The Bible: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

Rating:
Summary: An Intellectiual essay on the Bible
Review: Mr. Riches writes an essay on the Bible that I think presumes you have at least a basic familiarity with the bible. Those that do not will struggle at various points particularly if their history of the Middle East or the world is limited. Mr. Riches discusses the development of both the old and New Testaments, who wrote them, when and for what purpose. He notes that the bible was virtually a written guide for the sharing of community values. He notes that while the new testament concentrates on Christ and his meanings the old concentrates on Abraham while discussing the effects both had on their cultures. The former looks to the defeat of their oppressors while the latter looks to a return to Israel. The book also covers the effect the bible has had on modern culture, the bad such as exploitation of the Indians of South America because of their alleged inferiority and the good where Desmond Tutu utilizes the teachings of the bible to communicate to the Afrikaners that black Africans deserve to be treated as men, equals. Not a simple book, its challenging and a little too brief about the origins of the bible which I think is the most fascinating part of the book. But the again, it's a brief introduction.

Rating:
Summary: Nice homage to a cultural icon
Review: This "very short" (142 pages if you don't count the bibliography and indices) has turned me on to the entire Oxford University Press series of "Very Short Introductions." This still-expanding series covers a vast array of religious, historical, philosophical, scientific subjects (think of all the electives you never had time for in college). I've always been turned off by the flippancy of certain popular paperbacks that purport to explain the basics of a variety of topics. By padding their discussions with low-brow humor and patronizing detail, they end up being two or three times longer than they need to be. The Oxford VSI books, however, take both the reader's interest and time constraints seriously.

This VSI on the Bible, for instance, approaches its subject from a variety of angles (not just how the Bible came about over thousands of years, but how it has been interpreted by both people of faith and by Western culture at large). And the brevity of the text does not prevent the author from presenting some amazing ironies--like how the same book that has been used to oppress others (as Europe colonized and missionized the world) has served to give voice to those seeking to extricate themselves from the effects of colonialization. Two of the earlier chapters, "How the Bible Was Written" and "The Making of the Bible," do an amazing job of explaining the basics about how the Bible came about, what exactly is "the canon," and how and why one biblical voice differs from others (sometimes even within the same book of the Bible). The discussion is sane, balanced, and scholarly. Even people who have no interest in reading the Bible as a document of faith will have trouble disputing any of Riches's observations about this classic of Western literature. Well done, OUP!

Rating:
Summary: Nice homage to a cultural icon
Review: This "very short" (142 pages if you don't count the bibliography and indices) has turned me on to the entire Oxford University Press series of "Very Short Introductions." This still-expanding series covers a vast array of religious, historical, philosophical, scientific subjects (think of all the electives you never had time for in college). I've always been turned off by the flippancy of certain popular paperbacks that purport to explain the basics of a variety of topics. By padding their discussions with low-brow humor and patronizing detail, they end up being two or three times longer than they need to be. The Oxford VSI books, however, take both the reader's interest and time constraints seriously.

This VSI on the Bible, for instance, approaches its subject from a variety of angles (not just how the Bible came about over thousands of years, but how it has been interpreted by both people of faith and by Western culture at large). And the brevity of the text does not prevent the author from presenting some amazing ironies--like how the same book that has been used to oppress others (as Europe colonized and missionized the world) has served to give voice to those seeking to extricate themselves from the effects of colonialization. Two of the earlier chapters, "How the Bible Was Written" and "The Making of the Bible," do an amazing job of explaining the basics about how the Bible came about, what exactly is "the canon," and how and why one biblical voice differs from others (sometimes even within the same book of the Bible). The discussion is sane, balanced, and scholarly. Even people who have no interest in reading the Bible as a document of faith will have trouble disputing any of Riches's observations about this classic of Western literature. Well done, OUP!