I'm looking for a book recommendation, and thought people here might be able to help.
Lately I've been reading Asimov's Guide to the Bible, which is great, but focuses pretty much entirely on the historical context without examining the moral and philosophical interpretations. I'm looking for a book that does that latter, ideally written by an atheist or at least in a secular manner. Has anyone encountered such a book? I am of course aware of some polemics, but I'm looking more for one that examines and explains the mainstream interpretations of the Bible by the people who believed it, and the historical context that led its authors to write what they did. The main source of these is naturally christian groups themselves, but that is not really what I am after either.
Book about the Bible
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Aaron MkII
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Re: Book about the Bible
Who Wrote The Bible, perhaps. I seem to recall it discussing the writing within historical context.
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SCRawl
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Re: Book about the Bible
I can second Aaron's recommendation. It was written by a biblical scholar, after all, and it does a great job of dispelling the myth that Moses wrote the Pentateuch.
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Re: Book about the Bible
You might find this to be interesting.
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A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
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mr friendly guy
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Re: Book about the Bible
The encyclopedia of Biblical errancy might help. Its been a while since I read it though, so maybe first check out the reviews.
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Bibl ... 0879759267
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Bibl ... 0879759267
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Countries I have been to - 14.
Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, USA.
Always on the lookout for more nice places to visit.
Re: Book about the Bible
Some books I've enjoyed that you might be interested in.
Old Testament: Who Wrote the Bible?, by Elliot
The Bible Unearthed, by Silberman
New Testament: Misquoting Jesus; Jesus, Interrupted; Lost Christianities; and Forged by Ehrman. (I found Forged to be less interesting and persuasive. It largely repeats his earlier popular works with some twists of interpretation. It's supposed to be the abstract of an as-yet unpublished academic monograph, and I thought it was iffy that he was taking his case popular before he made it to academia. Ehrman has also written a new book on the (existence of) historical Jesus. I haven't read it, but I've heard that it's academically sloppy.)
If you want a religious source, commentary on Catholic Bibles, in my experience, largely follows the results of scholarly textual criticism.
Old Testament: Who Wrote the Bible?, by Elliot
The Bible Unearthed, by Silberman
New Testament: Misquoting Jesus; Jesus, Interrupted; Lost Christianities; and Forged by Ehrman. (I found Forged to be less interesting and persuasive. It largely repeats his earlier popular works with some twists of interpretation. It's supposed to be the abstract of an as-yet unpublished academic monograph, and I thought it was iffy that he was taking his case popular before he made it to academia. Ehrman has also written a new book on the (existence of) historical Jesus. I haven't read it, but I've heard that it's academically sloppy.)
If you want a religious source, commentary on Catholic Bibles, in my experience, largely follows the results of scholarly textual criticism.
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hypatia1128
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Re: Book about the Bible
I like Paul Kurtz, Robert Price, and Spong. They are awesome. The last one considers himself a Christian (I believe he's Episcopaan (sp?).
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Re: Book about the Bible
Were the earlier three worth the time or better handled, would you say?Surlethe wrote: New Testament: Misquoting Jesus; Jesus, Interrupted; Lost Christianities; and Forged by Ehrman. (I found Forged to be less interesting and persuasive. It largely repeats his earlier popular works with some twists of interpretation. It's supposed to be the abstract of an as-yet unpublished academic monograph, and I thought it was iffy that he was taking his case popular before he made it to academia. Ehrman has also written a new book on the (existence of) historical Jesus. I haven't read it, but I've heard that it's academically sloppy.)
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