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A review by aaronj21
The Bible: A Biography by Karen Armstrong
3.0
This volume was an interesting, brief history of the written texts that eventually became the Christian Bible. More than merely a history of the documents, the renowned religious scholar Karen Armstrong shows how text and reader have influenced each other back forth over time and how successive generations bring their own meaning to this book. It may surprise some readers to learn that taking every word of the Bible as literally true is a radical and very new concept. Historically speaking, the faithful have seen the Bible as a site welcoming revelation, interpretation, and sparking endlessly renewable insights into the issues of the day, not as a factual, literal document with a single, narrowly defined meaning to any given passage. Armstrong is a fantastically knowledgeable writer and she sums up even the most esoteric religious debates in ways the reader can grasp and internalize, even a subject like the Arian Heresy is handled succinctly in a few pithy pages.
However, despite Armstrong’s lively, readable style and mastery of her field, she shines as a writer in the hopeful and understanding tone she strikes throughout the whole book. Yes, she seems to say, religious history and doctrine are difficult subjects and yes, religious interpretations are used to justify all sorts or atrocities, but that isn’t all there is. The author consistently points out a common vein of compassion and charity in this and other sacred texts and speculates optimistically on how these compassionate elements may eventually win the day against narrow-minded, hateful interpretations of scripture. Though I myself am a nonbeliever, this line of reasoning nevertheless gives me hope for a less hateful future on this planet where the majority of people are still religious to some degree.
However, despite Armstrong’s lively, readable style and mastery of her field, she shines as a writer in the hopeful and understanding tone she strikes throughout the whole book. Yes, she seems to say, religious history and doctrine are difficult subjects and yes, religious interpretations are used to justify all sorts or atrocities, but that isn’t all there is. The author consistently points out a common vein of compassion and charity in this and other sacred texts and speculates optimistically on how these compassionate elements may eventually win the day against narrow-minded, hateful interpretations of scripture. Though I myself am a nonbeliever, this line of reasoning nevertheless gives me hope for a less hateful future on this planet where the majority of people are still religious to some degree.