I've decided to take a free online course called 10 Reasons to Believe the Bible.  It's available at www.christiancourses.com.  Here is what part of it says: The Bible is painfully honest. It shows Jacob, the father of its "chosen people," to be a deceiver. It describes Moses, the lawgiver, as an insecure, reluctant leader, who, in his first attempt to come to the aid of his own people, killed a man, and then ran for his life to the desert. It portrays David not only as Israel's most loved king, general, and spiritual leader, but as one who took another man's wife and then, to cover his own sin, conspired to have her husband killed. At one point, the Scriptures accuse the people of God, the nation of Israel, as being so bad that they made Sodom and Gomorrah look good by comparison (Ezekiel 16:46-52). The Bible represents human nature as hostile to God. It predicts a future full of trouble. It teaches that the road to heaven is narrow and the way to hell is wide. Scripture was clearly not written for those who want simple answers or an easy, optimistic view of religion and human nature. I'm not sure about you.  But reading that makes me feel better about how I've lived my life to date.  It makes me realize I don't have to be perfect...yes I knew it already but it helps to reaffirm it for me.  God really does forgive our sins and for that I am so thankful!