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31st out of 128 books
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The Bible: A Biography
In this seminal account, acclaimed historian Karen Armstrong discusses the conception, gestation, and life of historya (TM)s most powerful book---the Bible. This is a brilliant, captivating book, crucial in an age of declining faith and rising fundamentalism.
Hardcover, 229 pages
Published
November 10th 2007
by Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
(first published January 1st 2007)
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It is astonishing how much history Armstrong packs into a small space. While I am sure she knows her stuff, the brevity of coverage makes it impossible to independently evaluate her statements. For example, was Augustine's theory of original sin really inspired by the sacking of Rome? My other complaint is more a weakness of my own mind than of Armstrong's writing. I believe that approximately two weeks from now, I will not be able to remember the difference between the theology of Abelard and t...more
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I bought this on a whim in the bookstore at O'Hare and read much of it on the plane. I thought it was a very good summary of the history of the Bible, from origins in oral tradition to contemporary phenomena such as a literal reading. It was particularly good on outlining the differences in approach in Jewish and Christian traditions. As in her other books, Armstrong strikes a nice balance between critical analysis and broad understanding of the non-rational aspects of religious thought and t...more
This book is a 120 mph speed race through . . . what? I guess how people have approached the Bible over the past couple of thousand years? I think it is a shallow book and poorly put together. To me, it feels as if the author simply shuffled her index cards, lined them up, and copied them. I felt I was reading a text that has all of the interest of an online computer manual.
This is a book that talks about the Bible and how it's been interpreted, but actually does not give one "...more
This is a book that talks about the Bible and how it's been interpreted, but actually does not give one "...more
This book, a biography of the Bible, is very informative and it covers from the beginning of the Old Testament to the present time. I've never read a book before that talks about how the Old Testament canon was chosen, so that was very interesting. Armstong shows the different schools of thought that existed back in ancient Isreal. I was surprised how little time she spent on how the New Testament canon was chosen. Instead Armstrong concentrated on the many different ways of approaching scri...more
Fascinating look at the ultimate read. The author wrote this bio of the bible as if it were a person and not a book. It tells of all of it's adventures through different cultures and how it turned out to be what it is. I really enjoyed it.
The focus seemed to be to help people understand that the bible isn't necessarily truth. Reading this book after teaching two years of college level religion courses, one on the old testament and one on the new, I had the experience of understanding...more
The focus seemed to be to help people understand that the bible isn't necessarily truth. Reading this book after teaching two years of college level religion courses, one on the old testament and one on the new, I had the experience of understanding...more
Karen Armstrong is among my top five religion scholars, and also probably my top five former nuns. She does a good job of making complicated history and theory comprehensible. At least one chapter of "The Bible: a Biography" pretty well summed up a semester-long class I had, and the book sweeps through history from ancient Israel through the present.
It's also worth noting that Armstrong traces the Jewish perspective on the Bible throughout that whole period, where many authors fo...more
It's also worth noting that Armstrong traces the Jewish perspective on the Bible throughout that whole period, where many authors fo...more
This is really a fascinating book on the Bible, a short biography of the book itself, how it came into being, and the religious movements around it. Armstrong's explanations of who shaped it and why are clear and easy to follow, even without having an extensive religious background. Her take on U.S. fundamentalists is deservingly harsh and welcome, but it's interesting to see how their views, wacky as they are, don't seem as wacky compared with all the other drastic changes that have happened as...more
Wendy Jackson
rated it
Recommends it for:
All who want know more about the book their base their very lives on!
Shelves:
general-christianity
This was another helpful book by one of my favorite authors--Karen Armstrong. In it she traces the history of the Bible and its interpretation. As usual, Armstrong did a wonderful job. I only gave it 4 stars because, unlike all of her other books, it didn't really provide me with any new information/ideas. If you've never really studied the history of the Bible; however, I would highly recommend this introduction. I loved this quote from the epilogue:
"Making sense of the u...more
"Making sense of the u...more
I loved this book. It gives a very simple account (as much of it can be simple) of a very complicated history. Although, when I picked it up I thought there would be more explanation of how the bible was put together, what got put in and why and what was thrown out i.e. the 7th Ecumenical Council. What this book is more about, is how the Bible was interpreted, used, and viewed throughout the ages. And this history is fascinating. I think the most fascinating chapters were the beginning chapters ...more
Karen Armstrong is a great purveyor/interpreter/teacher of religious history and this book (an awe-inspiring task, to write a "biography" of the Bible in a couple hundred pages) is no exception. She concentrates on the liberality in methods of interpretation that were encouraged throughout history and (some might say) over-emphasizes that in an attempt to counter fundamentalist notions as the "real" interpretation. I will most likely be checking out other entries in this se...more
Shazani
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This book gives a terse story of how modern Bible come into being. Armstrong, once a nun and now a religious historian, had managed to bring out the gist of history while keeping her narration spiritual. Although not a Christian nor a Jew (I'm a Muslim), I find this book fairly easy to grasp because of its clear narrative style and simple proses.
However, I somehow find it hard to keep up with Hebraic and Greek terms the author introduces at any point in this book and then constantly uses them ...more
However, I somehow find it hard to keep up with Hebraic and Greek terms the author introduces at any point in this book and then constantly uses them ...more
Like everything that Karen Armstrong touches, this work is exhaustive and erudite and wonderful. It does not summarize what is in the Bible, but rather is a broad scope history of how the Bible was written and how it has been interpreted unto the present day. The treatment supports Armstrong’s general theme that world religions do not offer a body of beliefs to be factually evaluated, but rather a way of life, a spiritual discipline including rites and rituals, which can only be evaluated by b...more
Armstrong manages to cover 3 millenia in a short and pretty easy to read book, which is remarkable. Of course, one finishes wanting to know more and with the realization that history is much more complicated than what is written in these short pages. I was especially interested to learn about the different groups of Jews at the time of Jesus, and the Jewish uprising against the Romans around 60 AD which resulted in the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. It is interesting to see how the t...more
A profound work from a penetrating author. This history of the Bible is a masterpiece, though also a challenging read because it will bring into question a great many assumptions and beliefs of all but, perhaps, biblical scholars. Simply put, this scholarly work debunks so many myths and and so much of the convential wisdom about the Bible that you may be left wondering what you really knew/know about it after all....
This book is first-rate scholarship and a story well and compelli...more
This book is first-rate scholarship and a story well and compelli...more
This is really more of a history of biblical scholarship, rather than a history of the Bible itself. Nonetheless, the author does present a great deal of useful information.
There are several very interesting nuggets in the book. One is her observation (pg. 210) that when fundamentalists are attacked, they tend to become more extreme. She notes that before the Scopes trial, conservatives were wary of evolution, but few has espoused "creation science". After Scopes, they be...more
There are several very interesting nuggets in the book. One is her observation (pg. 210) that when fundamentalists are attacked, they tend to become more extreme. She notes that before the Scopes trial, conservatives were wary of evolution, but few has espoused "creation science". After Scopes, they be...more
I had long wanted to read one of Karen Armstrong's many books on religion and decided to start in with The Bible: A Biography. It is always difficult to critique a book for what it is, rather than what it isn't. Among the things that I had hoped to see in this book, but didn't, were the following:
[1] How the Bible came into existence and how the choice was made between the Gnostic Gospels and the official configuration at the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325. I happen to like several of th...more
[1] How the Bible came into existence and how the choice was made between the Gnostic Gospels and the official configuration at the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325. I happen to like several of th...more
I listened to this book over the course of a couple months and was impressed with the breadth of it. Armstrong describes the sources and interpretative traditions of the scriptures of both Christians and Jews. She covers the entire history of scripture and it's impact, even describing the current trend of interpreting the bible literally, a fairly modern and puzzling take on scripture, even our predecessors understood that the scriptures were rich in metaphor.
Her writing is academic,...more
Her writing is academic,...more
I feel like this review is premature and I need to listen to/read this book again. I felt like a lot of insights contained within the book were not new (at least to me) and some of the things portrayed as fact may not be more than a theory. (e.g.Wellhausen and the redactive JEDP theory of Pentateuch formation.) In many ways I felt that the book was a journey throgh the development of critical scholarship of the Bible. Overall however, there appears to be a strong motive on the part of the auth...more
An outstanding short history of who wrote the books of the Bible, when they did it and why, how the various Bible texts were revised, edited, and translated (and often mistranslated) over time, how they were compiled into one volume (which has varied considerably over time), and how they've been approached and used over the milennia by many different Jewish and Christian sects. We learn that changing political and philosophical movements down through history have had major effects both on how pe...more
This is a short little book, and apparently part of a series of books entitled “Books That Changed The World”. But it is packed full of information about the Bible, and I very much enjoyed reading it, as I have enjoyed everything else I have ever read by Karen Armstrong. I also enjoyed one of her conclusions, which is that there is no such thing as a single interpretation of the Bible; William Blake summed it up succinctly: “Both read the Bible day and night, / But thou read’st black where I rea...more
Sort of a rehash of History of God - but she does delve into the changing interpretation of the Bible and the impact of Higher Criticism on Christianity and Judaism and then the subsequent backlash of fundamentalism in the post-WWI and II eras. Skims the surface of an impenetrably deep pool.
A good counterpoint to my current course on the Anthropology of Religion. Not much that was new to me, and the first half was a bit of a dry historical rendition, but as Armstrong brought the issues into modern times it became much more interesting. I’m fascinated by the idea that the Bible has influenced so many for so long.
Synopsis: This book is a biography of the Bible. It discusses how the Bible began, how the books in the Bible were chosen for inclusion and controversies surrounding these decisions.
My Review: I was really looking forward to this book, but it did not meet any of my expectations. While the basic history of the Bible was interesting, I had no idea what the book was talking about for most of the time. The book seems to be written more as an academic type biography than one that is acces...more
My Review: I was really looking forward to this book, but it did not meet any of my expectations. While the basic history of the Bible was interesting, I had no idea what the book was talking about for most of the time. The book seems to be written more as an academic type biography than one that is acces...more
It seems an impossible task to write a history of the Bible in 200 pages and make it meaningful, but «The Bible» is exactly that. The subject isn't for everyone; yet it is still a highly readable text. Part evolution, part social commentary, and part survey, I feel like I have a greater understanding of biblical exegesis. On occasion Armstrong does become dry, (in her discussion of the Kabbalists and of Luther and Calvin : the former seeming not quite relevant, and the latter done to death)....more
at times difficult and a bit boring, but interesting look at the history of the bible/torah/koran and the 'characters' that wrote and studied them. reminds you that these texts are written by people!!
Absolutely fantastic and life changing. This book illustrates the point that the bible is not the infallible book written by a higher being that so many people believe it to be. Instead the bible is a spiritual book, written, re-written and edited by people.
The writer argues that although the bible might have a spiritual relevance, it cannot be regarded as a historical or scientific book.
The book is well researched and very interesting. It is not a diatribe against religi...more
The writer argues that although the bible might have a spiritual relevance, it cannot be regarded as a historical or scientific book.
The book is well researched and very interesting. It is not a diatribe against religi...more
I learned alot about the bible and how it came to be and has been interpreted over the years. I loved seeing how my own perceptions and ideas about the bible fit into the different historical contexts and it made me even more freaked out about fundamentalists.
Fabulous topic. Author's style makes it like trying to see through peanut butter. I have read several of her books and usually like them. This is work to get through and while doing such... I find it difficult to stop and say what I just read or learned.
Fascinating book. Clear and well written with a particular agenda that comes to the fore in the epilogue. The Bible is a construct - more interesting because of that - and any literal interpretion is as much a modern construct as it is spiritually damaging.
I generally enjoyed Karen Armstrong's flowing, explanatory style. With this short but elucidating treatise, she argues convincingly for what she calls "charitable hermeneutics", or an allegorical interpretation, of Judeo-Christian scripture to protect it from a death of irrelevance in an increasingly polarized world, fundamentalist in terms of both the secular and the religious.
After reading only the first twenty-plus pages of The Bible -- A Biography, I found myself amaze...more
After reading only the first twenty-plus pages of The Bible -- A Biography, I found myself amaze...more
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British author of numerous works on comparative religion.
Elsewhere:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Armst...
http://www.islamfortoday.com/karenarmstr...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/karena...
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
More about Karen Armstrong...
Elsewhere:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Armst...
http://www.islamfortoday.com/karenarmstr...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/karena...
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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