Wow, I missed a lot. Let me go over a few points.
OT vs. NT - The OT seems to be full of hatred, but if you read between the lines, the people the Israelis wiped out were given chances by God to repent, but failed to do so. At that point, either they or the Israelites would be wiped out. That aside, the NT, or rather parts of it, overwrite the OT. People must no longer give sacrifices, "eye for an eye" is no longer valid, etc. The themes of the OT center around Israel's cycle of faithfulness, faithlessness, and redemption and the prophecies of the messiah. The NT focuses on the teachings of Jesus, the messiah, and His forgiveness.
Bible versions - As far as being close to the orignal Greek and Hebrew, the KJV isn't that great. King James had an agenda, and the passages about witchcraft, when compared to other versions, show this. However, many people in modern times write bibles with agendas. My advice is to find one with footnotes that comment on phrases that couldn't be properly translated. That's about as thorough as it gets. For example, many passages have slightly different meanings when footnotes differentiate between the singular and plural versions of "you."
Nutjobs - They're everywhere and I despise their message. They simply spew condemnation at all who pass, and no, we Christians aren't immune. Most of them are fanatical to a very strict denomination. If they can't find anything else to preach about, they'll condemn any woman wearing pants or any guy with shoulder length hair. I get preached at those guys a lot for believing in the baptism of the holy spirit evidenced by speaking in tongues.
Science vs. Religion - I don't think they're mutually exclusive. So far, science has only theorized the absence of a higher power. The haven't proven it. Neither do sensible Christians dismiss science as heresy. When both groups get off it, they tend to actually support each other. For example, there's a passage in the Bible where Jesus heals a man who was blind from birth. The man then proclaims that people look like walking trees. For centuries, he was thought to simply be poetic, but the truth is that those who were blind, but can now see have trouble making sense out of images. Trees are some of the easiest objects to understand, and when people healed of lifelong blindness begin to put together the pictures, they liken people to walking trees.
