Overview:

Here’s another book by Kenneth C. Davis in the “Don’t Know Much” series, which include topics of the American Civil War, American Presidents, American History, and Greek Mythology. This particular book takes a look at the bible from the perspective of a historian and researcher. Kenneth does a fair job of respecting the faith of Christians and Jews, and offers his own thought provoking questions such as who wrote the bible, and why throughout history it has been interpreted in ways to justify often contradictory points of view. The main point is that there is more to the bible than most people are familiar with, and that it is a book of faith, as well as a book that can be studied and analyzed from a historical perspective.  

Here is what the book was about:

A well researched history of the bible; he gleaned information from the King James Version, as well as other versions, in addition to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Gnostic Gospels. The book dissects many of the stories that many readers of the bible are familiar with, such as Noah’s arc, wisdom of King Solomon, and the birth of Christ and asks questions such how or whether the story has historical evidence. In many instances, he highlights aspects of a story that are not well known, such as in the story of Jonah; many may know that he was swallowed by a whale and spent 3 days and 3 nights inside, however not many  know what he said to God after he was spit out.  Another example is the story of Job; many are familiar with God’s bet with the Devil however, do not realize that this was the last time God appeared and spoke directly to humans in the bible.

Rating: (1 to 10)

Only 8 out of 10. Well written and researched. While I learned a lot, and did not find his points of view offensive, many true believers would be offended by this book.