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Summary
Summary
As the work at the heart of Christianity, the Bible is the spiritual guide for one out of every three people in the world. It is also the world's most widely distributed book, translated into over two thousand languages, and the world's best selling book, year after year. But the Bible is a complex work with a complicated and obscure history. Made up of sixty-six "books" written by various authors and divided into two testaments, its contents have changed over the centuries. The Bible has been transformed by translation and, through interpretation, has developed manifold meanings to various religions, denominations, and sects. In this seminal account, acclaimed historian Karen Armstrong discusses the conception, gestation, and life of history's most powerful book. Armstrong analyzes the social and political situation in which oral history turned into written scripture, how this all-pervasive scripture was collected into one work, and how it became accepted as Christianity's sacred text. She explores how scripture came to be read for information, and how, in the nineteenth century, historical criticism of the Bible caused greater fear than Darwinism. This is a brilliant, captivating book, crucial in an age of declining faith and rising fundamentalism.
Author Notes
Karen Armstrong is one of the foremost commentators on religious affairs in both Britain and the United States. She spent seven years as a Roman Catholic nun and received a degree at Oxford University.
(Publisher Provided)
Reviews (6)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Part of Atlantic Monthly's Books That Changed the World series, this "biography" ambitiously undertakes discussing not only the Bible itself (including its history, authorship and origins) but more than 2,000 years of its interpretation by Christians and Jews. In eight short chapters, Armstrong brings the story of biblical hermeneutics from the early church fathers through the rise of monasticism, medieval Kabbalists, and Renaissance inquiry up to the Reformation and the Enlightenment. Armstrong has already perfected the concise but erudite primer on religion, so this brief introductory work can be preserved in its entirety without the awkward abridgments that characterize other scholarly religion books that are adapted to audio. Another plus is the crisp narration by uber-British actress Josephine Bailey. She's in top form, lending the clipped and decidedly upper-crust accent that has served her well. American listeners may smile at hearing familiar biblical names such as Hezekiah or historical names such as Tyndale rendered with a British pronunciation, but Bailey's tone is flawlessly in keeping with Armstrong's learned account. Simultaneous release with the Atlantic Monthly Press hardcover (Reviews, Aug. 27). (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
"For the Books That Changed the World series of brief biographies of momentous books, Armstrong accepted the arguably most daunting assignment. What other book has as long a history of influence as the Bible, or has affected more people and societies? The author of the sweeping histories of religion The Great Transformation (2006) and A History of God (1993) is, of course, up to the task and provides an excellent précis of the writing and compiling of the Bible and the ensuing centuries of biblical interpretation. Armstrong traces the Bible's transformation from a miscellany of texts into scripture, to which the Jesus movement added the Gospel and the other New Testament texts pretty much in tandem with the development of midrash and the Talmud by non-Christian Jews after the 70 CE destruction of the third temple in Jerusalem. She shows both Christian and rabbinic traditions of interpretation subsequently converging upon charity or love as the essence of God. The subjects of the last three chapters the medieval monastic practice of reading the Bible called lectio divina, Martin Luther's doctrine of sola scriptura, and intellectual modernity are each considered for the ways they gave rise to interpretive movements that affected Christianity directly and spurred reactions in Judaism. This is one terrific little book."--"Olson, Ray" Copyright 2007 Booklist
Choice Review
Armstrong is the best-selling author of A History of God (CH, Apr'94, 31-4317), The Battle for God (CH, Nov'00, 38-1499), and other volumes on religion. This volume is vintage Armstrong: sweeping, bold, incisive, and insightful. In eight chapters it covers the history of the writing, canonizing, and reading of the Bible, addressing these subjects: the rise of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, the New Testament, the Talmud; interpretation of the Bible from the second century to Augustine; interpretation in Christian monasteries and among Jews from Maimonides to Cabala; interpretation among the Protestant reformers and the Puritans; and interpretation after the Enlightenment. The strength and the weakness of this study is that Armstrong presents her perspective on scholarly issues without discussion of alternatives, leaving the impression of certainty where works for scholars would offer differing opinions and extended arguments to support the conclusions. Her choice of topics is impeccable, however, and her brief, 23-page discussion of the rise of the Talmud is masterful. Summing Up: Recommended. Undergraduates, general readers, and practitioners. P. L. Redditt Georgetown College
Guardian Review
What on earth are we to make of the Bible? Literally a closed book to so many now, and when opened found to be an amazing mixture of the obscure, the horrendous and the sublime. A book that is still used by millions for daily reflection and misused by a good number for political purposes. Karen Armstrong's study, which appears in the series "Books That Shook the World", manages to organise a large amount of complex material in a clear and orderly way. She shows how the highly disparate writings that now compose the Jewish and Christian scriptures came together and examines the very different methods of interpretation used over the centuries. Her book's great strength is the way she unfolds the Jewish and Christian histories of formation and interpretation in parallel with one another. The two pivotal points for her are the destruction of the temple in the 6th century BCE and the even more devastating destruction of Herod's great temple in 70 CE, followed, some decades later, by the flattening of the whole of Jerusalem. These traumatic events resulted in the formation of religious communities no longer so dependent on a physical building but on words written down on scrolls and later collected together in books. The destruction of the second temple resulted not only in the young Christian church, which saw itself as a temple of the Holy Spirit, the locus of the divine presence in the world, but in the gathering of a small group of rabbis in Yavneh, a coastal city southwest of Jerusalem, and later in Galilee. Indeed you feel that Armstrong's heart is with this group of heroic rabbis trying to recreate Judaism after their terrible loss and urging that scripture should always be interpreted as encouraging compassion even when it is against the surface meaning of a particular text. The stories continue, showing the continuing tension between those who wished to see a historical truth in a text and those who sought what they thought of as its real ethical and mystical meaning through allegory. But as Armstrong shows, an exclusively literal interpretation of the Bible is a recent development. I particularly liked the statement by Calvin, who is so often appealed to by fundamentalists, that the story of creation in Genesis is God adapting a complex, profound truth to our very limited minds and is therefore to be seen as balbative or "baby talk". All interpretations are in any case inseparable from the ideology that is brought to bear, whether it is the conviction that all scripture is about Christ, or the one behind certain forms of the Kabbalah, with its mysterious idea of a divine spark now scattered and implanted in each one of us which has to be reunited with its source. One of the book's underlying themes is that there is no definitive meaning of a text. Each has been and will be endlessly disputed. William Blake summed it up succinctly: "Both read the Bible day and night, / But thou read'st black where I read white." This has been a great source of embarrassment to Christians but is regarded as something of a strength in Judaism. Indeed there is a wonderful story, which Armstrong cites, of some early rabbis trying to find the true meaning of a text. One of them appeals to heaven for a miracle or divine voice to show them what it is, and the answer comes back that the responsibility for interpretation now lies with them. This cannot be overridden by anything from heaven. As a later rabbi said: "We pay no attention to a heavenly voice." On hearing that he had been overruled, God had the decency to laugh and say: "My children have conquered me." The second theme is well put, not only by the rabbis of Yavneh but Augustine: "Whoever, therefore, thinks that he understands the divine scriptures or any part of them so that it does not build the double love of God and of our neighbour does not understand it at all. Whoever finds a lesson there useful to the building of charity, even though he has not said what the author may be shown to have intended in that place, has not been deceived." In the light of that it is strange that space is given to Rabbi Meir Kahane - whose biblical justification of ethnic cleansing led Baruch Goldstein to shoot 29 worshipping Palestinians dead - but not to any of the heroic figures, some of them martyrs, such as Archbishop Oscar Romero, who have been inspired by the Bible to struggle for the most marginalised against the forces of oppression. Armstrong takes a tough-minded approach to alleged facts, observing for example that "the scholarly consensus is that the story of the exodus is not historical". She doubts whether we can get beyond what the Gospels give us to assemble a historic life of Jesus. Yet sceptical scholars, whether Jewish like Geza Vermes or Christian like JN Sanders, have come up with outlines of Jesus's life and teaching that are very similar. The book has a helpful glossary, footnotes and index. But I would have liked to see a final chapter that considered how feminists, liberation theologians and literary critics are looking at scripture with new enthusiasm and insights. Also there is the Orthodox Christian east, as well as western Europe and America, to take into account in any full story; and, not least, the way the Bible is now being interpreted and used in a host of developing countries. Lord Harries of Pentregarth is honorary professor of theology at King's College London. His book The Re-enchantment of Morality: Wisdom for a Troubled World is due to be published by SPCK. To order The Bible: The Biography for pounds 13.99 with free UK p&p call Guardian book service on 0870 836 0875 or go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop Caption: article-harriesbible.1 One of the book's underlying themes is that there is no definitive meaning of a text. Each has been and will be endlessly disputed. William Blake summed it up succinctly: "Both read the Bible day and night, / But thou read'st black where I read white." This has been a great source of embarrassment to Christians but is regarded as something of a strength in Judaism. Indeed there is a wonderful story, which [Karen Armstrong] cites, of some early rabbis trying to find the true meaning of a text. One of them appeals to heaven for a miracle or divine voice to show them what it is, and the answer comes back that the responsibility for interpretation now lies with them. This cannot be overridden by anything from heaven. As a later rabbi said: "We pay no attention to a heavenly voice." On hearing that he had been overruled, God had the decency to laugh and say: "My children have conquered me." - Richard Harries.
Kirkus Review
Detailed review of the creation and study of the Bible through the centuries. Religion scholar Armstrong (The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions, 2006, etc.) opens with the accepted explanation for the creation of Hebrew scripture, then moves on to the prophetic and wisdom writings. The book's early chapters are especially notable for the author's strong presentation of historical background. After discussing the basics of the Hebrew Bible, Armstrong moves on to the life of Jesus and the written documents that ensued. From this point forward, she does an exceptional job of balancing and interweaving Jewish and Christian approaches to scripture. She discusses the tradition of Midrash both as an art in its own right and as an influence on early Christian perceptions of scripture. Likewise, when exploring Christian study of the Bible in medieval monasteries and universities, she compares their work to that of contemporary Jewish counterparts. The narrative advances chronologically into the Protestant Reformation, the Enlightenment and finally the modern era. Today, Armstrong avers, readings of the Bible are influenced by the techniques of scholarly criticism, which lessens the faith of some while fueling a fundamentalist backlash among others. Again, she seamlessly weaves together the history of Jews and Christians in this period. Little here is new, although that is not really an issue for an entry in Atlantic's Books That Changed the World series. More troubling: The text often reads like a long academic paper, with only limited original insight from the author. Armstrong concludes by urging scholars to employ charity and compassion in their biblical exegeses--though her faith in humanity's ability or desire to do this seems shaky at best. Overshadowed by Armstrong's more ambitious A History of God (1993), but religion students will find this a worthwhile resource. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Once again, Armstrong (The Great Transformation) has written a groundbreaking history. This one, a well-reasoned and inspired biography about the most influential book of all time (at least in the West), comes complete with the interesting circumstances, people, and places that made the Bible what it is: so important, controversial, and misunderstood a text. Whether writing on Jewish oral history, providing an unobstructed summary of kabbalistic teachings, or conveying the impact of the Christian Right on American politics, Armstrong shows a depth of insight and transparent understanding of complex theological issues. In her closing, she insists that "this short biography makes it clear that many modern assumptions about the Bible are incorrect"; she is not being presumptuous. She argues persuasively for a more compassionate hermeneutics and a more charitable exegesis-a theme common to many of her books in their exhortations toward a kinder and more tolerant world of faith. This book is a miqra, or a "call to action" for all Jews, Christians, and Muslims. And Armstrong is Armstrong-simply one of the best writers ever on religion. Recommended for all libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 7/07.]-Gary P. Gillum, Brigham Young Univ., Provo, UT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Introduction | p. 1 |
| 1 Torah | p. 9 |
| 2 Scripture | p. 32 |
| 3 Gospel | p. 55 |
| 4 Midrash | p. 79 |
| 5 Charity | p. 102 |
| 6 Lectio Divina | p. 126 |
| 7 Sola Scriptura | p. 155 |
| 8 Modernity | p. 183 |
| Epilogue | p. 222 |
| Glossary of Key Terms | p. 231 |
| Notes | p. 243 |
| Index | p. 279 |
