughout history.

I keep a copy in the bathroom, I read it when I am sitting on the toilet often. I just can't see how some churches twisted the good Jesus was trying to teach us into what they are practicing. I suppose we have freedom of religion in this country which means we have a right to believe what we want to. So I won't interfere with their beliefs.

a reply to: Entreri06

Yes they should read it. I am not a christian and I read it.

And wowzers..

God Loves his Gold and Onyx and Slaves, and Shut up Woman I'm talking.

God of the bible is a scrub.
And no, I don't want no scrub
A scrub is a guy that can't get no love from me.


Oddly enough I believe in a "God" just not that one.