Rating: 
Summary: Pops the Bible Bubble!
Review: Despite agreeing with some reviewers who bemoan the fact that this book does not delve sufficiently deeply in certain areas, and also omits some reasonable arguments against the veracity of the Bible, this remains nonetheless a hilarious and easy-to-read demolition of much Christian illogic, pomposity and self-righteousness. The venomousness of the attacks on this book mounted by some believers seem to prove that it has indeed "struck a nerve"! For example, one negative reviewer mentions having written his own "longish critique of it in the same satiric style." Anyone who bothers to read that "critique" will find that it consists of little more than crude and puerile personal insults directed against Mr. Smith. Apparently, the critic couldn't create a rational response, so had to resort to a lame ad hominem attack.
Some reviewers have complained that Ken Smith takes biblical quotations out-of-context, treating them as though they had been written in the present day: if so, then isn't this exactly the same mistake that believers constantly make? If that practice is OK for believers, why shouldn't a skeptic do the same thing?
A further complaint has been that this book critiques the Bible in its English translation, rather than in the source languages. As Mr. Smith points out, however, believers claim that the Bible is the unerring word of God. If so, then how could it have been "mis-translated"? Surely, God would never have permitted such a divisive blunder, if the message were really so important? There is simply no Bible that is universally accepted: even many Christian sects cannot agree between themselves what should or should not be included.
If you're looking for a more scholarly critique of the Bible, then I recommend Robin Lane Fox's "The Unauthorized Version". Nonetheless, Ken Smith's book provides a very refreshing breath of clear air.
Rating: 
Summary: oh what a breath of fresh air
Review: I wish this book was widely known
so tired of the social control maniacs wrapping themselves in the hodgepodge that is "the Bible"
this lays out how completely contradictory it is, and how full of nonsense
Christianity is the ultimate blasphemy, created by Paul. Who killed Jesus? easy, the Christians
whatever it was that the actual Jesus was up to, it was quickly and thoroughly coopted into its opposite
and now we have Armageddon locked and loaded
historical basis? no longer relevant
d
Rating: 
Summary: Ken's Very Funny Guide to the Bible
Review: This book shows you the stuff in the Bible that you would otherwise never have heard of. The dark, bloody, brutal and unseemly side of the Bible. But unlike many other similar efforts, there is no polemic in Ken's Guide. Smith pokes gentle fun, in as brief a style of writing as I have rarely seen. His approach is of the modern-day, clear-headed, common sense variety - and also very, very funny.
The book starts out with a good and very amusing introduction (including, among many other things, a top ten list of the Bible's most influential characters). But then it immediately runs out of steam, sort of, and turns into little more than a collection of lists of damning Bible passages, with an occasional comment here and there. Since plenty of such lists can be found on the net, more is needed to make a good book. When Smith does offer some input, it is usually hilariously funny, making one wish he had written a lot more.
One interesting thing that also could have been made more of, is the various icons in the margin that Smith employs to point out the different categories of Bible passages, among them: weirdness, bunk, divine wrath, holy distortion, blood 'n' guts, sex, Christian arrogance, and a few others. But these icons are used inconsistently and frequently not at all.
Smith admits he's no bible scholar, and on a few occasions this shows, but in general he offers razor-sharp and insightful comments on the absurdities of the Bible. I heartily recommend this book, you'll find yourself frequently laughing out loud when reading it, but, on the whole, I can't escape the feeling that this book could, and should, have been a lot more.
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Summary: Tongue in cheek truth
Review: Although Ken Smith presents his analysis as if it were a tabloid newspaper (see cover), the book is all quotes from the Bible. It is hard to dispute the ridiculousness of some of the things he quotes. It was certainly an eye-opener for me, and would especially be so for all those who are devout Christians or Jews.
His commentary at times is insensitive, but he obviously is a skeptic of organized religion. Also, at times he blatantly applies his own interpretations. However, he is forthcoming with this in the introduction and later.
It would be a great starting point to find controversial verses for anybody who is feeling the heat of Christian or Jewish fundamentalists, or missionaries in the prior case.
A good start, but it could be offensive!
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Summary: Ken's Guide to the Bible - a review
Review: This book is what literal believers will call Bible bashing, although I can't find much in it which is not true. It is not a particularly scholarly book, and for that reason misses the one great truth about the Bible, which is that it is nothing more than a large collection of writings by varous authors over a period of about 1000 years. Like all other "Sacred Scripture", the original authors intentions have been sacrificed for the sake of modern dogma. What Ken does very clearly is point out examples which reflect different values than we have today. It therefore becomes very difficult to say that the Bible is the word of God if the various representations for God found in the Bible advocate mass murder of other cultures, religious warfare, and subjugation of women. The Bible is an excellent window back into time and the morals and values of the people of different periods; however, despite many wonderful and inspirational things found there, no amount of faith can remove the many immoral things inflicted by the various gods in the Bible.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Reading!
Review: This book offers great facts about the Bible. Great reading, and I would recommend it to anyone who isn't offended.
Rating: 
Summary: Dumb Book From Any Perspective
Review: Don't bother buying this book. It has little to offer in the way of scolarshhip or content.
Those who believe the Bible will find fails to understand what he reads.
Those who don't believe, equally will find his arguments shallow.
Many of his "facts" are in error. Single sentences taken out of contex and read in today's English can be laughable if one doesn't attempt any scolarship.
Believing or not believing, this book offers the most cursory coverage I've ever seen.
If this is an example of Mr. Smith's intellectual reach, then it brings his other works into question.
Don't bother spending money on this one!
Rating:
Summary: Value-for-money summary of the Bible
Review: Ken's Guide to the Bible is a very concise and yet fairly complete book-by-book summary of what's happening in the Bible - and also what's not happening. It is certainly not an interpretation or a theological analysis of the Bible. It focuses on highlighting passages that must seem bizarre, especially to people who insist on taking the Bible literally. It is thus a valuable source for arguments against fundamentalists. But even beyond that it is informational and a time- (and money-) efficient way of learning about the Bible's contents (but again, not its meaning - that wasn't the purpose of the book and it shouldn't be judged based on this as other reviewers have done). The symbols used to identify "weirdness", "the big picture", "bunk" etc. may seem like a gimmick at first, but they are actually a pretty good idea and allow the author to refrain from commenting a lot - he mostly lets the Bible speak for itself and marks his own opinion with the "two cents" symbol. In addition, the "bunk" paragraphs point out erroneous beliefs people hold about biblical events. For example, it is not said anywhere in Genesis that Eve ate an apple. Ken's Guide to the Bible is basically a (much) shorter version of Asimov's Guide to the Bible (and the author gives the latter as one of his sources). If you have enough time to read the whole Asimov guide, go for it - it's certainly "better" in the sense that it digs deeper and has a wealth of information. But if you want the 150-page summary, Ken's Guide is perfect.
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Summary: Read this book; you definitely won't go to hell...
Review: This is just another book which will help the reader widen his or her horizon in terms of intellectual posibilities. The fact that it can be printed and read tells you a lot about how much reason and freedom has advanced in this part of the world. Anyone who thinks the Bible is sacred or the word of God (any god...) and thus accurate or flawless or literal is simply several hundrend years behind in his/her intellectual evolution (another dirty word). Reading any book like this one will make you reason, discern, discriminate between accepting crap (from churches, polititians, astrologers, cardreaders, salespeople, you name it...) or taking your chances by THINKING for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Funny, but...
Review: While this book reads with a great deal of hilarity and many seemingly convincing arguments, it seems irresponsible to draw these arguments from any other source but the original language (Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, etc., depending on the section of the Bible). The Bible is simply not meant to be taken literally word-for-word, especially in a language so far-removed from the original. Even the most fundamental of fundamentals must refer to the original texts to acheive a greater understanding of what the Bible contains. So, before you go out and inform the world of what a hoax the Good Book is (if you are a non-believer) and before you go run out of the house screaming (if you are a believer), think twice before reading this book and realize that not only has the Bible been proven even by the hardest atheist to be a valuable archeological resourse, any descriptive literature--especially translated literature--will breed shocking results when taken word-for-word.
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