One man's mission to follow the Good Book to the letter — chicken sacrificing, cricket eating, messy Moses-beard growing, and all.
Longer than It and populated with more bit players than Gravity's Rainbow, the Bible remains a most enduring and obfuscating literary work. But is it still, you know, relevant? A.J. Jacob's mission to follow the Good Book to the letter is worthwhile, not just as an intellectual exercise but as a testament to how far humanity's moral self-refereeing has or hasn't evolved over the last few thousand years. Soon enough, the devout atheist finds himself in some curious situations: eating crickets, sacrificing a chicken, contemplating polygamy, stealing an egg from a pigeon's nest and growing a big messy Moses beard. It's funny and eye-opening and utterly insane. This is the same Judeo-Christian handbook people still quote to condemn homosexuality and justify the death penalty? With a straight face? Jacobs' good humor and limitless diligence — this is the guy whose previous "humble quest" book had him reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, after all — does its best to lend a modern sensibility to these inescapably ancient and occasionally contradictory rules and rituals. And a nerd shall lead them.
The Year of Living Biblically
One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible As Literally As Possible
byA. J. Jacobs
- NY Times Best Seller
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Avg: 4.0 (2 ratings)
- Written and Narrated by: A. J. Jacobs
- Publisher: Audioworks
- Genre: Humor Nonfiction, Religion, Personal Memoir
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We Say...
One man's mission to follow the Good Book to the letter — chicken sacrificing, cricket eating, messy Moses-beard growing, and all.
Longer than It and populated with more bit players than Gravity's Rainbow, the Bible remains a most enduring and obfuscating literary work. But is it still, you know, relevant? A.J. Jacob's mission to follow th... -
They Say...
"[A] hilarious, quixotic, thought-provoking memoir...with absurdly funny cultural commentary as well as nuanced insights into the impossible task of biblical literalism." (starred review) -
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Audiobook Download Information
- Edition: Abridged (Audioworks)
- Length: 6 hours, 15 minutes
- File Size: 172 MB (5 files)
- Published: October 2007
Summary
After his hilarious chronicle about reading the Encyclopedia Britannica from A to Z -- actually a-ak to zyweic -- our fearless author, A.J. Jacobs, tackles a new intellectual adventure -- an exploration of the most influential book in the world: the Bible. A.J. determined the best way to explore the Bible was to live it, as literally as possible. For one year.
There are 700 rules in the Old and New Testaments, A.J. discovered -- some wise, some general, some contradictory. Some from Jesus, some from prophets, some from God. A.J. assembled a board of spiritual advisors -- rabbis, ministers and priests, some conservative, some of them "one four-letter word away from excommunication" -- who would provide guidance and advice throughout his journey. But the journey was, by necessity, arbitrary. DIY religion.
In The Year of Living Biblically, A.J. explores the Bible chronologically, from Old Testament (crucial, given the Ten Commandments) to the New Testament (crucial, given America's powerful evangelical movement and its literal interpretation of the Bible) -- and lives the Bible on every level. He obeys the Ten Commandments, he is fruitful and multiplies (A.J.'s wife had twins during his year!); he remembers the Sabbath and keeps it holy. But he also obeys the oft-neglected rules, such as avoiding clothes of mixed fibers, and refraining from shaving the edges of his beard (Leviticus 19:27). So throughout the year A.J. is commonly mistaken for a member of ZZ Top. Or Moses.
While A.J.'s wit and humor are irrepressible, The Year of Living Biblically is not acerbic satire. As with The Know-It-All, this is a quest for knowledge. While the struggle of a modern-day Manhattanite attempting to live by 700 Biblical rules is necessarily hilarious, A.J. also treats his subject(s) with great respect. Whether visiting Negev, the huge desert in southern Israel where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob once dwelled; or the Answers in Genesis Museum (under construction) near Cincinatti
There are 700 rules in the Old and New Testaments, A.J. discovered -- some wise, some general, some contradictory. Some from Jesus, some from prophets, some from God. A.J. assembled a board of spiritual advisors -- rabbis, ministers and priests, some conservative, some of them "one four-letter word away from excommunication" -- who would provide guidance and advice throughout his journey. But the journey was, by necessity, arbitrary. DIY religion.
In The Year of Living Biblically, A.J. explores the Bible chronologically, from Old Testament (crucial, given the Ten Commandments) to the New Testament (crucial, given America's powerful evangelical movement and its literal interpretation of the Bible) -- and lives the Bible on every level. He obeys the Ten Commandments, he is fruitful and multiplies (A.J.'s wife had twins during his year!); he remembers the Sabbath and keeps it holy. But he also obeys the oft-neglected rules, such as avoiding clothes of mixed fibers, and refraining from shaving the edges of his beard (Leviticus 19:27). So throughout the year A.J. is commonly mistaken for a member of ZZ Top. Or Moses.
While A.J.'s wit and humor are irrepressible, The Year of Living Biblically is not acerbic satire. As with The Know-It-All, this is a quest for knowledge. While the struggle of a modern-day Manhattanite attempting to live by 700 Biblical rules is necessarily hilarious, A.J. also treats his subject(s) with great respect. Whether visiting Negev, the huge desert in southern Israel where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob once dwelled; or the Answers in Genesis Museum (under construction) near Cincinatti
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