Having wasted a significant portion of my youth pursuing whatever I wanted only to later realize I was enslaved to the very things I thought I was pursuing freely, I can wholeheartedly recommend the Bible as that which gave me true freedom.

Many of it's teachings are certainly counter-cultural. And it does take time and effort to learn and interpret wisely. But I find much in the Bible that is very applicable to life today and, arguably more important, applicable to the life to come.

As for the imaginary part, there are plenty of rational reasons to consider the claims of the Bible. This isn't a bad start:

http://www.veritas.org/how-does-christianity-measure-up/

A lot of it boils down to your own personal presuppositions and worldview. For more advanced treatment that gets to the heart of how we know what we know and how our presuppositions affect what we think we know:

https://www.amazon.com/Doctrine-Knowledge-God-Theology-Lords...

Sorry, the link wasn't that good in hindsight. Was trying to respond between meetings.

Here is a better jumping off point :

http://www.veritas.org/how-does-christianity-measure-up/

If you want a very in depth treatment, then:

https://www.amazon.com/Doctrine-Knowledge-God-Theology-Lords...