While there are some really nice passages in the Bible, it is largely a really dreadful read. Great literature it is not, nor is it history. Philosophically, the really offensive stuff in the Old Testament far outweighs the relatively small part of the New Testament that isn't smugly self-satisfied. Judgmentalism pervades the whole thing. Yes, we would all be better people if we lived like Jesus said (when he wasn't talking about God), and there is some nice poetry in Ecclesiastics and Psalms. Odd bits of interesting philosophy scattered here and there. Beyond that, not a lot that's very readable. The only really interesting thing about it, and the reason for it's longevity, is that it is the holy book of a major religion.

The only reason the Bible is ever taught as literature in schools is because Christians want it to be. Stim says it has been "useful" for thousands of years, but useful isn't literature. Useful is being the holy book of a major religion. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Bible as a holy book, and it is obviously a very effective one. To believers it clearly has great meaning. But calling it great literature seems rather self-serving, a way to insert it into secular life in a way that it doesn't merit, hoping that no one will want to offend Christians by saying it doesn't belong there.