The "Song of Solomon" and some "Psalms" could be accepted as "beautiful literature," but much of the Bible is obscene and vile,The Dhammapada or the Tao Te Ching, to name but a couple, are far more beautifully and comprehensibly written and conveyed,
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Favorite Answer
I especially like this one.
Rape of Female Captives (Deuteronomy 21:10-14 NAB)
"When you go out to war against your enemies and the LORD, your God, delivers them into your hand, so that you take captives, if you see a comely woman among the captives and become so enamored of her that you wish to have her as wife, you may take her home to your house. But before she may live there, she must shave her head and pare her nails and lay aside her captive's garb. After she has mourned her father and mother for a full month, you may have relations with her, and you shall be her husband and she shall be your wife. However, if later on you lose your liking for her, you shall give her her freedom, if she wishes it; but you shall not sell her or enslave her, since she was married to you under compulsion."
Anonymous
It's almost impossible to write something of book-length that's so bad that no one could find something useful / entertaining or even mildly interesting in it.
But you have to compare the bible to other works and it really doesn't stand out - there's more morality discussed in just about any of the modern classics than the bible and what's more, it's stuff that's far more relevant to modern society (for example, the pros/cons of technology on and in society).
Heck, Neuromancer offers deeper insight on humanity than the bible does, by far.
Reverie
The book of Tobit, Esther, Judith are equally beautiful.
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its a stretch of imagination all right, and no the most beautiful literature is created by Philosophers and free thinkers who try to teach cognizance to the simple-minded. not those who force others to believe their bullshit with empty threats of eternity in hell after death.
Anonymous
I don't find the writing particularly beautiful, either in content or form.