Anonymous: why should atheists 'appreciate' that? what would be gained?
Just because you don’t believe in God doesn’t mean that the lessons and words in the Bible don’t have meaning you can appreciate. Or learn from.
And I said that atheists shouldn’t take the Bible and religion so seriously. A lot of atheists I know take it more seriously and word for word than a lot of believers do.
Most atheists have such a limited understanding of the Bible and religion (at least for ones in a judeo/christian centered area), and they take everything they read at face value. There’s more to the Bible than rules and laws, and more to it than historical inaccuracies and myths.
Just because something never happened, doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
So what can be gained? Understanding and knowledge. Of both yourself and others. And of the world before. Of a time where myth meant more than just a legend or fairy tale. I’ve learned more about myself from studying religion than I have from any other thing I’ve done.
And I managed to do so as an atheist.