Rating: 
Summary: Funny? Yes. Got a point? Probably. Empathy? Definatly not
Review: With out doubt a funny and well crafted argument into the inacuracies of the bible, of which there are many. The problem is that most Christian denominations appreciate already that there are floors, that there is a lot of 'literary licence' and that some bits are just plain daft. The problem is that the theists that you hear the most about are the Tiper Gore's (you guys aren't actually going to make this woman First Lady, are you?) of this world. And yep they are indeed misguided and woefully wide of the mark. What Ken's guide misses is that a lot of the silent majority have a religion based on faith and not a faith based on religion. There are a lot of us (Catholics that is) that are appalled by some aspects of the church, but to brand every 'believer' as some poor misguided sole, as this book does, is to miss the point. Personally I love the little black book and it did once again highlight a number of the inacuracies of a book written by hundreds of different people over thousands of years - but what do you expect? The Athiests amongst you, good luck and so long as you are happy with your beliefs then that is all that counts, but if you start branding all God beleivers as nutters that knock on your door and tell you that you are damned to hell then you are no better yourselves. I reckon I'm right, but there again so does the author of Kens Guide - neither of us (I hope) want to turn it into a holy war.
Rating:
Summary: Irreverent and fun
Review: This little book is a hoot. Ken takes the veil away from many of the less well advertised aspects of the biblical "message." Too bad the people this could really help either won't read it or won't get it.I'd have given it all five stars but for a couple of things. First, Ken misses some of the most outrageous "family values" tales in the OT. The one that tipped me off about the "value" of this book, way back when I was a little nipper, was the dreadful tale of Abraham and Isaac. The story of a god repulsive enough to command a man to murder his own son for no reason other than to prove what a brainless sheep he was, and a father who was perfectly ready to do it. This story should terrify any child with half a brain. Then there's the charming story of Lot, supposedly the only honorable man in Sodom, who, in order to preserve the dignity of a couple of God's angel spies, appeased a mob by throwing them his two virgin daughters. Oh, yes--this book is a great guide to high family values. The other reason I can't give Ken five stars is that he's a bit behind on his New Testament scholarship. It's been quite well established that (1) none of the gospels was written by anyone who ever knew Jesus, despite having the names of apostles, (2) in fact, there's not a single word of "eye witness" testimony re. Jesus in any part of the Bible, (3) the oldest part of the NT is, in fact, some of the stuff written by Paul, so arguably *his* version of the Jesus/Christianity stuff is more accurate (and this stuff was written many years after the death of Jesus--if, in fact, Jesus was a real person, which is quite questionable), and (4) the oldest of the four gospels was Mark; Matthew and Luke simply plagiarized Mark, beefed up and tweaked stuff to meet their particular liturgical needs, and invented stuff like birth myths to make Jesus seem more supernatural than Mark's rather pasturale depiction seems to indicate. So it's not very surprising that John is the odd man out--this is the only one of the four gospels that's somewhat independent of the others. Both of the (contradictory) birth myths are just that--completely fabricated. In fact, Joseph, the supposed father of Jesus, is probably also completely fabricated. Sorry, True Believers. Your faith is based on shifting sand. Were it not shielded by layer after layer of religious gauze, the Bible is a book which no one would consider to be suitable reading for anyone under the age of 21. Let's get those Bibles shelved where they belong--in the mythology section, right next to Bullfinch's.
Rating:
Summary: Pokes fun at an easy and deserving target
Review: Imagine that you did not have a strong emotional bias concerning the Bible. Imagine that you did not have a desperate need to find some way to interpret it all as true and as consistent with a morality of love and peace. Imagine that you had not been brainwashed from infancy by your family, peers and society to at the very least regard it as an extraordinary, beautiful book worthy of great respect and reverence, if not the infallible word of God. Imagine instead that you could actually approach the Bible anew, in an objective, unbiased, open-minded way, with no impulse to rationalize away any parts of it that don't fit what you want or expect to find there. What would you likely conclude about the Bible, and about the God depicted there? Would you be awed by its philosophical profundity, its amazing lack of a single factual error in hundreds of pages, its literary beauty and aesthetic perfection, its sublime and inspiring moral message of love and kindness and respect for all? Would it be apparent that such a work could never have been written by mere mortals without the divine intervention of an all-powerful, all-good, God of love? Yeah, right. As Ken Smith's Ken's Guide to the Bible proves on page after hilarious page, the Bible is an incoherent mishmash of idiocy, insanity, and unspeakable cruelty. Ken's introductory description of the Biblical God is dead on: "Bloodthirsty and vengeful, despite the claims of New Testament writers. Excels at killing people. The scariest thing in the Bible." We're all in trouble if anything remotely like this monster is actually governing the universe. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Instead of pussy-footing around in fear of offending and "disrespecting" those sensitive souls who can't bear to hear the truth about their religion, Ken piles on more and more evidence of how absolutely ridiculous and inhumane are so many of the stories and teachings of the Bible. I find myself frequently going back to Ken's Guide to the Bible with the intention of browsing a few pages for laughs, only to inevitably get sucked into re-reading most or all of it. My only complaint about the book is its brevity-barely a hundred pages. It's over much too soon. Surely there are even more absurdities in the Bible that the author could have included. I urge him to follow-up with an expanded edition of this book in the future, or perhaps additional works on other infallible books inspired by the God of one of the other one and only true faiths like Islam, Mormonism, Hinduism, the Nation of Islam, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventism, etc. Read this book and have some laughs. (And try not to bring yourself down by dwelling on the fact that you're surrounded by folks who insist on running their own life and yours according to whatever precepts they selectively take from the Bible, or at least imagine they're getting from there.)
Rating: 
Summary: This is a must have book. There are two others.
Review: This is one of my favorite books on the planet, truly useful in showing people how most religious leaders are very selective in what they pull out of the old and new testaments to use for teaching and preaching. I especially like his proposition that Jesus may have been overweight based on several valid examples. I've often been tempted to carry a bunch of these with me to leave in hotel rooms, a la "Gideon's Bible". There are two other books which complement this one. I would strongly recommend Randel Helms's Gospel Fictions and Who Wrote the New Testament?. These three books together comprise a perfect study guide for anyone so inclined.
Rating:
Summary: Funnier than a box of rocks
Review: Short little comments on many a bible passage. Sticks it to the good book
Rating:
Summary: Second only to the Bible in its humor.
Review: If you're a Christian, you'll go to Hell for reading this book. But that's really your problem. The rest of us will be trying to suppress intense laughter as Ken's text points out what the Bible actually *does* say in plain English. This book is also a definitive study in the use of iconography to point out the best parts of the Bible. Buy copies for all your Christian friends, but only if you want them to go to Hell.
Rating:
Summary: A must-have for non-christians in the buy-bull belt!
Review: An excellent, no-holds barred look at how ludicrous the bible truly is. Exposes the insanity, contradictions, and dark subjects in the bible that the church wants you to ignore. And excellent addition to the library of any victim of the christian faith.
Rating: 
Summary: awful
Review: I feel that the book is misleading. Ken Smith has taken bible verses and twisted them around. If you want to know the truth, sit down and read the bible yourself, if you don't understand some things, seek advice from from bible study groups or just ask God to help you understand.
Rating:
Summary: The book I always knew had to be out there
Review: I was turned on to this book by a buddhist and thank my lucky stars I heard about it. Why is the book assigned the designation 'Humor' instead of 'Religion' or 'Religious Controversy'? Some editor at Blast Books have his own agenda? I share the same wish as many that Mr. Smith comes out with an expanded version. What's so great about the book is that regardless of your depth of interest, anyone can spare a minute or two to read several segments and see almost immediately how ridiculous the bible is and how deeply rooted in cognitive dissonance the average "Christian" is. No, Mr. Smith is not a scholar with a PhD. But how many Christians are? How many Christians have sat down and read the bible all the way through ( Mr. Smith has read several versions)? Obviously not many or quite a few more people would be questioning the craziness instead of nodding their heads like sheep at their pastor's ramblings of selected parts. I have since bought several other books (by scholars) that go much more in depth on the errancies and lunacies of the bible, but none even approaching the entertainment value of this one (or contradicting the content). Ken Smith for President!
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely a worthwhile purchase
Review: Could easily be entitled "The Bible in a Nutshell." I have found this guide to be invaluable. Not for the faint of heart, because this book pulls NO punches. I particularly like the closing sections on "Embarassing Bible Questions," and "Ken's Anti-Abortionist Horror Concordance."
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