The simple answer from a legal perspective is yes. I don’t want to upset anyone’s sensitivities and this is not about believer vs non-believer.
It is in my opinion a must-read book for all students of law. Although some may say the stories are far-fetched and I am not going to say I have a belief one way or another. That is irrelevant for this discussion. Our legal system, you may have heard, is based on Judeo-Christian principles. If our law was Sharia we would want to understand the Koran.
Anyway, back to our laws. You probably have also heard that our laws are based on the common law. Common law comes from the bible. It is based on common sense and human interactions. All of the stories in the bible have been thoroughly analysed and debated by lawyers and biblical scholars and out of all those stories comes the law. If you can see the root of a law it will help you to better understand it. It is the rulebook for those that make the rules.
They don’t want you to read it and will encourage unbelievers with comedians who make fun of the stories. You know the stories that are responsible for the rules that fuel his or her contempt for the book. It doesn’t matter whether or not it is God’s rulebook if man has adopted it as his own. We can figure god as we see fit. This is about figuring man.
Does it matter if we believe in Armageddon if that’s where our rulers are taking us? They want us to get into fake arguments with each other about our religious beliefs or lack of. If it is a book you are expected to swear on then you should know that the book forbids this practice. If the book shows the deceit in a man’s heart does it matter whether it is a real or fictional story?
It is the law book of all law books. It will teach you how to detect fraud. Fraud is the most important element for lawyers to grasp. They must be able to detect it in all paperwork. Wars have been fought using tactics and strategy from the bible. Who cares who wrote it if your enemy is using it to kill you.
A good chess player will always put himself in the other man’s shoes. If my enemy believes the stories then it matters not what I believe as long as I believe that my enemy believes them.
The bible is also full of legal remedies. To understand it is the key to your salvation here on earth. Yes I mean in a legal sense, remedies that can save your butt here on terra-firma. I believe your physical body is what is important in the here and now. If you get a spiritual awakening from reading it, don’t worry, it’s only a side effect.