Important to read – but not, necessarily, all of it – for understanding Western culture. Not a very good book for understanding where the world or humans came from. Gives some people relief when they struggle with depression, angst, loneliness, imprisonment, disease, old age, death, and so on.

The Bible is a collection of 66 little books. The “Old Testament” is 39 books and makes up the majority, by length and number, consisting of scripture of the Jewish people; the “New Testament”, 27 books, introduces Jesus as messiah and talks about the end times.

The Old Testament is a diverse book. Some books contain (pseudo)history and myth, others are legal texts, while some are more philosophical or poetic in nature. The New Testament gives 4 different accounts of Jesus, followed by letters from early church leaders on what the church ought to be, followed by its prophecy about how the end of the world may go, maybe.

• Genesis – for its cultural relevance
• Job – why do good people suffer hardships?
• Ecclesiastes – pessimism, impermanence
• Psalms– lengthy, but one of the most celebrated texts
• John – the gospel in a nutshell; the last gospel; snappy style
• Revelation – weird as hell

• The Jefferson Bible. Slimmed-down reading of the Gospels (story of Jesus) without the magic and miracles.
  • Split into chapters (HTML)
  • Ebook download (PDF/EPUB/MOBI)
• The Gnostic gospels. Different take on Jewish and Christian myth and metaphysics.
• Zoroastrianism: an undeniable influence on the Abrahamic faiths.
• The Quran: essentially a rewrite of the Bible. Easier read with less repetition, fewer contradictions, but a bit less about Jesus and Christianity.