malabar
Homo Malabarus
Joined: 02 Jan 2006
Posts: 673
Location: Bristol, UK
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 Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 8:52 am Post subject: 43. The Year of Living Biblically, A. J. Jacobs |
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Another entry in the growing genre of "Do something strange for a year and write about it" books. (This is actually Jacobs' second foray into the genre, with a previous book about reading the Encyclopedia Britannica from A to Z.)
Jacobs grew up in a nonobservant Jewish family and always thought of religion as a set of unfortunate delusions. But with so many people feeling so strongly about it, he wondered if he were really missing out on something. So he decided to "follow the Bible as literally as possible," in his words.
From his website:
| Quote: | The book that emerged from this has several layers:
--An exploration of some of the Bible’s startlingly relevant rules. I tried not to covet, gossip, or lie for a year. I’m a journalist in New York. This was not easy.
--An investigation of the rules that baffle the 21st century brain. How to justify the laws about stoning homosexuals? Or smashing idols? Or sacrificing oxen? And how do you follow those in modern-day Manhattan?
--A look at various fascinating religious groups. I embedded myself among several groups that take the Bible literally in their own way, from creationists to snake handlers, Hasidim to the Amish.
--A critique of fundamentalism. I became the ultra-fundamentalist. I found that fundamentalists may claim to take the Bible literally, but they actually just pick and choose certain rules to follow. By taking fundamentalism to the extreme, I found that literalism is not the best way to interpret the Bible.
--A spiritual journey. As an agnostic, I’d never seriously explored such things as sacredness and revelation.
--A memoir of my family’s eccentric religious history, including my ex-uncle Gil, who has been, among other things, a Hindu cult leader, an evangelical Christian and an Orthodox Jew.
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As backup, he has a panel of spiritual advisers ranging from a retired conservative Christian pastor to a radicalised rabbi to a surprisingly level-headed snake handler in the backwoods of Tennessee.
Funny and thought-provoking. |
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