Steve Allen on the Bible, Religion and Morality

by Steve Allen

America's dean of intelligent comedy doesn't think the Bible is a laughing matter. His good look at the good book is a closely reasoned examination of Scripture, designed to encourage rational analysis of the most influential document of Western civilization. Although the Bible has been consulted for more than twenty centuries, Allen asserts that there remains an extensive degree of common ignorance about it. Noting that most people today rarely read the Bible, Allen is convinced that the millions who do read it are not able to understand certain passages at all.Steve Allen on the Bible, Religion, and Morality took form when Allen began his own exploration of the Bible, marking passages that struck him as extraordinarily beautiful, or those that were profoundly confusing. Spellbound by the very mystery of it, he perceived that much of the text leads directly to controversy. And, he urges, it is of greater importance now than ever before that all Americans be conversant with the Bible, partly because of those who would use Scriptures as a weapon to force their views on others.Allen presents his ideas as a series of alphabetically arranged essays on characters, events, and books of the Scriptures, as well as on such controversial topics as abortion, anti-Semitism, capital punishment, death, evolution, and original sin. He draws on the expertise of biblical scholars, theologians, and philosophers to demonstrate that fundamentalist assumptions about the reliability and authenticity of the Bible as the inviolable Word of God simply have no rational or factual basis.Allen highlights the errors, inconsistencies, and self-contradictions of the Bible. While not denying the value of many biblical passages, he argues that Americans can and should critique the Bible as they would any other historical document.While Allen finds much in the Bible with which one can take issue, his examination also reveals that much is meaningful. Allen's goal - to make people think reasonably about Scripture - is achieved through remarkable clear, readable, and insightful prose.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction

463 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1990

About the author

Stephen Valentine Patrick William "Steve" Allen was an American television personality, musician, actor, comedian, and writer. Though he got his start in radio, Allen is best-known for his television career. He first gained national attention as a guest host on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. He graduated to become the first host of The Tonight Show, where he was instrumental in innovating the concept of the television talk show. Thereafter, he hosted numerous game and variety shows, including The Steve Allen Show, I've Got a Secret, The New Steve Allen Show, and was a regular panel member on CBS' What's My Line?

Allen was a "creditable" pianist, and a prolific composer, having penned over 14,000 songs, one of which was recorded by Perry Como and Margaret Whiting, others by Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, Les Brown, and Gloria Lynne. Allen won a Grammy award in 1963 for best jazz composition, with his song The Gravy Waltz. Allen wrote more than 50 books and has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Reviews

[LJP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve Allen applies common sense and reason to the bible in a respectful way. Those who say they live by the bible seem to rarely understand what it really says and would be enlightened to read his viewpoints.

[Bill Shuey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by a reader of my book A Search for Bible Truth and I found it revealing and stimulating. Mr. Allen explores the Bible from a perspective of a believer - though somewhat less than a fundamentalist believer. He takes a common-sense approach to Bible egress and makes his observations and opinions interesting.

The elements discussed are presented in an alphabetical format and I found that slightly disconcerting because it jumped around from OT to NT and back again with no real rhyme or reason - but the content made this a small objection.

In the end Allen allows the reader to form his own opinion and that is what good non-fiction writers are supposed to do. Truth is elusive and is most often represented by what people already think on a subject. There was enough "new" information, or at least new to me to allow me to do some deep thinking on subjects that I had never considered (and I write in this venue).

For a fresh presentation of Bible claims that defy common-sense logic, this is the book to read - easy to follow - easy to understand - hard to swallow in some instances.

[Michael Furci · Rating 1 out of 5]

A well-written book that is full of seriously flawed opinions, e.g., Steve Allen states that if one is claiming abortion is killing human beings, isn't destroying an acorn akin to destroying trees? Comparing humans to trees illuminates the general lack of the sanctity of life leftists have.

[Guy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steverino's mind was a marvel. Great insights into the inconsistensies in the Bible.

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Use this book to read along with the Bible.