A History of the Bible: The Book and Its Faiths
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of A History of the Bible by John Barton, read by Ralph Lister. The Bible is the central book in Western culture, yet extraordinarily there is no proper history of it. This exceptional work, by one of the world’s leading Biblical scholars, provides a full account of how the different
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of A History of the Bible by John Barton, read by Ralph Lister.
The Bible is the central book in Western culture, yet extraordinarily there is no proper history of it. This exceptional work, by one of the world’s leading Biblical scholars, provides a full account of how the different parts of the Bible came to be written; how some writings which were regarded as holy became canonical and were included in the Bible, and others were not; what the relationship is of the different parts of the Bible to each other; and how, once it became a stable text, the Bible has been disseminated and interpreted around the world. It gives full weight to discussion of the importance of the Tanakh (Old Testament) in Judaism as in Christianity. It also demonstrates the degree to which, contrary to widespread belief, both Judaism and Christianity are not faiths drawn from the Bible texts but from other sources and traditions. It shows that if we are to regard the Bible as ‘authoritative’ it cannot be as believers have so often done in the past.
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The long overdue, perfect companion for any student of the Bible. John Barton is one of the worldâs leading Biblical scholars. He is a former Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture at Oxford University, who then became an Emeritus Fellow of Oriel College, and presently is a Senior Research Fellow of Campion Hall, Oxford, which is a Catholic Jesuit Private Academic Research Institution.In his extensive, wide-ranging and immensely thorough, 600 page book, Barton takes us through the many stages of the Bibleâs composition…
STILL donâ t buy this. Deeply disappointing. My original one star review seems to have been wiped out, presumably at the request of Bartonâs publishers or even him himself.What it said was that in spite of the fulsome reviews (which, alas, persuaded me to buy it without having browzed through it) alleging that it is a âbrilliant work of scholarshipâ and âessential readingâ etc. it isnât: it adds nothing to what a reasonably well educated schoolchild would have known by the age of sixteen twenty five years ago.Despite footnote…
A truly fascinating read. My only knowledge of the bible comes from Sunday school as a kid, and what I learned at school about all the drama that has come with various religions and branches thereof having different views of what it is and what it means. So this book has been an absolute revelation. The author is very obviously the expert’s expert, and it definitely shows. The book is of academic quality and comes with capacious notes and a large reference section. It is, however, not difficult to read or full of…