You might have heard people say things along the lines of "life is happy and Bible stories are fun and if you follow Jesus everything will be o.k." But I beg to differ...
The stories found in the Bible are not happy fairy tales we tell to kids before they go to sleep (although some people manage to make it seem that way); most of these stories are brutal depictions of life's toughest moments.
I do not know who may end up reading this blog (and I am not going to assume that everyone who does read it believes as I do- in fact I hope not. I want some variety among my readers), but regardless of your religious, philosophical, or otherwise worldview determining mode of thought, I think that once you hear some of those stories, you'll agree that they're flipping awesome. And if you already know the Bible, you might find something new.
There are records of strong, sometimes unexpected leaders... Deborah, a woman- normally considered an inferior member of society- who leads an entire nation in war and national affairs.
There are back stories of famous people... Moses killing one of his fellow countryman, and hiding in a foreign land when the king finds out (the last thing he expected was to talk face to face with God)... Abraham (the first of the line of the God's nation, Israel) who told the rulers in the countries he visited that his wife was his sister- so they would not kill him to possess her- and wound up letting her be taken by unknowing, but otherwise honorable, kings.
There are accounts of flawed heroes... King David, a ruler chosen by God, who murdered one of his officers, and took his wife for himself.
And there are plenty of gruesome things such as an unassuming woman hammering a tent-peg into the head of an enemy king as he is sleeping in her tent... And an account of a tyrannical king who gets assassinated by a clever warrior-ruler... and this king happens to be so ENORMOUS that the sword that impales him gets swallowed up by his fat.
There's even a story of a bunch of young guys who get attacked by bears, because they insult a bald prophet.
This description barely even scratches the surface of how great the Bible is, but it should shed some light on why I like it so darn much.
You can expect me to go on many more rants on this subject.
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