How (not) to read the Bible: making sense of the anti-women, anti-science, pro-violence, pro-slavery, and other crazy-sounding parts of Scripture

Prelude: Becoming atheist by reading the Bible

Part 1. Never read a Bible verse (or you will have to believe in magical unicorns). Yes, there are unicorns in the Bible ; The Bible was not written to us ; Never read a Bible verse

Part 2. Stranger things: shrimp, slavery, and the skin of a dead pig. Strange and stranger things in the Old Testament ; The art of (not) cherry-picking Bible verses ; Making sense of shrimp, the skin of a dead pig, and slavery

Part 3. Boys' club Christianity: is the Bible anti-women and does it promote misogyny?. The boys' club Bible ; Can't keep a good woman down ; Making sense of inequality in the Bible

Part 4. Jesus riding a dinosaur: do we have to choose between science and the Bible?. Jesus riding a dinosaur ; In the beginning we misunderstood ; Making sense of the Bible-versus-science conflict

Part 5. My God can beat up your God: does Christianity claim all other religions are wrong?. My God can beat up your God ; Love is the way, the truth, and the life ; Making sense of the intolerant-sounding Jesus

Part 6. Rated NC-17: the horror of God's Old Testament violence. The TV-MA, NC-17 Bible ; The God of compassion, slow to anger and forgiving ; Making sense of the texts of terror

Postlude: Jesus loved his crazy Bible (and why trusting it isn't that crazy)

Appendix: Resources for teaching and further study.