What the Bible Really Says

Rating:
Summary: I LOVE This Book
Review: Bookstore shelves are full of Apologetic writings trying to prove stories in the Bible are literally true. If that's what you are looking for, get another book. What the Bible Really Says is thought-provoking, appealing to the intellect of the beliver. Yet the book is surprisingly readable.

As we journey through the Old and New Testaments, Barthel digs through the controversial stories in the Bible and the similar myths in ancient religions without ever questioning the authority of the Scriptures. He constantly shows us that the Bible is more than a collection of Sunday school stories, but he never leads us to question our faith.

Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Scholarly and Accessible at a Bargain Price
Review: I am a layman who is interested in the study of the Bible. I am most interested in books about the Bible that are responsible and scholarly without preconceived ideals and theological agendas. I am not interested in books that make odd claims for shock value or that go out of their way to try and break new ground. This book delivered what I was looking for better than any other I have read so far.

This book which was originally written in German and translated to English provides the layman with fascinating insights which are responsible and scholarly. One such example is the observation that many ancient traditions included written laws prior to the laws of Moses (designed to regulate the affairs of a society which usually involved denoting retaliation). What was unique about the laws of Moses (i.e., the Ten Commandments) was not only "You Shall have no Other Gods before Me" but "You Shall Love Your Neighbor as Yourself" which has no other precedent in the laws of ancient religions. You will also be treated to such wit and wisdom as "... the first law of biblical criticism - speculation flourishes when facts are in short supply..."

If you are looking for commentary, this is not the book for you. You will be disappointed as the author only examines two of the five Books of Moses: Genesis and Exodus. He indicates that the other three books of Moses primarily concern sacrifices, statistics, and long lists of place names and then he moves on to the Book of Joshua and the Conquest of Canaan. This book is a reader meant for those who are interested in the highlights and fascinating insights about the Old and New Testaments that have been learned over the course of time.