I first tried to read the bible beginning with the Old Testament.

It was about as much fun as reading the Koran was, and when I got to a part where they were telling you when you should stone someone to death, I decided "there is no wisdom in this book" and stopped reading. Really whatever quotable sayings in this book might exist, the genocide, slavery, abduction of women, and other horrible things in this book make me wonder how anyone ever thought this was the word of a merciful God.

Anyway, there are different translations of the Bible, different books accepted by different Christian sects, and then if you question anything in the books someone will explain to you how "murder" in Ancient Greek also means kiss on the forehead (I made that up but you get the point). So good luck with pinning anything down in these books, especially with the liberal use of "allegory" for anything particularly heinous.

A Christian friend at my work pointed out that the New Testament was nowhere near as long, and lent me a copy so I gave it a read. I must say it is a much more enjoyable and engaging read than the Koran or the Old Testament, and there is a lot more in it to like.

There are also some really disturbing parts, anyway I have written a whole article on it, complete with quotes so you can read more about my thoughts linked from the main page.