Merton, Thomas - Opening the Bible (LiturgicaPress, 1986)
pdf | 1.24 MB | English | Author :Thomas Merton | B008V462BI | 2020 | Grove Press; Reprint edition

Book Description :

The renowned religious historian "preaches the gospetruth . . . explaining how the spirituaguide . . . came intbeing and evolved ovethe centuries" ( Vanity Fair ).

As the single worat the heart of Christianity, the world's largest organized religion, the Bible is the spirituaguide foone out of every three people in the world. It is alsthe world's most widely distributed booand its bestselling, with an estimated six billion copies sold in the last twhundred years. But the Bible is a complex worwith a complicated and obscure history. Its contents have changed ovethe centuries, it has been transformed by translation, and, through interpretation, has developed manifold meanings tvarious religions, denominations, and sects.

In this seminaaccount, acclaimed historian Karen Armstrong discusses the conception, gestation, life, and afterlife of history's most powerfubook. Armstrong analyzes the sociaand politicasituation in which orahistory turned intwritten scripture, how this all-pervasive scripture was collected intone work, how it became accepted as Christianity's sacred text, and how its interpretation changed ovetime. Armstrong's history of the Bible is a brilliant, captivating book, cruciain an age of declining faith and rising fundamentalism.

"Vintage Armstrong: sweeping, bold, incisive, and insightful. In eight chapters it covers the history of the writing, canonizing, and reading of the Bible . . . Hechoice of topics is impeccable . . . and hebrief, 23-page discussion on the rise of the Talmud is masterful." - Choice

"An excellent précis of the writing and compiling of the Bible and the ensuing centuries of biblicainterpretation . . . one terrifilittle book." - Booklist

Category : | Religious Studies - History, Christian Hermeneutics, Christian Bible History & Culture