{"id":4189,"date":"2011-03-25T18:06:12","date_gmt":"2011-03-26T01:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thedudeabides\/?p=4189"},"modified":"2015-03-10T10:03:28","modified_gmt":"2015-03-10T17:03:28","slug":"godstuff-tis-the-season-for-re-evaluating-the-bible-apparently","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thedudeabides\/2011\/03\/25\/godstuff-tis-the-season-for-re-evaluating-the-bible-apparently\/","title":{"rendered":"GODSTUFF: ‘Tis the season…for re-evaluating the Bible, apparently."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

`Tis the season \u2026 for re-examination, apparently.<\/p>\n

Each year, publishers roll out dozens of new religiously themed books in the months and weeks leading up to Easter.<\/p>\n

This season, several high-profile releases\u2014coinciding with the 400-year anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible<\/a>\u2014take a critical (and sometimes controversial) look at how the Bible came to be, who wrote it, how and why, and what kind of cultural impact the holy text has had on civilization.<\/p>\n

Whether you are interested in learning more about the Bible\u2019s origins, dismissing its veracity, or simply considering alternate views on how it can be understood, this season\u2019s offerings will not disappoint.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/strong>Verily, Verily: The KJV\u2014400 Years of Influence and Beauty\u201d (Zondervan) <\/strong><\/p>\n

By Jon M. Sweeney<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve buried quite a few Bibles<\/a> in the last decade.\u201d<\/p>\n

So begins Sweeney\u2019s engaging, breezy look at the King James Bible and its enduring influence.<\/p>\n

Sweeney\u2019s is easily the most accessible (and refreshingly humorous) of the three most recent books taking on biblical authorship and interpretation, based on months Sweeney spent delving into the 1611 English version of the Bible often referred to as, simply, \u201cThe Authorized Version.\u201d<\/p>\n

The result is an astute and deeply personal meditation on the \u201cthee and thou\u201d version of the Bible that he, like some many readers, found impenetrable as youths.<\/p>\n

So why has Sweeney been burying Bibles? \u201cThat\u2019s what you\u2019re supposed to do with no-longer-needed holy books,\u201d he writes.<\/p>\n

His Vermont church holds an annual book sale and Sweeney is in charge of donations. A dozen or so Bibles invariably turn up\u2014nearly all of them copies of the KJV.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey always appear well-worn, with tattered edges on the old leather covers,\u201d he writes. \u201cNo one wants to buy them. I usually can\u2019t even give them away. \u2026 I carry the leftovers home and get the tall shovel out of the shed \u2026 and make a hole large enough for a dead pet. In they go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sweeney provides a rapid, educational and entertaining history of how the KJV Bible came to be, as well as an overview of the KJV\u2019s influence on classics of the English language<\/a> (Shakespeare, Milton, etc.) and its meaning for historical figures as diverse as Abraham Lincoln, Emily Dickinson and Mark Twain.<\/p>\n

In the chapter titled \u201cLo, the Humor!,\u201d Sweeney focuses on some of the more chuckle-worthy passages in the KJV, such as an incident in Second Kings involving a gang of kids taunting the prophet Elisha.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, \u2018Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neener-neener, baldy! Ha!<\/p>\n

Sweeney\u2019s charming exploration of the KJV, which joins several other recent titles celebrating its 400th<\/sup> birthday \u2014 including David Crystal\u2019s \u201cBegat\u201d and Derek Wilson\u2019s \u201cThe People\u2019s Bible<\/a>\u201d \u2014\u00a0 made me want to blow the dust off my copy and have another look.<\/p>\n

\u201cForged: Why the Bible\u2019s Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are\u201d (HarperOne<\/a>) <\/strong><\/p>\n

By Bart Ehrman<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The latest offering from biblical bomb-thrower Ehrman, professor of religious studies at the University of North Caroline, Chapel Hill and author of the bestselling \u201cMisquoting Jesus,\u201d among other titles, is \u201cForged: Why the Bible\u2019s Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are\u201d (HarperOne.)<\/p>\n

Not one to shy away from provocative or sensational takes on the Bible\u2019s history and veracity, in \u201cForged,\u201d Ehrman argues that the authors of the Bible are not who they say they are and that other scholars claims that it was an accepted practice in biblical times to write under someone else\u2019s name are spurious at best.<\/p>\n

The \u201cissue of modern hoaxes brings me back to a question I have repeatedly asked in my study of forgeries: \u2018Who would do such a thing?\u2019\u201d Ehrman writes in the conclusion of the book. \u201cI hope by now you will agree with my earlier answer: \u2018Lots of people.\u2019 And for lots of reasons. And not just modern people.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have instances of Christian forgeries not only today, but also in the Middles Ages, in late antiquity, and in the time of the New Testament<\/a>. From the first century to the twenty-first century, people who have called themselves Christian have seen fit to fabricate, falsify, and forge documents, in most instances in order to authorize views they wanted others to accept,\u201d he says. \u201cPossibly they felt that in their circumstances the Golden Rule did not apply. If so, it would certainly explain why so many of the writings in the New Testament claim to have been written by apostles, when in fact they were not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hey, Happy Easter<\/a> everybody!<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Rise and Fall of the Bible: The Unexpected History of an Accidental Book\u201d (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt<\/a>) <\/strong><\/p>\n

By Timothy Beal<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

In its starred review of Beal\u2019s \u201cThe Rise and Fall of the Bible: The Unexpected History of an Accidental Book\u201d Publisher\u2019s Weekly said Beal \u201cpresents a convincing case for a radical rereading of the text, an honest appreciation of this sacred text.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beal, a religion professor at Case Western Reserve University<\/a>, does not begrudge the Bible\u2019s influence or inspiration (be it divine or human). Instead, he turns to our cultural understanding of the Bible and how it has changed and evolved over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea of the Bible as a divine manual for finding happiness with God in this world and salvation in the next is so familiar to us today that we might well assume \u2026 it is as old as Christianity itself,\u201d Beal writes. \u201cBut it\u2019s not. In fact, its genesis was in 19th-century Protestantism.<\/p>\n

\u201cRooted in nostalgia for the mythical, romanticized image of 16th- and 17th-century Puritan piety, this movement believed that the Bible was the solution for all modern social, familial and individual ills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thus was born, he says, the image of the Bible as cultural icon.<\/p>\n

A version of this post originally appeared via Religion News Service<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each year, publishers roll out dozens of new religiously themed books in the months and weeks leading up to Easter.<\/p>\n

This season, several high-profile releases\u2014coinciding with the 400-year anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible\u2014take a critical (and sometimes controversial) look at how the Bible came to be, who wrote it, how and why, and what kind of cultural impact the holy text has had on civilization.<\/p>\n

Whether you are interested in learning more about the Bible\u2019s origins, dismissing its veracity, or simply considering alternate views on how it can be understood, this season\u2019s offerings will not disappoint.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2102,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-godstuff-2"],"yoast_head":"\nGODSTUFF: 'Tis the season...for re-evaluating the Bible, apparently.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Each year, publishers roll out dozens of new religiously themed books in the months and weeks leading up to Easter. 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