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817 reviews for:
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible As Literally As Possible
A.J. Jacobs
3.76 AVERAGE
817 reviews for:
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible As Literally As Possible
A.J. Jacobs
3.76 AVERAGE
i'm picky about my books and won't give this one a really high rating, but i did enjoy reading it and would recommend it to others. jacobs has a jewish background so starts with the old testament and while there is a lot of humor in this book, i felt he took his journey seriously and so could trust his opinions and comments. he asked questions that i would ask and came up with very practical solutions that i could agree with. you may even find your spirituality growing as well.
Jacobs's experiment is extremely interesting. I like learning about the nitty-gritty of religion. But I found Jacobs to be a bit annoying, a little too self-promoting, and the ways in which he was affected by following the biblical laws ended up to be exactly what one might expect. No new ground is broken and the book is about a third longer than it ought to be. But I don't know, I suppose it's fine for what it is.
Thoroughly enjoyed this selection for Book Club #1. A.J. Jacobs decides to follow the Bible as literally as he can in NYC. He considers himself "Jewish like the Olive Garden is Italian." I love that he approaches the Bible with reverence and respect even as he considers himself agnostic. I found myself chuckling out loud and reading passages to my husband. Looking forward to our meeting to discuss.
As someone who pretty much an atheist but fascinated by religion, I found this pretty interesting. The author has a pretty funny writing style. It gets kind of sappy at the end but overall I found it entertaining and informative.
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This was a very interesting book for me to read. To begin, I have a hard time reading biographies. I struggle to push myself to sit and read a book that narrates something someone else has done– I find it mundane. However this book interested me because of the nature of his 'experiment'.
I first heard about A.J. Jacobs and his work on CBC radio. I was intrigued and interested by the projects he involved himself in. I went to Chapters with the intention to buy his most recent book "My Life as an Experiment" however, I was drawn to this particular book because 1. I'm a Religious Studies Major, so this book aligns with my interests (even though I study Eastern Religions, I still find Religion generally interesting) 2. I intended to read his newest book, and figured he'd probably cite some of this book in his newest. Now to get to the actual review.
I have some fundamental ethical issues regarding this project. Jacobs states three intentions for choosing this project. First, he figured it was the most 'worthy' project to follow his first book: "The only intellectual adventure that seemed a worthy follow-up was to explore the most influential book in the world, the all-time best seller, the Bible" (6). Secondly, he felt that it would be his 'gate-keeper' to the spiritual world, because he would be 'living' the religion, and lastly, he wanted to explore biblical literalism, because his theory was that modern 'literalism' was really a picking-and-choosing form of literalism (ibid).
My contention with this project is that he took a book that is revered and sacred within the Judeo-Christian tradition, and made a project out of it. He felt that it was the most logical project to follow his reading of the encyclopaedia, which I think is controversial, not to mention he felt that it would be his 'in' to the religion– this is where I have an issue. Both his trying to understand the Biblical Literalism, and feeling like he was living the religion are problematic. Biblical Literalism stems from an individual's deep seated desire (or fear) to please the divine. They follow the rules and guidelines because they believe there is a reward in the afterlife, and arguably part of the purpose of his/her life. Jacobs followed the rules because it was part of his project.
Next, he felt like this project was his way to become spiritual. Jacobs states that he was raised in a secular family, but that his family tradition is Jewish. Now when I heard this, I saw one major issue before it came up in the book: his part of the project dealing with the New Testament. Here Jacobs' assumption is that by reading the Bible, he will find his spirituality. However there is an important belief structure built into any religious framework. He does seem to be under the impression that this project will just coax out his predisposition to religion (6), but I still feel that his initial intent toward this project was irreverent.
The first nine months of his project were focused on the Old Testament, or the "Hebrew Bible". The following three months were dedicated to the New Testament– this was paradoxical largely because he has a Jewish background; I won't spoil anything, but this was an issue I saw arising from page 4.
The form of the book, which I suppose is attributed to the biographical genre, did not do the work justice. Again, this could be my own bias and issue with biographies, but I felt myself feeling the desire to put the book down after each day– a 'day' in the book could range from a half a page, to five (ish) pages; it is not a strong attribute of a book to leave the reader feeling like he/she is at a natural stopping point after only a few pages. There was little in the narrative to keep me drawn into the book or to maintain my interest.
All the critique aside, I did find some positives in the book. Jacobs' writing is clear and easy to digest. Overall it was a very interesting concept (something I honestly found myself drawn toward– maybe not in Western traditions, but I could definitely see myself really enjoying "A Year of Living Hinduism"). I enjoyed hearing about all the 'quirky' rules and how they became problematic in modern day New York.
I also took 3 personal life-lessons from this book. One thing I did appreciate in this book, was that Jacobs struggled with many of the same issues with the Bible, as I face: questions of divinity, authorship, translation, and the fact that when all of these come into question, what can we actually take from the Bible?
1. Kind Speech: Throughout the book he makes a point to remove negative speech towards others, which included general cursing.
2. Thankfulness: He wanted to be more thankful for the things in his life. He began thanking God (or higher power) for everything in his life, which created a more optimistic and positive lifestyle.
3. No record of Wrongs: not keeping track of things others (in particular, his wife) had done wrong to him.
All three of these, were biblical principles and all resonated in my life. Jacobs helped me to take the good with the problematic in the Bible and to try to find the positive life lessons and teachings that are found within it, regardless of authorship or divinity.
I first heard about A.J. Jacobs and his work on CBC radio. I was intrigued and interested by the projects he involved himself in. I went to Chapters with the intention to buy his most recent book "My Life as an Experiment" however, I was drawn to this particular book because 1. I'm a Religious Studies Major, so this book aligns with my interests (even though I study Eastern Religions, I still find Religion generally interesting) 2. I intended to read his newest book, and figured he'd probably cite some of this book in his newest. Now to get to the actual review.
I have some fundamental ethical issues regarding this project. Jacobs states three intentions for choosing this project. First, he figured it was the most 'worthy' project to follow his first book: "The only intellectual adventure that seemed a worthy follow-up was to explore the most influential book in the world, the all-time best seller, the Bible" (6). Secondly, he felt that it would be his 'gate-keeper' to the spiritual world, because he would be 'living' the religion, and lastly, he wanted to explore biblical literalism, because his theory was that modern 'literalism' was really a picking-and-choosing form of literalism (ibid).
My contention with this project is that he took a book that is revered and sacred within the Judeo-Christian tradition, and made a project out of it. He felt that it was the most logical project to follow his reading of the encyclopaedia, which I think is controversial, not to mention he felt that it would be his 'in' to the religion– this is where I have an issue. Both his trying to understand the Biblical Literalism, and feeling like he was living the religion are problematic. Biblical Literalism stems from an individual's deep seated desire (or fear) to please the divine. They follow the rules and guidelines because they believe there is a reward in the afterlife, and arguably part of the purpose of his/her life. Jacobs followed the rules because it was part of his project.
Next, he felt like this project was his way to become spiritual. Jacobs states that he was raised in a secular family, but that his family tradition is Jewish. Now when I heard this, I saw one major issue before it came up in the book: his part of the project dealing with the New Testament. Here Jacobs' assumption is that by reading the Bible, he will find his spirituality. However there is an important belief structure built into any religious framework. He does seem to be under the impression that this project will just coax out his predisposition to religion (6), but I still feel that his initial intent toward this project was irreverent.
The first nine months of his project were focused on the Old Testament, or the "Hebrew Bible". The following three months were dedicated to the New Testament– this was paradoxical largely because he has a Jewish background; I won't spoil anything, but this was an issue I saw arising from page 4.
The form of the book, which I suppose is attributed to the biographical genre, did not do the work justice. Again, this could be my own bias and issue with biographies, but I felt myself feeling the desire to put the book down after each day– a 'day' in the book could range from a half a page, to five (ish) pages; it is not a strong attribute of a book to leave the reader feeling like he/she is at a natural stopping point after only a few pages. There was little in the narrative to keep me drawn into the book or to maintain my interest.
All the critique aside, I did find some positives in the book. Jacobs' writing is clear and easy to digest. Overall it was a very interesting concept (something I honestly found myself drawn toward– maybe not in Western traditions, but I could definitely see myself really enjoying "A Year of Living Hinduism"). I enjoyed hearing about all the 'quirky' rules and how they became problematic in modern day New York.
I also took 3 personal life-lessons from this book. One thing I did appreciate in this book, was that Jacobs struggled with many of the same issues with the Bible, as I face: questions of divinity, authorship, translation, and the fact that when all of these come into question, what can we actually take from the Bible?
1. Kind Speech: Throughout the book he makes a point to remove negative speech towards others, which included general cursing.
2. Thankfulness: He wanted to be more thankful for the things in his life. He began thanking God (or higher power) for everything in his life, which created a more optimistic and positive lifestyle.
3. No record of Wrongs: not keeping track of things others (in particular, his wife) had done wrong to him.
All three of these, were biblical principles and all resonated in my life. Jacobs helped me to take the good with the problematic in the Bible and to try to find the positive life lessons and teachings that are found within it, regardless of authorship or divinity.
I surprisingly enjoyed this book. It was written with humor and an open mind and not disrespectful to any religion :)
I really enjoyed it but I can see why some people have problems with this book. There are the folks who wanted him to concentrate on the quirkiest laws in the bible and make this a zany escapade. And there are those who wanted him to take it completely seriously and concentrate only on the actual project, leaving his personal life out.
Well, this is a memoir about an agnostic who tries to understand the bible's effect on society by looking at its rules. He explores them looking for meaning and relevance while also following some to their absurd conclusion. Overall, he's looking to see if an exposure to religion will change the way he lives outside of the project. I think it works.
Well, this is a memoir about an agnostic who tries to understand the bible's effect on society by looking at its rules. He explores them looking for meaning and relevance while also following some to their absurd conclusion. Overall, he's looking to see if an exposure to religion will change the way he lives outside of the project. I think it works.
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
Ein Jahr lang streng nach den Gesetzen der Bibel (AT & NT) leben: Macht das einen zum besseren Menschen? A.J.Jacobs hat's versucht, unter schwulen Evangelikalen, konservativen Fundamentalisten, Red-Letter Christians, orthodoxe Juden, Megachurches, und vielen anderen Ausprägungen christlichen und jüdischen Glaubens versucht er die Bibel zu verstehen und nach ihr zu leben. Gar nicht so einfach, zumal durch unterschiedliche Interpretationen und Übersetzungsverluste nicht immer klar ist, wie die Regel denn nun lautet.
Ich habe mich mit diesem Buch gut unterhalten gefühlt und nebenbei auch einiges dazu gelernt.
Ich habe mich mit diesem Buch gut unterhalten gefühlt und nebenbei auch einiges dazu gelernt.