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A History of the Bible
- The Story of the World's Most Influential Book
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 21 hrs and 57 mins
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Publisher's summary
A literary history of our most influential book of all time, by an Oxford scholar and Anglican priest.
In our culture, the Bible is monolithic: It is a collection of books that has been unchanged and unchallenged since the earliest days of the Christian church. The idea of the Bible as "Holy Scripture", a non-negotiable authority straight from God, has prevailed in Western society for some time. And while it provides a firm foundation for centuries of Christian teaching, it denies the depth, variety, and richness of this fascinating text. In A History of the Bible, John Barton argues that the Bible is not a prescription to a complete, fixed religious system, but rather a product of a long and intriguing process, which has inspired Judaism and Christianity, but still does not describe the whole of either religion. Barton shows how the Bible is indeed an important source of religious insight for Jews and Christians alike, yet argues that it must be listened to in its historical context - from its beginnings in myth and folklore to its many interpretations throughout the centuries.
It is a book full of narratives, laws, proverbs, prophecies, poems, and letters, each with their own character and origin stories. Barton explains how and by whom these disparate pieces were written, how they were canonized (and which ones weren't), and how they were assembled, disseminated, and interpreted around the world - and, importantly, to what effect. Ultimately, A History of the Bible argues that a thorough understanding of the history and context of its writing encourages religious communities to move away from the Bible's literal wording - which is impossible to determine - and focus instead on the broader meanings of scripture.
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Critic reviews
Winner of the Pol Roger Duff Cooper Award for 2019
Chosen as a Best Book of 2019 by The Guardian
“In addition to laying out the historical contexts in which the Old and the New Testaments were created, this stimulating study considers how they have been read, taught, and lived by believers.... [Barton] proposes a nuanced approach that seeks to give the Bible its due without asking too much of it.” (The New Yorker)
“A History of the Bible is a lucidly written distillation of a vast array of scholarship.” (Wall Street Journal)
"A supple and intelligent recap of the Holy Scriptures, their origins and contexts, [and] their meaning in a broad historical sense." (Lit Hub)
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This epic, thrilling journey through Bible scholarship and ancient religion shows how much of Scripture is historically false - yet the ancient writings also resound with theologies that crisscrossed the primeval world and that direct us today toward a deep, authentic inner experience of the truly sacred.
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Just Okay.
- By Thom on 10-28-21
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Letter and Spirit
- From Written Text to Living Word in the Liturgy
- By: Scott Hahn
- Narrated by: Brian Keeler
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Scott Hahn has inspired millions of readers with his perceptive and unique view of Catholic theology and worship, becoming one of the most looked-to contemporary authorities in these areas. In Letter and Spirit, Hahn extends the message he began in The Lamb's Supper, offering far-reaching and profound insights into what the Bible teaches us about living the spiritual life.
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This could easily be a 5 star download
- By Travis on 01-07-07
By: Scott Hahn
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Scripture and the Authority of God
- How to Read the Bible Today
- By: N. T. Wright
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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In this revised and expanded edition of The Last Word, Wright, Bishop of Durham, one of the preeminent Bible scholars of our day and author of such beloved works as After You Believe and Simply Christian, gives new life to the old, tattered doctrine of the authority of Scripture, delivering a fresh, helpful, and concise statement on the current battles for the Bible and restoring Scripture as a place to find God's voice.
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Takes scripture very seriously
- By Adam Shields on 05-31-11
By: N. T. Wright
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Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time
- The Historical Jesus and the Heart of Contemporary Faith
- By: Marcus J. Borg
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Of the many recent books on the historical Jesus, none has explored what the latest biblical scholarship means for personal faith. Now, in Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, Marcus Borg addresses the yearnings of those who want a fully contemporary faith that welcomes rather than oppresses our critical intelligence and openness to the best of historical scholarship. Borg shows how a rigorous examination of historical findings can lead to a new faith in Christ, one that is critical and, at the same time, sustaining.
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first thing he did was deny Christ's deity.
- By Amazon Customer on 03-15-19
By: Marcus J. Borg
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Hidden But Now Revealed
- A Biblical Theology of Mystery
- By: G. K. Beale, Benjamin L. Gladd
- Narrated by: Michael Quinlan
- Length: 14 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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This audiobook explores the biblical conception of mystery as an initial, partially hidden revelation that is subsequently more fully revealed, shedding light not only on the richness of the concept itself, but also on the broader relationship between the Old and New Testaments. Exploring all the occurrences of the term mystery in the New Testament and the topics found in conjunction with them, this work unpacks how the New Testament writers understood the issue of continuity and discontinuity.
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Disappointing!
- By Paul F. Evans on 11-14-15
By: G. K. Beale, and others
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Decoding Nicea
- Constantine Changed Christianity and Christianity Changed the World
- By: Paul Pavao
- Narrated by: Alan Sisto
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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The Council of Nicea was not clerics in a dark and ornate hall. It was brawls in churchyards; it was emperors and governors fighting to save the empire; it was political intrigue as the governments of church and state blended into a volatile stew. It was the way a fringe group of peace-loving communal worshipers of a crucified Palestinian prophet conquered the Roman Empire.
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Who mixes fact with fiction?
- By 3allvalve on 12-28-17
By: Paul Pavao
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Forbidden Faith
- The Secret History of Gnosticism
- By: Richard Smoley
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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The success of books such as Elaine Pagels's Gnostic Gospels and Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code proves beyond a doubt that there is a tremendous thirst today for finding the hidden truths of Christianity - truths that may have been lost or buried by institutional religion over the last two millennia. In Forbidden Faith, Richard Smoley narrates a popular history of one such truth, the ancient esoteric religion of gnosticism, which flourished between the first and fourth centuries AD, but whose legacy remains even today, having survived secretly throughout the ages.
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An absolute must for understanding Gnosticism.
- By Patriot RN - Doc on 05-12-21
By: Richard Smoley
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Reasons to Believe
- How to Understand, Defend, and Explain the Catholic Faith
- By: Scott Hahn
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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In Reasons to Believe, Scott Hahn, a convert to Catholicism, explains the "how and why" of the Catholic faith - drawing from Scripture, his own struggles, and those of other converts, as well as from everyday life and even natural science. Hahn shows that reason and revelation, as well as nature and the supernatural, are not opposed to one another; rather, they offer complementary evidence that God exists. He is someone, and He has a personality, a personal style, that is discernable and knowable.
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A Catholic for convition and tradition
- By benigno on 05-29-12
By: Scott Hahn
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A History of Judaism
- By: Martin Goodman
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 23 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Judaism is one of the oldest religions in the world, and it has preserved its distinctive identity despite the extraordinarily diverse forms and beliefs it has embodied over the course of more than three millennia. A History of Judaism provides the first truly comprehensive look in one volume at how this great religion came to be, how it has evolved from one age to the next, and how its various strains, sects, and traditions have related to each other.
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Not easy to follow.
- By Max on 03-12-19
By: Martin Goodman
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How God Became King
- The Forgotten Story of the Gospels
- By: N. T. Wright
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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New Testament scholar N. T. Wright reveals how we have been misreading the Gospels for centuries, powerfully restoring the lost central story of the scripture: that the coronation of God through the acts of Jesus was the climax of human history. Wright fills the gaps that centuries of misdirection have opened up in our collective spiritual story, tracing a narrative from Eden to Jesus to today.
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Jesus' life matters, not just his death
- By Adam Shields on 03-17-16
By: N. T. Wright
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The Mission of God
- Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative
- By: Christopher J. H. Wright
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 24 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Most Christians would agree that the Bible provides a basis for mission. But Christopher Wright boldly maintains that mission is bigger than that - there is in fact a missional basis for the Bible. The entire Bible is generated by and is all about God's mission. In order to understand the Bible, we need a missional hermeneutic of the Bible, an interpretive perspective that is in tune with this great missional theme. We need to see the "big picture" of God's mission and how the familiar bits and pieces fit into the grand narrative of Scripture.
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Best evangelical mission book
- By dustin ballay on 07-15-23
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Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy
- A Journey into a New Christianity Through the Doorway of Matthew's Gospel
- By: John Shelby Spong
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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A man who has consciously and deliberately walked the path of Christ, John Shelby Spong has lived his entire life inside the Christian Church. In this profound and considered work, he offers a radical new way to look at the gospels today as he shows just how deeply Jewish the Christian Gospels are and how much they reflect the Jewish scriptures, history, and patterns of worship.
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understanding the jewish thoughts in the Gospels
- By John on 08-30-18
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Paul and Jesus
- How the Apostle Transformed Christianity
- By: James D. Tabor
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Historians know virtually nothing about the two decades following the crucifixion of Jesus, when his followers regrouped and began to spread his message. During this time the man we know as the apostle Paul joined the movement and began to preach to the gentiles. Using the oldest Christian documents that we have - the letters of Paul - as well as other early Christian sources, historian and scholar James Tabor reconstructs the origins of Christianity.
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Paul or Jesus?
- By James on 01-29-13
By: James D. Tabor
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Couple of errors.
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Evan's Review
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The Bible Unearthed
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Quite Eye Opening
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Couple of errors.
- By Simandl on 12-13-17
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Whether taken as a book of faith or a cultural artifact, the New Testament is among the most significant writings the world has ever known, its web of meaning relied upon by virtually every major writer in the last 2,000 years. Yet the New Testament is not only one of Western civilization’s most believed books, but also one of its most widely disputed, often maligned, and least clearly understood, with a vast number of people unaware of how it was written and transmitted.
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Fantastic!
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The purpose of studying the Old Testament is to understand God and his redemptive work more fully. However, this goal is complicated by the fact that it was transmitted through a very different language and culture from our own. A Survey of the Old Testament addresses background information, purpose, message, structure, and major themes of the Old Testament to help readers understand its message and relevance.
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The subtitle matters
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The Making of the Bible
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The Bible as we know it today is best understood as a process, one that begins in the tenth century BCE. In this revelatory account, a world-renowned scholar of Hebrew scripture joins a foremost authority on the New Testament to write a new biography of the Book of Books, reconstructing Jewish and Christian scriptural histories, as well as the underappreciated contest between them, from which the Bible arose. The Making of the Bible is the most comprehensive history yet told of the world's best-known literature, revealing its buried lessons and secrets.
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Blathering away....
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After Jesus, Before Christianity
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Excellent and informative
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God
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The scholarship of theology and religion teaches us that the God of the Bible was without a body, only revealing himself in the Old Testament in words mysteriously uttered through his prophets, and in the New Testament in the body of Christ. The portrayal of God as corporeal and masculine is seen as merely metaphorical, figurative, or poetic. But, in this revelatory study, Francesca Stavrakopoulou presents a vividly corporeal image of God: a human-shaped deity who walks and talks and weeps and laughs, who eats, sleeps, feels, and breathes, and who is undeniably male.
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GREAT READ!!
- By Chester Johnson on 04-27-23
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Writing the Bible: Origins of the Old Testament
- By: Martien Halvorson-Taylor, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Martien Halvorson-Taylor
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Who wrote Great Expectations? That’s easy: Charles Dickens. Who’s the author of Beloved? Toni Morrison, of course. Now how about the Old Testament? You’d think for a book as widely known, studied, and distributed as the Bible, the question of authorship would have been sorted out by now. But the question is more complex (and fascinating) than it seems. Why? Because asking it is to challenge everything we might assume about the Bible’s identity as a book, about what “writing” and “authorship” really mean, and about how a written text could become sacred.
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What a Great Courses Book Is Meant to Be
- By Gilbert M. Stack on 12-16-21
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Armageddon
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- By: Bart D. Ehrman
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff, Bart D. Ehrman
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In Armageddon, acclaimed New Testament authority Bart D. Ehrman delves into the most misunderstood—and possibly the most dangerous—book of the Bible, exploring the horrifying social and political consequences of expecting an imminent apocalypse and offering a fascinating tour through three millennia of Judeo-Christian thinking about how our world will end. By turns hilarious, moving, troubling, and provocative, Armageddon presents inspiring insights into how to live our lives in the face of an uncertain future.
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The best explanation I have heard in my 70 years on Revelations
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What listeners say about A History of the Bible
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- chris calabrese
- 06-09-19
Very in depth
This is the best book I’ve found covering the Bible. That said it is very in depth this is not just an overview. The Author did a great job and so did the reader good voice.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Sailor
- 06-04-20
Wow
Listen and be amazed. A must for any student of the bible. Just the history lessons alone are worth the time!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Lucille
- 09-24-23
Accessible scholarship at its best
This book was both scholarly and accessible to those who are not the in field. Thorough, clear and well read.
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- William DeHuff
- 09-16-23
Like Drinking from a Firehose
John Barton’s knowledge of the Bible, Biblical scholarship and translation is staggering. Will have to listen to this one many times.
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- Tad Davis
- 07-29-19
Engaging and comprehensive
Ralph Lister gives a clear and lively reading of this wonderful book about an even more wonderful book. The first part presents a history of the writing of the text, containing concise accounts of the best modern scholarship. If you finish this part, you'll have a good grasp of the history of ancient Israel and of Roman Palestine, as well as the date of composition and the process of revision for each book.
If you hold to the belief that the Bible is without factual error and that the traditional attributions of authorship are beyond question, this book is not for you. But from my perspective it's possible to accept Barton’s analytical approach and still have great respect and even adoration for the Bible. (I'm an agnostic myself, but the Bible remains one of my favorite books and one that I read continually.)
The second half of the book presents the history of the text since its writing: the process of selecting texts for canonization, the differences in the canon among different faith communities, the problems of translation, the impact of the teachings on society. Barton believes the canon of the Hebrew Scriptures was settled by the 1st century CE, and that a strong consensus on the New Testament canon existed by the 2nd century CE. He puts no stock in the idea that powerful conspiracies succeeded in suppressing alternative writings; to Barton, the process of canonizing books was straightforward and noncontroversial.
He does, however, note that the Bible often lacks support for some of the doctrines attributed to it. For example, the Hebrew scriptures are not consistently monotheistic, and the New Testament doesn’t explicitly support the doctrine of the Trinity. Efforts to show otherwise lead to unnecessary contortions.
Not everything in the book lends itself to straight audio. For example, early in his discussion of the New Testament, Barton presents a table of the Herods. There are a lot of Herods, and it's useful to have a list, but while it can probably be quickly grasped in a visual format, it doesn't make for the easiest listen. (This is a case where a PDF download would be helpful.)
Barton’s history is really an engaging and well-organized one-volume survey course on the Bible. As a survey, different parts will be more or less interesting to different readers. I found my attention wandering during the discussion of medieval interpretations of the Bible. On the other hand, I found especially interesting the section on translations of the Bible into English. Since the KJV dominates the English Bible scene, Barton focuses on the leadup to that — Wycliffe, Geneva Bible, Bishops Bible — and its successors: the RV, ASB, RSV, and NRSV. Attention is given to other translation genealogies: the NIV, NEB and REB, the Jerusalem Bible and NJB. Even one of my favorites — the crusty old Scot James Moffat — makes the cut.
It’s possible to get all of this information elsewhere. But I don’t know of any other book that brings so many details together in one place.
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- JMMY
- 06-18-23
Conscientious and thorough
The book is so conscientious and thorough that it can be a little dry at times, but the information and insights are very well presented and expressed, and the author shows utmost respect for believers while helping to teach what the Bible really is.
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- Nico Vela
- 04-07-24
An interesting History
Barton's work is a foundational work on the history of the Bible that is both easily accessible to the regular reader, and comprehensive in offering a well-rounded Jewish and Christian understanding of the Book as it came to be written.
This book gave me a better understanding of the intricacies of the Bible, how it came to be written, the different Sources such as J, Q, and D, and gave a history of the interpretation and themes of the Bible throughout the ages.
At times, the narration is dry (but this is not a bad note on Mr. Lister), but the text at times is heavy, and seems to drag. Overall, that's my only real issue.
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- Richard Redano
- 02-09-20
An Objective & Rigorous Analysis Of The Bible
The author's analysis of the many different books known as "The Bible" is as objective as humanly possible, especially in light of the author's status as an Anglican priest. The multidimensional approach to Biblical analysis is particularly informative and thought provoking. This analysis includes historical, linguistic, theological, and anthropological perspectives. This book is a "must read" for those with an open mind regarding "The Bible."
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- Brandon G Danowski
- 10-20-21
Dense but Great
This book was definitely a long one. There really is an effort that was made to line into the minutia of this topic. So much so, that if you do not study the Bible, some of this stuff may start to sound like gibberish.
That being said, I enjoyed every moment of this book. There was incredibly illuminating information on both Christianity and Judaism. I feel like I have a much more competent and well-rounded understanding of the Bible as a historical document.
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- Alex W.
- 10-04-21
excellent book
great book for those wanting a critical but theological review of the bible and faith
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