Bible Babel : Making Sense of the Most Talked about Book of All Time

by Swenson, Kristin

• ISBN13: 9780061728266
• ISBN10: 0061728268
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-03-01
• Publisher: Harper Perennial

Summary

Why does the film Magnolia end in a downpour of frogs? Is the serpent in the Garden of Eden the devil or just a snake? How do people use the Bible to argue different sides of today's most controversial issues? Why did Metallica's bass player name their song "Creeping Death" after watching The Ten Commandments? Where does the fish symbol of the Christian faith come from? Who is the lamb with seven horns and seven eyes who opens the seven seals of a cosmic scroll? Without either promoting or undermining specific beliefs, religious studies professor Kristin Swenson offers an intelligent, humorous, highly accessible, engaging, and illuminating guide to the Bible--incorporating biblical scholarship with contemporary pop culture references to help readers better understand the most talked about book of all time.

Author Biography

Kristin Swenson teaches religious studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her books include Living Through Pain: Psalms and the Search for Wholeness and What Is Religious Studies?.

Table of Contents

Map of the Ancient Near East, with Israel	p. xiii
Introduction	p. xv
What Is the Bible, Anyway?	p. 1
Different Bibles and a Hidden Bible, Too	p. 11
As It Is Written: History in the Bible	p. 22
Contexts and Culture: History behind the Bible	p. 31
Getting to the Good Book: History of the Bible	p. 42
What's the Best Translation?	p. 53
We've Got Issues	p. 75
Quotes and Misquotes	p. 99
Men, Famous and Infamous	p. 128
Lovely (and Not So) Ladies	p. 161
Flora, Fauna, Etcetera	p. 187
Sites to Be Seen	p. 217
God Names, Beings, and Doings	p. 247
Conclusion	p. 269
Appendixes
Order of Books in the Hebrew Bible and in the Old Testament	p. 272
Order of Books in the New Testament	p. 274
Timeline of Some History in and behind the Bible	p. 275
A Tentative Chronology of Hebrew Bible Writings	p. 276
Major Events in New Testament History	p. 278
Abraham's Family Tree (Genesis)	p. 280
Abbreviations for Biblical Books	p. 282
Resources for More Information	p. 283
Notes	p. 286
Index	p. 325
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