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Religious Book Store > Religious books beginning with K
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Ken's Guide to the Bible |
Author: Ken Smith
Published: 1995-09-18 |
List price: $7.95
Our price: $7.95
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As of: January 08th, 2009 02:22:35 PM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 Very quick read, very funny
A tongue in cheek quick review of some of the stranger scriptures in the bible, with some commentary by the author. A deeply religious person would probably be horribly offended by the entire tone of the book, but as an agnostic I was extremely entertained. I found it very interesting that a lot of my Sunday school stories were massively sanitized from their original bible versions! The nicest thing about this book is that since Ken lists the verse you can read it along with an actual bible and see the original for yourself. I read the whole book cover to cover in a matter of a couple of hours, it is extremely easy to read, informative and funny.
The best introduction to the Bible ever
This book is basically a "Cliff's Notes" on the bible. The reason that many theists take offense is that the author reads and interprets the book from a non-Christian (objective) standpoint. Most Christians don't look at the bible this way. As a result, they look at a commentary such as this and immediately dismiss it. The reality is, Ken's guide is both entertaining and extremely informative. He goes over each book one-by-one and gives us realistic context in which the book is placed and then proceeds to go over significant details. It's not meant to be a scholarly analysis. It's an overview and it does a great job at that.
Let's be honest. The bible is a very tough book to read no matter what you believe. Ken's Guide to the Bible is the best introduction ever. It's very readable and strives to makes as much sense of this chaotic collection of scripture as is possible.
Very well written and organized
An excellent synopsis of each book of the Bible as well as its overall history and authorship. Very readable and concise - highly recommended for anyone looking for an succinct overview of the Bible.
 Missing the point
This is a good example of parody, and should be read by anybody who has a problem with stupid evangelical Christians. But I'm writing this mainly to point out the problem with these reviews. All of the bad reviews, and many of the good ones, don't understand: this book is not a response to the Bible, it is a response to many of those Born-agains who write about the Bible. To quote one review:
"Ken Smith has written, without a doubt, the most ill-informed, simplistic, overview of the Bible I have ever seen, and that's not blowing smoke. He seems to use 1990's American cultural standards and imposes them on Ancient Jewish society." Does that writer really not realize that Smith is satirizing those who make this mistake every day of their lives -- most often when speaking from the pulpit? Of course it is wrong to take words or phrases out of context, but that has been done over and over by the Religious Right. Think of the whole debate over abortion: sure, "Thou Shalt Not Kill" forbids killing people, but when you read the WHOLE Bible you need to ask whether a foetus is considered a person there. I don't mean to take sides, I just ask how many evangelists have even tried to look for this in the Bible? Similarly, the most-quoted arguments against homosexuality come from Leviticus; if you consider Leviticus authoritative, you also have to believe that those who shave will burn in Hell. (Again, this remark is not pro-gay, I'm just being anti-Leviticus.) And how many of those who claim to represent God also act as if the Bible were originally written in English? (to refer back to another "criticism" of Smith)
Please, this book is a parody of BAD BIBLE SCHOLARSHIP.
A Great handbook!
For a bible critic, thise is an excellent and terse compendium of all the awkward parts of the bible.
Highly recommended!
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