Don't Know Much About the Bible

Rating:
Summary: Just wax rods that smell good.
Review: Upon completion of this book I couldn't help but wonder the purpose for which it was written. I found myself puzzled at its faithless author's opinion and biting sarcasm toward the scriptures. I pushed myself to its conclusion hoping for a rational and believable motivation for the book's creation. Finding none, I could only assume some personal vendetta against the scriptures themselves. Many people have these prejudices and I am sure that anyone looking for reasons not to believe will find those this book. I would not advise those unlearned in the scriptures to read this book as he is footloose in fact gathering and quick to put thoughts into the mind and words into the mouths of those who oppose his humanistic views. I assure you, there is more truth to be found in scripture than in this book.

The insight that is so necessary for Bible expository (faith) is almost nonexistent. Just imagine the foolhardy proposition of a crayon manufacturer hiring a blind person to write a book to review and promote their product. As a sighted person, I would feel pity for a person that describes crayons as a box full of little paper-covered wax rods that smell good. However, I cannot imagine a better name for that book than "Don't know much about Crayons"

Now that that expertise has been discounted, we can probably look forward titles such as, "Don't know much about Nuclear Physics".

Rating:
Summary: So good I purchased the other 3 "Don't Know Much" books
Review: I realized it's been 40 years since I've taken any survey classes on the Bible (or, for that matter, American history, geography, or the American Civil War). And I wanted something easy to read as well as informative. This book fits the bill; I literally could not put it down until I finished it. And the first thing I did after finishing it was to come here to amazon.com to order the other three "Don't Know Much" books.

Rating:
Summary: The best survey course of the Bible I have ever read.
Review: Davis brings history and the books of the Bible into an understandable and complete format. As a seminary graduate and pastor I found Davis's Don't Know Much About the Bible to be the best resource of general knowledge about the Bible and history I have ever read. He makes the Bible worth reading again. But it's not just for professionals. It's written in a language that everyone can understand. It's difficult to understand the parts if you don't have a little grasp of the whole. This book does that. Great for post-seminary refreshment, laity Bible studies, and for anyone who wants to have a good understanding about one of the world's greatest spiritually inspired works, the Bible. Does that mean Davis's book is spiritually inspired? Why not?

Rating:
Summary: Somebody that needs to study a little more
Review: This book is very misleading right from the start, the subtitle is "Everything you need to know about the Good Book but Never Learned." The author then proceeds to do nothing but ask question upon question and then throw out some possibilities. Most of these possibilities are worded to do nothing but cause confusion and doubt for a student just starting out trying to learn what the meaning of the Bible is all about. If there is one good thing to say about this book, it is that for those of us Christians that want some practice taking a barrage of questions about the Bible, this book is good practice. I'm quite astounded that people think that these "valuable insights" are not taught in today's churches. If they aren't they should, that much I'll agree with, but honestly, nothing new here. Mr. Davis needs to stick with the Civil War, or do a little more studying.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent historical analysis of the Bible texts
Review: Readable, humorous summary of the historical basis for the Bible and its related texts. Highly recommended for those interested in "piercing" the foggy mists of faith versus fact. Not for those unwilling to question the basic foundations of judeo-christian thought.

Rating:
Summary: A revealing and thought provoking overview
Review: I have read this book twice and find it fascinating. A humorous yet respectful overview of the Bible written in language accessible to us non scholars, this work was especially effective putting the worlds of the Old and New Testament into modern perspective. The author comes across as someone who is spiritual, but not afraid of asking some questions about the Good Book. I guess the best tribute I can give this book is that it sent me back to my Bible with renewed and informed interest.

Rating:
Summary: A better title would be The Gospel According to Ken C. Davis
Review: Mr. Davis'attempt to imform us about all we don't know about the Bible is a poor attempt in liberal scholarship. As a conservative Bible believing Christian who knows a little about BOTH sides of the argument, I can tell you a conservative theologian would eat this guy for lunch. From a debaters point of view, Davis fails because his arguments are one sided and do not present the other side to shoot it down. He writes his book as if this info. is fact and is accepted as fact by everyone exept toothless, trailor park, backward hill billies (in one part of his book he makes a similar comment). His general statements like most, all, and many scholars agree are quite frankly, insulting. I can assure you conservative theologians are highly educated and very well read in Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Middle Eastern history. They also know about Gnostics and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Davis presents this info. as if it is new news and unknown to the conservative scholars, as well as other Bible believing Christians. Davis also misinforms his readers by his false interpretation of scripture (ex. saying Matt. 16:18 refers to Peter being the foundation of the church and the first pope). Any one who is familiar with the Greek translation of this verse knows Jesus was not refering to Peter, but to Himself as the foundation. I can go on and on about other flaws in this, but will spare the person reading the reviews. The only complement Davis deserves in his work is his historical backround on Biblical events. This seems to be his specialty going by his other book titles. Attempting to write a scholarly critic on the Bible just is not his thing. If you are a non-believer who is searching for a book to quinch your skeptical thirst this is the one for you. I have to warn you though, if you try to crush the faith of others by presenting this info. as fact to someone who knows a little bit you will make a fool of yourself. In my opinion the title speaks for itself. Davis DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE BIBLE.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointingly superficial
Review: Davis gets two stars for his sheer volume of work, but as a serious examination of the bible, this book cannot compare to Isaac Asimov's Guide to the Bible, published in 1981. Davis' analysis is completely superficial and often just relies on summarizing plot lines. Any thoughtful commentary is often quoted verbatim from other, more authoritative sources. His habit of dropping irreverent one-liners ("How do we know Moses was a real man? Lost in the desert for 40 years, he wouldn't stop and ask for directions?")throughout the text is particularly annoying. If you're looking for a serious scholarship, find an author who takes the bible seriously.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Book on the "Good Book"
Review: Nothing stirs up the ire in people more than writting anything, and I repeat, anything, about religon (it's a no-win situation). Just read the previous reviews below; people trash this book because it doesn't coincide with thier own views of faith or beliefs. It's NOT suppose to. It was written to help people better understand one of the main underpinnings of our civilization.

Since God is an issue of faith, not opinnion, and history is an issue of interpetted facts, not spiritual faith, this book delivers the latter without ever trying to augment the former.

Personally, I found it very rewarding as I gained a better understanding of a subject that's very confusing. I feel I can now pick up the real Bible with an appreciation for the stories and not be worried about being lost (like primer before the paint). Buy this book only for this reason and you wont be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: The truth is....
Review: The truth is that there is really nothing that you need to learn from the bible. Mind you, the secret techniques for mind control and propaganda can be gleened. I'd suggest reading some philosophy instead, or for that matter any comic book.