Book Review - A Year of Living Biblically

Cover of The Year of Living Biblically

This evening I finished reading the book "A Year of Living Biblically", by A.J. Jacobs. It was a delightful read in the emerging style of immersion journalism that is quite popular these days, resulting in an insightful and hilarious book.

Jacobs spends the year following the Jewish and Christian rules that he gathers from the bible, trying his hardest to take the most literal interpretation possible. Over the course of the year he manages to stone an adulterer, go to a snake handling service, travel to Israel, and refrain from shaving his beard.

To give away the ending of his book, Jacobs concludes with idea that we are all following our own interpenetration of the Bible, cafeteria style. A much as we would like to think that myself (and others like me) are following the bible correctly to some degree we are all picking and choosing (interpreting for ourselves) how we will follow the bible.

If I am honest with myself, I have to agree with Jacobs. How can we expect to follow all the the rules the bible sets out for us. We all have those parts of the bible that we love and cherish, and those parts that we choose to hold at a distance. And maybe this isn't so bad. As the the Apostle Paul says "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known" Perhaps we aren't suppose to know how it all fits together. Perhaps it's ok if we hold closer to the things we can understand and that move us.

And A.J. just in case if you read this review..........helmet.