Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collections
Publication
Eagle Brook/William Morrow and Company, (1998), Edition: 1st Edition/ 1st Printing, Paperback, 533 pages
Description
The "New York Times" bestselling author of "Don't Know Much About History" takes on the Bible, illuminating everything one needs to know about the "Good Book", but has never learned.
User reviews
LibraryThing member nbmars
Review of the Old and New Testaments and of research about their possible authors. Davis highlights some of the more prevalent misconceptions about the Bible, including the mistranslations of "Red Sea," "coat of many colors" and "virgin," inter alia. In other cases, he just clarifies translations
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(e.g., Jesus is the Greek translation of Joshua). He points out the multiple and contradictory accounts of the same events in different books of the Bible (and sometimes, as with the creation story in Genesis, within the same book). He also familiarlizes the reader with the historical context of stories, and how it influenced the content (for example, hatred of Nero, a definition of homosexuality that focused on pederasty by heterosexuals, etc.) He exposes some of the lesser known bad acts of beloved characters, such as David, Solomon, and Saul. While Davis does a good job in showing that the Bible cannot be taken literally, he doesn't deny the value of faith and even, in the last chapter, makes a case for it. This necessarily superficial survey is entertaining, and a valuable adjunct to an uneducated reading of the Bible. (JAF) Show Less
LibraryThing member kaelirenee
I am a huge fan of Kevin Davis's Don't Know Much About series. They are always an excellent starting point for study and understanding the big picture of a topic. DKMA The Bible does not disappoint. He is informative and amusing as always, but never disrespectful or flippant. He presents some
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rabinical and religious thought behind some of the questions about the Bible (like why there are two sets of the Ten Commandments), and presents some great quotes. An excellent book to start religious study, but it shouldn't be the only resource used to understand the history of the Bible, the content of the Bible, or Christianity (even for non-Christians) Show Less
LibraryThing member Diwanna
Overall, this is probably the best book I've read on the subject. That subject being the history and idiosyncrasy of the Bible. Although not as detailed as Friedman's "Who Wrote the Bible?" it covers the entire Bible, not just the Old Testament. A fantastic book for believers and non-believers
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alike as it gives you quite a bit of insight into the background of the Good Book and many of the stories you were taught incorrectly in Sunday School. Show Less
LibraryThing member BinkaBonkaChair
This is amazingly a fast read, and quite informative. As with all religious books written by even former Jesuit priests, take everything with a grain of salt, but enjoy. :)
LibraryThing member Lndlindsey
Very interesting read. The author definitely comes from the believer's point of view and skips over a few things I'd like to see explained, but overall good. Investigating the origins of stories and the history surrounding the writers provides interesting insights.
LibraryThing member markknapp
An interesting, comprehensive and yet accessible guide to the bible. Not as much detail as I'd hoped on some topics, way too much filler on others. If you already know the book and religion, you are unlikely to learn much. But I learned some, and a few decades ago would have really learned a lot.
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Written in a light, but respectful manner. You will have some ideas challenged. Show Less
Subjects
Physical description
533 p.; 9.2 inches
ISBN
0965064638 / 9780965064637
Local notes
220, DAV