Couverture / Jaquette

A literary history of our most influential book of all time, by an Oxford scholar and Anglican priest

In our culture, the Bible is monolithic: It is a collection of books that has been unchanged and unchallenged since the earliest days of the Christian church. The idea of the Bible as "Holy Scripture," a non-negotiable authority straight from God, has prevailed in Western society for some time. And while it provides a firm foundation for centuries of Christian teaching, it denies the depth, variety, and richness of this fascinating text. In A History of the Bible, John Barton argues that the Bible is not a prescription to a complete, fixed religious system, but rather a product of a long and intriguing process, which has inspired Judaism and Christianity, but still does not describe the whole of either religion. Barton shows how the Bible is indeed an important source of religious insight for Jews and Christians alike, yet argues that it must be read in its historical context-from its beginnings in myth and folklore to its many interpretations throughout the centuries.

It is a book full of narratives, laws, proverbs, prophecies, poems, and letters, each with their own character and origin stories. Barton explains how and by whom these disparate pieces were written, how they were canonized (and which ones weren't), and how they were assembled, disseminated, and interpreted around the world-and, importantly, to what effect. Ultimately, A History of the Bible argues that a thorough understanding of the history and context of its writing encourages religious communities to move away from the Bible's literal wording-which is impossible to determine-and focus instead on the broader meanings of scripture.

Note biographique

John Barton is a theologian who served as the Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford in England for twenty-three years, and has been a serving priest in the Church of England since 1973. He has studied and taught the Bible throughout his academic career, and has written many books on it, including Ethics in Ancient Israel and The Bible: The Basics. He is the editor in chief of the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion. He lives in Abingdon, United Kingdom.

Fonctionnalité

HARDCOVER WAS INSTANT BESTSELLER IN THE UK: On publication A History of the Bible hit the Sunday Times bestseller list, with rave reviews in the Sunday Times, the Guardian, and BBC History Magazine. In the US, John's first serial piece in TIME had terrific pickup on social media.

RESPECTED AND WELL-KNOWN CHRISTIAN SCHOLAR: John served as the Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture at Oxford for 23 years and is also an ordained Anglican priest. His approach brings scholarship and faith into dialogue, much like Reza Aslan's Zealot took Jesus Christ from the confines of religious tradition and situated him instead among the accurate and rich details of that historical moment.

PERENNIAL TOPIC OF INTEREST: The Bible is the best-selling book of all time, and its ancient, convoluted history has remained a topic of interest to both the history and religion reader for years.

Détails