The Bible: A Very Short Introduction
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- Author：John Riches
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Summary
Very Short Introductions
: Brilliant， Sharp， Inspiring
The Bible is one of the world's most read and most influential books。 It has provided many rules for people to live by， and has shaped our language and our shared beliefs in ways that have both drawn communities together and fueled bitter disputes and conflicts。 Having played a major role in the
development of Western culture， the Bible continues to exert an enormous influence over millions of lives。
This Very Short Introduction explores the material， cultural， and religious history of the Bible。 Looking first at how the books of the Bible came to be written down and collected as authoritative sacred texts， John Riches goes on to show how they were produced and distributed across the world， and
how they have been read and interpreted by differing communities in different languages。 Riches compares how Jewish and Christian communities have interpreted the same passage of the Bible， and looks at some of the strikingly varied readings a very short book like Galatians has received over 2，000
years。 Finally， he explores post-colonial and feminist readings of the Bible， and concludes by surveying the uses of the Bible in art， music， poetry， and politics。
ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area。 These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly。 Our expert authors combine facts， analysis， perspective， new ideas， and
enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable。
The Bible is one of the world's most read and most influential books。 It has provided many rules for people to live by， and has shaped our language and our shared beliefs in ways that have both drawn communities together and fueled bitter disputes and conflicts。 Having played a major role in the
development of Western culture， the Bible continues to exert an enormous influence over millions of lives。
This Very Short Introduction explores the material， cultural， and religious history of the Bible。 Looking first at how the books of the Bible came to be written down and collected as authoritative sacred texts， John Riches goes on to show how they were produced and distributed across the world， and
how they have been read and interpreted by differing communities in different languages。 Riches compares how Jewish and Christian communities have interpreted the same passage of the Bible， and looks at some of the strikingly varied readings a very short book like Galatians has received over 2，000
years。 Finally， he explores post-colonial and feminist readings of the Bible， and concludes by surveying the uses of the Bible in art， music， poetry， and politics。
ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area。 These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly。 Our expert authors combine facts， analysis， perspective， new ideas， and
enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable。
Reviews
Rebecca
，
Great info， slog to get thru。
Hattie
，
To be honest I was quite disappointed by this， particularly after the christianity one was so interesting。Chapters about "how the bible was written" were good although quite brief。One of my main problems was the way that each chapter would have a really broad title， and then the contents of the chapter would be one really specific example in a huge amount of detail， with no overall narrative - for example， the chapter called "the Bible in the world of believers" - huge potential to discuss how i To be honest I was quite disappointed by this， particularly after the christianity one was so interesting。Chapters about "how the bible was written" were good although quite brief。One of my main problems was the way that each chapter would have a really broad title， and then the contents of the chapter would be one really specific example in a huge amount of detail， with no overall narrative - for example， the chapter called "the Bible in the world of believers" - huge potential to discuss how it's used and interpreted and believed in different types of church etc， literally just tells the story of Abraham and Isaac， and then explains the significance of that ONE story to various people， and some different interpretations。 I can't really see how that matches the chapter title。 Similarly， the chapter about "the Bible in the post colonial world" - goes through each continent （lol） （e。g。 the Bible in South America）， then picks ONE scholar/theologian from that time and just says some of the things they said about the bible - without any overall narrative about the bible in general in that place。One part that particularly irked me for some reason was the chapter heading literally called "The Bible in Africa"， which started with "since all the churches in Africa had been set up by colonial european missionaries" - which seems totally bizarre that whoever is qualified to write this book has never heard of the Ethiopian and Coptic orthodox churches ？？ Both ancient african branches of christianity founded before christianity even reached england or america。。。 ？？ 。。。more
Luke
，
This is just a rambling essay exploring different ways the Bible has been and could be interpreted; it's neither a summary nor a good introduction。 A little like those pompous and pointless 'introductions' you find at the start of classic novels。 I highlighted almost nothing and don't feel like I learnt a thing。 He could have just written 'it's long， complex and full of profound and confusing meaning， and possibly dangerous if you misinterpret it'。 Then come hundreds of references and suggestion This is just a rambling essay exploring different ways the Bible has been and could be interpreted; it's neither a summary nor a good introduction。 A little like those pompous and pointless 'introductions' you find at the start of classic novels。 I highlighted almost nothing and don't feel like I learnt a thing。 He could have just written 'it's long， complex and full of profound and confusing meaning， and possibly dangerous if you misinterpret it'。 Then come hundreds of references and suggestions for further reading - none of which are the Bible itself。 。。。more
Clif
，
Way back when tribal life was common， each had a creation story。 Ignorant of the physical basis of the world， let alone the universe and of life itself， mythology was the only way to explain things and a way of life was built using myths as a basis for law。 The natural and the supernatural were entwined。 Though many tribes had multiple gods， one particular tribe decided that one god was best。As time went on most tribal stories were lost and the intermixing of peoples diluted the importance of th Way back when tribal life was common， each had a creation story。 Ignorant of the physical basis of the world， let alone the universe and of life itself， mythology was the only way to explain things and a way of life was built using myths as a basis for law。 The natural and the supernatural were entwined。 Though many tribes had multiple gods， one particular tribe decided that one god was best。As time went on most tribal stories were lost and the intermixing of peoples diluted the importance of this or that creation story。 But through chance one tribe hung on to its inheritance of myths and while modifying some and adding others came through to what we call the common era that began in the year zero CE。Then a new philosophy based on the teachings of one man took hold。 The new outlook was grafted， somewhat uncomfortably， on to the old tribal tales。 After 300 years the Roman world was captured by the appeal of the new philosophy， a "catholic" church was established and through centuries of conflict， contradictions and debate， here we are today well aware that there are other beliefs and that the majority of the world's population has arrived at the present without any loss for not knowing those ancient tribal beliefs and the derivations that Europeans took to centuries ago。We don't take heed of ancient Egyptian or Sumerian or any other tribal lore because the wandering path of history has filtered them out in favor of the one that many in the West are tutored in almost from birth。 The basis of that tutoring is a text known as the Bible。The Bible is popular， widely known， and deeply embedded in Western history to the extent that even the emergence of the truth of science， based as it is on reasoning from evidence， has had a very difficult time overcoming a preference for myth that continues because the young are indoctrinated with the common fantasy long before they reach an age to reason about it。 What is learned in youth provides comfort and security that reason must work hard to challenge。This short book by John Riches is a marvel of clarity。 His task to look at the Bible from a variety of angles is admirably accomplished。 The reader is told of the origin of the Bible in aural stories that then were put down in writing。 The ancient Hebrews debated the meaning， and with the rabbinical turn in Judaism， dispute and debate became a full time occupation still vigorously practiced by Hasidic Jews and taken up eagerly by Christian philosophers from the start of Christianity。We learn of the Dead Sea Scrolls （more have just been discovered） and how the Bible is composed of parts such as the history of Israel， the words of the Jewish prophets and the "wisdom" writings that make up the Old Testament。 The Gospels of the New Testament are covered， in how they vary and what the circumstances were at the time of their composition。 A chapter covers the Bible and politics， another the variations in belief based on the Bible。This is a wonderful and easily digestible look at what is a very long book with many authors that， because of its claim to explain the world to a credulous humanity filled with anxiety at a life filled with otherwise inexplicable dangers was eagerly received。Being an atheist， but one whose father was a scholar of the Bible with two doctorates in the field， I was an eager reader， wondering still how Dad could be so enchanted with a book that is both endlessly debatable and， I believe， completely dispensable as a guide to life， though indispensable as a look into our primitive past。 。。。more
Christopher Mcdermott
，
Some interesting details but also quite dry in a lot of places。
Daniel Paarlberg
，
"Eigenlijk had ik een boek verwacht over het ontstaan van de Bijbel。 Dit boek gaat voor 2/3 over de impact die het heeft gehad en hoe het is uitgelegd。 Dit bleek echter de juiste keuze te zijn。 Door de ambiguiteit van de inhoud is de omgang met de Bijbel cruciaal。 Die twee kan je dus niet los van elkaar zien。 Natuurlijk is een very short introduction heel kort。 Het biedt een eerste indruk van de achtergronden van het boek en wat het bijzonder maakt。 De paar inzichten zijn overtuigend。 Het is ech "Eigenlijk had ik een boek verwacht over het ontstaan van de Bijbel。 Dit boek gaat voor 2/3 over de impact die het heeft gehad en hoe het is uitgelegd。 Dit bleek echter de juiste keuze te zijn。 Door de ambiguiteit van de inhoud is de omgang met de Bijbel cruciaal。 Die twee kan je dus niet los van elkaar zien。 Natuurlijk is een very short introduction heel kort。 Het biedt een eerste indruk van de achtergronden van het boek en wat het bijzonder maakt。 De paar inzichten zijn overtuigend。 Het is echter jammer dat er weinig smaak aan zit。 Hij haalt wel passages aan， maar kan anekdotischer werken。 Er moeten prachtige verhalen zijn over het ontstaan van de Bijbel en die had ik graag gelezen。 " 。。。more
Jurij Fedorov
，
1，5 stars。 It's not quite a 1 star book but not fully a 2 star book either。ProIt's not a book explaining what the Bible is so I can't judge it on that。 It's a book explaining how first various spiritual writers perceived the Bible then how feminists perceived the Bible。 It's all about how people used it。 With some of the spiritual writers it's hard to say how important they were。 With some of the progressive people using the Bible it's the same。 It feels like the author just picked groups he fel 1，5 stars。 It's not quite a 1 star book but not fully a 2 star book either。ProIt's not a book explaining what the Bible is so I can't judge it on that。 It's a book explaining how first various spiritual writers perceived the Bible then how feminists perceived the Bible。 It's all about how people used it。 With some of the spiritual writers it's hard to say how important they were。 With some of the progressive people using the Bible it's the same。 It feels like the author just picked groups he felt were progressive instead of picking the most powerful groups to ever use the Bible。 But the message is clear and maybe interesting to some: the Bible can be used by all kinds of ideologies。I don't even want to write a pro part。 I don't know what to say。 It has some info on how various original authors wrote down the Bible stories in different ways。 And it's not too hard to understand on audiobook most of the time。 Though the rambling for me made it hard to focus on。ConMan… what a big letdown。 I wanted to learn about the Bible。 This reads like a progressive social science article that focuses on shallow analyses of Bible texts often focusing on feminism and at times on minorities or the evil of the Western world。 This is a terrible Bible intro no matter who you are or what you believe in。 Even if you wanted to learn about feminist perception of the Bible this book doesn't really dive deep into that either so it's not a good intro to that either。 It just constantly brings it up and then right away after any factual claim the author explains how the Bible can be interpreted in many ways。 He probably says "the Bible stories can be interpreted in many ways" over 200 times in this short book in different ways。 I get that this message may be important but when ALL chapters have exactly the same message it becomes really tiresome and pointless。 And it's not even just all chapter conclusions that have this message but also pretty much all pages。 The very point of the book is to explain how you all can use the Bible as an ideological progressive tool。 As an atheist I like the Bible but I surely don't plan to use it for anything progressive anytime soon。 And I don't really see why I needed this lesson。So his message is that while the Bible may seem to have strict gender roles and was written by men and used largely by male rulers minorities and women can still use it as… it… can… be interpreted in many ways！ It can be interpreted in many ways！ The Bible can be super progressive！The title of the book should have been: "Why Feminists Should Read the Bible"It's all rambling， rambling， rambling。 I don't mind the author budding in at times and giving a few analyses and opinions but here this stuff takes up 50% of the book。 It's largely the author just winging it with loose opinions without much info about the Bible itself。 So it reads like the author felt he was some amazing expert and was obliged to share his thoughts with the readers instead of giving us more factual info。ConclusionThis is the worst book I've read in the "Very Short Introduction" series。 It's not that great a book but much worse still it's not even about the topic。 While we learn about Bible passages and how they varied it's all very complicated and feels largely pointless without charts， figures， images and more pages to set it all up。 I don't quite understand why any of the info here is essential to understand the Bible。 And after this part about the Bible itself the book turns to culture war territory with the feminist stuff that is much worse。I also wish he had been more fair in how he judged conservative groups and men but it's not something that feels extremely biased。 As he is so transparently feminist the anti-West passages feel kinda expected and not like trickery。 It's just not what I wanted to read about and the message was conveyed in such a plain and simple way that there is not much to learn from this book no matter what your current level is or what your interests are。 At least that's what I think。 You could probably pick any Bible intro at random and find something more potent than this。 。。。more
محمّدفؤاد
，
سه فصل اول راجع به نوشته شدن کتاب مقدس، جمع آوری و تأیید اعتبار و مرجعیت کتاب هاش، و تفسیرها و قرائت های اولیهٔ یهودیها و مسیحیها از کتاب مقدس بود。اما بعد از اون کم کم ارتباط مباحث با کتاب مقدس کمتر و کمتر شد و بیشتر روی نقش و جایگاه کتاب مقدس بین جوامع مسیحی و یهودی مدرن تمرکز کرد که برای کسی که می خواد راجع به کتاب مقدس بخونه، اهمیت ثانوی داره。حتی همون چند فصل اول هم نظریات مهم مثل «فرضیه دو منبع» در مورد عهد جدید، و «فرضیه مستند» در مورد عهد عتیق رو خیلی سرسری و مبهم توضیح داده بودن و اگه ق سه فصل اول راجع به نوشته شدن کتاب مقدس، جمع آوری و تأیید اعتبار و مرجعیت کتاب هاش، و تفسیرها و قرائت های اولیهٔ یهودیها و مسیحیها از کتاب مقدس بود。اما بعد از اون کم کم ارتباط مباحث با کتاب مقدس کمتر و کمتر شد و بیشتر روی نقش و جایگاه کتاب مقدس بین جوامع مسیحی و یهودی مدرن تمرکز کرد که برای کسی که می خواد راجع به کتاب مقدس بخونه، اهمیت ثانوی داره。حتی همون چند فصل اول هم نظریات مهم مثل «فرضیه دو منبع» در مورد عهد جدید، و «فرضیه مستند» در مورد عهد عتیق رو خیلی سرسری و مبهم توضیح داده بودن و اگه قبلاً توی دگرگونی بزرگ و کتاب مقدس راجع به این فرضیهها نخونده بودم، از توضیحات این کتاب نمی تونستم اهمیت و چند و چونشون رو بفهمم。 。。。more
Ном уншиж өгдөг залуу
，
Монсудар-аас орчуулсан орчуулгыг уншсан。 Библийн тухай судалгаа мэдээлэл олж болох боловч Библи гэх номын агуулга， уялдаа холбоо， тайлал зэргийг бичээгүй аж。 Библийг хэрхэн бичигдсэн тухай ч нэн тодорхой бичсэн зүйл олсонгүй бөгөөд Библийн номыг хэрхэн бичигдэж ирсэн нарийн тодорхой зүйлс болон номын тухай бүрэн тайлбарлаж чадахгүйгээ зохиолч номдоо дурджээ。 Эл номоос таалагдсан хэсэг нь Африк пастор болон зохиолчын дүгнэлт хэсэгт гарах үгс буюу "Библийг хэрхэн тайлж уншихаас хамааран буруу эсвэ Монсудар-аас орчуулсан орчуулгыг уншсан。 Библийн тухай судалгаа мэдээлэл олж болох боловч Библи гэх номын агуулга， уялдаа холбоо， тайлал зэргийг бичээгүй аж。 Библийг хэрхэн бичигдсэн тухай ч нэн тодорхой бичсэн зүйл олсонгүй бөгөөд Библийн номыг хэрхэн бичигдэж ирсэн нарийн тодорхой зүйлс болон номын тухай бүрэн тайлбарлаж чадахгүйгээ зохиолч номдоо дурджээ。 Эл номоос таалагдсан хэсэг нь Африк пастор болон зохиолчын дүгнэлт хэсэгт гарах үгс буюу "Библийг хэрхэн тайлж уншихаас хамааран буруу эсвэл зөвөөр， маш зөвөөр ойлгож хэрэгжүүлж болно。 Библи тун хүчтэй， нөлөөтэй ном гэдгийг хүлээн зөвшөөрч， мөн Библийг зөв сайнаар тайлж хүргэж чадваас нийгэм болон хувь хүнийг нэн сайнд чиглүүлж чадна" гэж үзсэн нь номын гол өгөх гэсэн санааа болов уу гэж бодлоо。 。。。more
James O'Neill
，
Enjoyable readGood introductory book in to the creation， interpretation and uses of the bible。 Easy to follow and quick to read。
Mikaela
，
Usammenhengende og både for overfladisk （som jo på en måte gir mening med en VSI， men allikevel skuffende） og for dyptgående på enkelte detaljer （sånn feks。 kapitlene som snakket om kanoniseringen av bibeltekster var for detaljerte）。
Jason Ray Carney
，
This wasn’t my favorite VSI due to its second half focus on contemporary issues regarding the difficulty interpreting the Bible。 I was hoping for more of a history of the origins of the Bible， its organization into new and old testaments， its various translations， and its dissemination through developing technologies （the codex， the printong press， etc。）。 There is some of that but not enough。 The first half of the book is more of an introduction to the origins of the Bible; the latter half raise This wasn’t my favorite VSI due to its second half focus on contemporary issues regarding the difficulty interpreting the Bible。 I was hoping for more of a history of the origins of the Bible， its organization into new and old testaments， its various translations， and its dissemination through developing technologies （the codex， the printong press， etc。）。 There is some of that but not enough。 The first half of the book is more of an introduction to the origins of the Bible; the latter half raises interesting questions that unfortunately are not explored in depth （excusable， of course， considering the scope of the series）。 The struggle I have had with some of these VSI books （and this one in particilar） is that they direct you toward interesting questions only to move on to new questions too quickly。 。。。more
Elliot Kaufman
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Repellent。
Fred Eisenhut
，
This is a very handy introduction to an overall portrait of the Bible。 I think the average person should grasp the contents very well。
Justin Tapp
，
I like Oxford's Very Short Introduction series but was disappointed with this one。 I am comparing this book to the Very Short Introduction to the Koran （4。5 stars）， which I found to be much more informative than VSI: The Bible （2 stars）。 VSI: The Koran describes the importance and history of the language of the book， gives an outline of the books contents while examining some chapters in detail， gives a history of interpretation and various schools of thought in history， and generally gives a lo I like Oxford's Very Short Introduction series but was disappointed with this one。 I am comparing this book to the Very Short Introduction to the Koran （4。5 stars）， which I found to be much more informative than VSI: The Bible （2 stars）。 VSI: The Koran describes the importance and history of the language of the book， gives an outline of the books contents while examining some chapters in detail， gives a history of interpretation and various schools of thought in history， and generally gives a lot of information about the book itself。 VSI: The Bible does little of this。 The author gives no outline or overview of the contents of the book， no explanation as to what the purpose of the book as a whole may be， and doesn't even tell the reader what makes the manuscript evidence of the Bible so unique compared to other works of ancient literature。 We have over 20，000 fragments of the New Testament with more than 5，300 manuscripts and the author does not deem that worth mentioning。 He doesn't mention any of the adventures there have been in discovering these manuscripts。 I'm not sure why Riches took the route of explaining the long-lasting impact of the Bible through history rather than just giving an analysis of the book itself， but I'm not sure I can recommend this work to anyone。 If you're just wanting to briefly know "What is the Bible？" then I recommend instead a work like Neil Lightfoot's How We Got the Bible。Instead， the author， apparently a Christian historian， focuses on how people have used the Bible through the ages， the various religions and sects that have arisen making claims on the Bible， and how the Bible--and Christianity--has contributed to the foundations of culture in the West。 On this latter point， the author interestingly writes that since the West built its society and culture on the Bible and later abandoned/forgot it， it no longer has a basis by which to critique its own culture。 The art from Michaelangelo to Bach were influenced by the Bible。 The ideals that laws were built on likewise have roots in the Bible。 The American experiment， likewise， was started by colonists who were eager to have the freedom to worship according to their interpretation of the Bible。 Anabaptists， Quakers， and various American sects have likewise used the Bible to contribute to American law and culture， founded universities， hospitals， and charities， etc。 This is all well and good but doesn't introduce what the book is。There is some information about the Bible but not a great overview and explanation as was in VSI: Koran。 The author only ends the book with a look at the historical-critical method of interpretation and its caveats。 He does understand early dates for New Testament works and gives a little bit of language and literary analysis using select examples from the Old and New Testament， mainly to show some diversity。 He explains some of the dividing of the Old Testament and the importance of histories in fixing canon。 Riches does deal some with differences between Eastern Churches and Western Churches in their canons and the books of the Catholic Apocrypha， but does not really explain much about those books either or explain why they're not in the Jewish canon。In all， this is one of the least-helpful of Oxford University's Very Short Introduction series。 Two stars。 。。。more
Realini
，
The Bible: A Very short Introduction by John RichesAnother version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:- https://www。youtube。com/playlist？list。。。 and http://realini。blogspot。ro/ Many would argue that instead of trying out introductions or Beginners Guides and the variations on those， one should go to the source。In fact I agree with them。Why waste valuable time to read about The Magic Mountain， L’Etranger， Flannery O’Connor and other subjects and authors？There is no reason t The Bible: A Very short Introduction by John RichesAnother version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:- https://www。youtube。com/playlist？list。。。 and http://realini。blogspot。ro/ Many would argue that instead of trying out introductions or Beginners Guides and the variations on those， one should go to the source。In fact I agree with them。Why waste valuable time to read about The Magic Mountain， L’Etranger， Flannery O’Connor and other subjects and authors？There is no reason to do that， except for those who would then go on and read more after the Introduction。However， there are subjects where a guide， explanations are in order due to the complexity of the issue。Perhaps lack of time to cover the whole Black Holes matter or the Koran and others like it might be a good justification to resort to shorter books about the subjectsThis Introduction was very informative and the four hours allocated are time well spent during which one learns a lot。Apart from figures that reveal the Paramount importance of the Bible， the author touches on its influence in:-tArt， politics， great literature and so much moreThere are more copies of the bible than of any other book and its influence can only be challenged by The Capital and a few other works but we still deal with， if not the Most influential book， at least one of the top three。Furthermore， the legacy， the fact that this is still one of the fundamental masterpieces of humanity is testimony to a durable impact that has lasted for millennia， in opposition with trendy creations like The Little Red Book。At the time of its author， that stupid thing was read by hundreds of millions， but its effect is now so small as to be nearly negligible。Indeed， there are so many， even among the ruling classes of China， which is alas still communist， there is a consensus that the Mao era， with its teachings and excesses has done so much damage to the economy， culture and society at large。Come to think of it， where we are dealing with communists， people who by definition are limited in their judgment and understanding， in many ways saying that they make sense could just as well be so much wishful thinking on my part。One fascinating aspect about this Introduction is the extent to which it tries to look into the various domains that have been affected by The Bible。It is the Very Fundament of Western Culture and having stated that we can only guess the sheer magnitude and the variety of aspects that have been so deeply impacted by this religious text which casts a light or shadows on almost any area of human existence， in the west and large parts of the rest of the world。There are references to one of my favorite authors， Thomas Mann and his capital book Joseph and His Brothers。On a side note， I was flabbergasted to learn about Agatha Christie and her huge number of sold books: over two billion！ It is not mentioned here， but Jesus Christ Superstar， evidently based on the bible has had a major impact on this reader。Especially since the bible has been too much mentioned in my childhood by the really old baby sitter that we had and who kept talking about the Holy Book。This immersion into the narratives about Noah， John， Peter and the rest had the opposite effect of inspiring aversion to the point of nausea。In a stupid manner I have been inclined to disrespect and disregard anyone who could seriously claim that they believed in the extreme claims from the Bible。The re4ading of this Introduction proves that I now try to learn and see things differently， albeit I am still horrified by creationists and other zealots。The fact that， apart from the monstrous election of The Donald， America that I had so much admired before November last year chose as VP a man who denies the Theory of Evolution and believes the world was created in seven days is still outrageous for me。And even now， after gaining so much more insight into the holy book， I still can’t help but think of those from the opposite camp。Ricky Gervais， Bill Maher and more importantly scientists， geniuses and scholars like Nathaniel Branden。In his wonderful Psychological Effects of Religion， Nathaniel Branden explains the negative impact of so much， indeed almost everything that we can find in the bible， from the belief in a later life that diminishes the zest and desire to live in this one with maximum intensity to other concepts， like the one of an omniscient， punishing god。All things considered， I will maintain an interest in good books like this Introduction and eventually， with time and patience， an epiphany might result。Inshallah！！ 。。。more
Jenny Esots
，
Reading the bible texts you are never alone。 We belong to communities which have been led and moved by the text。 This short introduction opened up the way I saw the bible through the ages。 Reading from a particular informed perspective will lead to renewal of traditions which have fallen away or worse， were being used for the purposes of oppression or even self deception。A handy resource to forage in。From ancient times， to Luther and Desmond Tutu， there is plenty of background here。At 143 pages Reading the bible texts you are never alone。 We belong to communities which have been led and moved by the text。 This short introduction opened up the way I saw the bible through the ages。 Reading from a particular informed perspective will lead to renewal of traditions which have fallen away or worse， were being used for the purposes of oppression or even self deception。A handy resource to forage in。From ancient times， to Luther and Desmond Tutu， there is plenty of background here。At 143 pages it is remarkable in the depth of knowledge it crammed in。 。。。more
M。 Ashraf
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I don't think this was on topic， it is convoluted with different ideas and stories that don't belong to this title of VSIs unlike The Koran: A Very Short Introduction for instance the book spends not that much time on the scripture itself and go through its life during history， and I think that took away from discussing the book itself。 The first few chapters are good but after that it strays away from the main topic。Again as most of the VSI， it is a good survey/overview。 I don't think this was on topic， it is convoluted with different ideas and stories that don't belong to this title of VSIs unlike The Koran: A Very Short Introduction for instance the book spends not that much time on the scripture itself and go through its life during history， and I think that took away from discussing the book itself。 The first few chapters are good but after that it strays away from the main topic。Again as most of the VSI， it is a good survey/overview。 。。。more
Ahmad Sharabiani
，
The Bible: A Very Short Introduction （Very Short Introductions #14）， John Richesعنوان: کتاب مقدس؛ نویسنده: جان ریچز؛ مترجم: محسن قائم مقامی؛ تهران، ماهی، 1388، در 240 ص؛ شابک: 9789642090389؛ موضوع: کاربرد کتاب مقدس - مقدمه؛ قرن 20 م
Elena
，
An easy read， and pretty good， if bizarrely structured。 Its an introduction to the Bible by way of examples， which is as good a way as any， but which seemed like a huge diversion for part of the time。
Riku Sayuj
，
Doesn’t tell one: how to read the bible， the nuances， the symbolisms， the internal structure， the immediate impacts， the inter-communications among the biblical texts， the many parallels， the mythic origins， the historical scholarship， the civilizational conflicts; textual discussions on: the evolution of two religions， the reasons for conflicts between the two， the rise of the cousin; the role of the greek and roman philosophies， the difficulties of interpretation， etc。 That could have been a w Doesn’t tell one: how to read the bible， the nuances， the symbolisms， the internal structure， the immediate impacts， the inter-communications among the biblical texts， the many parallels， the mythic origins， the historical scholarship， the civilizational conflicts; textual discussions on: the evolution of two religions， the reasons for conflicts between the two， the rise of the cousin; the role of the greek and roman philosophies， the difficulties of interpretation， etc。 That could have been a wonderful VSI。 This is instead a VSI about: the history of the bible — on how it was constructed， put together， contested; has been read， argued for， interpreted， defended， codified， canonized， regaled， defiled， blamed， contested， disproved， reinterpreted， etc。 And I should stop — I am making it sound better than it really is。 Anyway， not anywhere near as good as it could have been if it was about the Bible itself instead of about its history。 At the very least it could have been a book about how to read the Bible。 But then it would only serve as introduction for newcomers to the Bible… but wait， isn’t that the purpose of a VSI？ A book about an eastern text wouldn’t have taken it for granted that the reader is familiar with the text and just discussed the ‘interesting’ tidbits of its later development。 What exactly is being 'introduced' then？ This is where some of the west-centric aspects of this series peep through， well， a bit。 。。。more
Marcus Vinicius
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This is a good one in the VSI Collection。 The book gives informations about the cannon of the Scripture。 There are chapters about the critical readings of the Bible and the relation between the Scripture and the western culture。 Four stars， because the organization of the topics gives much credit to contemporary and pointless issues。
Alan Fricker
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Read for AKC。 Helpful in the broad background sweep it offers。 Use of bible in South Africa under apartheid and discussion of Atwood very interesting
Tyska
，
This little book took me forever to get through。 Unfortunately， it didn't quite meet my expectations。 One of the things that annoyed me the most was the author's claim right at the beginning: to try to be as open/neutral as possible despite his Christian beliefs。 How shall I put it？ To me， it didn't feel like he tried hard enough。 While he did mention the drawbacks of certain biblical interpretations， he still spent a lot of time praising the good deeds done in the name of faith。 Some questionab This little book took me forever to get through。 Unfortunately， it didn't quite meet my expectations。 One of the things that annoyed me the most was the author's claim right at the beginning: to try to be as open/neutral as possible despite his Christian beliefs。 How shall I put it？ To me， it didn't feel like he tried hard enough。 While he did mention the drawbacks of certain biblical interpretations， he still spent a lot of time praising the good deeds done in the name of faith。 Some questionable quotes:"There is too much that we should lose， if we were to turn our backs on it [the Bible]， dangerous as it is。" （p。95）"That is to say， we should not allow our own moral judgements to be overwhelmed by the darker side of the Bible。" （p。99）"Part of the problem for our own society lies in the wide-spread ignorance of the Bible。" （p。177）Browsing through my notes， apparently I found quite a few interesting facts and book recommendations in this book， although I didn't enjoy his approch to introducing the Bible very much。 It was very dry and very superficial。 Sure， it is supposed to be a "very short introduction" but instead of spending more than 30 pages on how the Bible has inspired artists in literature， film and art， I could have easily read more about the canons' creation or even their contents。 Also， I am not entirely familiar with all the Bible's books （yet？）， so often I found myself lost in his frantic citing of passages， especially in chapter 3， The Making of the Bible。2。5 stars。 。。。more
S
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A quick read that becomes more vague as it progresses-- the first few chapters were most interesting: canon formation， the writing of scripture， the Bible in the colonial world， and the way texts are read anew when they become sacred （it might seem obvious， but that last was very interesting to me）。
Buddy
，
May not be especially helpful for devout Christians。 If you're thinking about reading this， you might first read up on the author's other book， Conflicting Mythologies: Identity Formation in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew。 May not be especially helpful for devout Christians。 If you're thinking about reading this， you might first read up on the author's other book， Conflicting Mythologies: Identity Formation in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew。 。。。more
Daniel Wright
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Very broad， not very informative except in a haphazard fashion。 Has a tendency to be smug and patronising。
Paul
，
As the name suggests， this really was a very short introduction。I originally gave this book 3 stars but on reflection I'm bumping it up to 4; it provides a broad range of perspectives for the origins and context of the texts of the bible—the various cannons—and explores how different groups of people have interpreted and used the bible dating from when it was written right up to the present day。 I think that it comes across as being such an abbreviated introduction is actually a credit to how we As the name suggests， this really was a very short introduction。I originally gave this book 3 stars but on reflection I'm bumping it up to 4; it provides a broad range of perspectives for the origins and context of the texts of the bible—the various cannons—and explores how different groups of people have interpreted and used the bible dating from when it was written right up to the present day。 I think that it comes across as being such an abbreviated introduction is actually a credit to how well it introduces the depth that it's possible to get into exploring and studying the bible， almost unquestionably the most influential book in the history of man。 。。。more
Shelly
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Not really what I was expecting。 I guess I wanted more about the authors and themes of the Bible than how the Bible has been read and used throughout history。 This book is actually a very short introduction to what other people have done with the Bible。
Adam Shields
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