In the latest issue of Dialogue, I have a review of The FOB Bible. From the intro:
Lately the Bible has been getting a bum rap. Christopher Hitchen's calls it a “nightmare,” and blames it for much of humanity’s suffering - everything from sexism to genocide. At the same time, literalist approachs to the Bible has produced narrow theology and tendecious unscientific speculation. With these sorts of extremes touted by reductionist pundits and preachers, people are left with a false dichotomy of Biblical proportions. Historian of religion Karen Armstrong reminds contemporary readers that, “…many modern assumptions about the Bible are incorrect. The Bible did not encourage slavish conformity…From the first, the Biblical authors contradicted each other and their conflicting visions were all included by the editors in the final text.”
Pick up a copy to read the full review.
