Have I mentioned that I'm an NPR junkie?In my last post, I mentioned the interview with Gary Wills on NPR's Fresh Air. Well, here's another one from the same program.
A. J. Jacobs, an editor at Esquire, has previously gone to the extreme of reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica and then writing a memoir about what he learned. Now, he's got a book out about the year he spent trying to obey every law and rule in the Bible. It's a vivid example of how people who claim to take the Bible literally as "God's Word" really do not do so--they cannot do so and function in modern society. Jacobs takes a very sympathetic and open view towards the Bible. He grew up in a non-practicing Jewish family and when he became a parent began to wonder if he was missing out on religion and thereby depriving his son of something vital. So, to hear his lessons about wearing a robe in public, not shaving his beard, punishing his toddler with "rods" as instructed in Proverbs, not sitting anywhere or on anything that a menstruating woman has sat upon and even trying to stone an adulterer is enlightening to say the least. It turns out he learned a lot of lessons from reading the Bible so closely and took a lot away from the experience. Some of it is hilarious, because trying to follow all of the rules of Leviticus in today's world lends itself to comedy, but some of it is also inspiring.
His interview is worth a listen. I'll be on the lookout for the book.
Grace and Peace,
Chase
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