Originally posted by: Arnie.d
Is there any part in particular that's special or a part that you think everybody should have read? I don't plan to read the whole Bible but if there a small part you could recommend I would like to read it.
Do you also know if and where in the Bible "hell" is described?

Where the Bible really shines is when you can look at is as a whole and see how well it snaps together, which is impressive when you consider how many different writers it has and over how many hundreds of years it was written. To recommend one particular part everybody should read, that is hard. I guess it depends on what you are looking for. If you want to read one small section that will explain to you everything you ever wanted to know, or that will inform you of general Christian doctrine, you are not going to come up with anything. You have the four Gospels containing four accounts of Jesus life, death and resurrection, but if you do not believe in God or don't have any interest in Christianity, then I don't think you will gain anything from reading them. The rest of the New Testament consists of Paul's letters and some other letters by various other people, these are more about the Christian life and address certian controversies in different Churches during and around the first century. So again, if you are not a Christian and have very little interest in Christianity, then you will find these pointless and boring. Most people who do not know much about the Bible dive right into Revelation because they think it is cool. I would not recommend this, as Revelation requires a pretty good understanding of both the Old and New Testament to make heads or tails of, and it is most often misinterpreted by novices and scholars alike.

In the Old Testament you have the books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The first eleven chapters of Genesis is a quick read, and it takes you from the Creation story, the story of the Ark, and the story of Babel, and ends before Abraham. Many scholars believe these first 11 chapters to be more of Jewish mythology rather than actual history. Not to say this section is just irrelevent fairy stories, they do have a very strong and valid meaning regardless of weather you choose to believe them to be history or myth. It is important to realize that these books are claimed to have been written my Moses who lived a VERY long time later. Exodus is about Moses and the Israelites exodus from Egypt and the years spend wandering in the desert. Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy spend a lot of time on the law and can get pretty tedious to read.

My personal favorites are the books of history, especially Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. The books of Poetry can also be quite enjoyable, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiaties, Song of Solomon. My favorites from this section are hands down Job and Ecclesiaties. Proverbs is also a pretty cool read. The rest of the Old Testament is the Books of Prophecy.

If you are interested to learn more of Christian history, I would recommend Luke and Acts. Luke being one of the Gospels tells the story of Jesus, Acts which is written by the same author as Luke continues right where Luke lets off and tells the story of the early church, including the conversion of the Apostle Paul and his missionary journeys.

You asked where hell is described in the Bible, there are actually not that many descriptions of it. Hell as it is modernly precieved is mostly from Dante's Inferno, this is where the fire and brimstone stuff comes from. Several things in Revelation could be taken as descriptions of hell, depending on how you interpret the book. In Luke 16:19 you have the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus, which also has a sort of describtion of the afterlife. My personal conclusion on the subject is that the Bible was not meant to describe the afterlife, but does have warnings that there will be punishment in store for the and rewards for the righteous.