In a short interview about his new book Good Book: The Bizarre, Hilarious, Disturbing, Marvelous, and Inspiring Things I Learned When I Read Every Single Word of the Bible, David Plotz, editor of Slate responds to Publisher's Weekly questions...
RBL: Do you have a favorite book or part of the Bible?
David Plotz: My favorite parts tend to be where you have heroes who are skeptical, questioning and doubtful. But my favorite story of all is the book of Ruth. It is so beautiful and moving, like a Jane Austen novel or a Patsy Cline song.
RBL:You mention that you've become a “full-on Bible thumper.” What do you mean by that?
DP: Every page, every chapter has something that is culturally significant that has come down to us. So going through life without knowing this book is like wearing a veil. Also, there are millions of Americans who believe in the Bible literally—that every single word is true. For you to fully engage in discussion about the issues that they and you care about, you have to do the duty of understanding why they hold the beliefs they do.
RBL: Do you think that the Bible should be taught in public schools?
Read his answer and the rest of the interview here.
Apparently the book began as a blog.
Monday, March 02, 2009
SLATE editor recommends the Bible
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2 comments:
Good for him.
I'm trying to read through this year, with the Discipleship Journal plan--in the RSV.
Of course the Hebrew and Christian scriptures should be taught in school. Not as a religious text, but as one of the important documents of Western Civilization.
In school, I learned Greek Mythology, because their stories still touch our lives. (from the names of the constellations to the reason spiders are called Arachnids)
It's provided us with phrases like "as old as the hills" and "the apple of my eye". Only Shakespeare has provided more words to the English language. (note: the hebrew for the 2nd phrase is actually "pupil of my eye")
If you're going to read Steinbeck's "East of Eden", it's important to know the origin of the story. Same with Archibald MacLeish's play "J.B." based on the story of Job.
Faith aside, The Hebrew and Christian Scriptures helped define our civilization. It's important to know the origins.
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