GeorgeW Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 If anyone is interested, here is a review of a new book titled "The Good Book: A Humanist Bible:" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/16/us/16beliefs.html?scp=1&sq=%22Good%20Book%22&st=cse As I understand it, the author (editor?), has compiled a book patterned on the Bible, including organization and physical appearance, except, it is not religious. It is a compilation of quotations from Aristotle, Darwin, Swift, Voltaire, et al. I suspect it will not become a rival to the Bible as it doesn't have the tradition, familiarity or authority that the Bible has acquired over 2 thousand years. (Warning: The NYTimes now charges for articles in excess of 20 a month without a subscription. So, if you don't have a subscription and don't want to spend one of your free twenty on this, do not follow the link.) George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 I think I would enjoy this book. I think it's funny that they're calling it "The Good Book." I guess the Bible really hasn't been marketed as that so it really doesn't break any copyright laws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glintofpewter Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 I think the genius of the book may be that there are no attributions. Each verse can be read, naively , without the baggage of context and author. After the first encounter, then google, if you will. I would have welcomed a project to collect texts for a second canon but would never have thought to cut and paste without attribution. Dutch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick the Nevermet Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Here is a link to a cnn.com story regarding the same thing. I find it amazing that I still hear people once in a while saying that you can't trust atheists because people cannot be moral people unless they are Christian/religious. This gets even more infuriating when people suggest that the fear of eternal damnation is necessary to guarantee people act in an ethical manner. Because I find that view morally reprehensible (and easily falsifiable), I welcome the idea behind this book, which according to the author is the notion that humanity naturally has an ethical impulse and a desire to reflect upon it. By offering a positive argument, the author also does a service by not falling into the whole "religion is necessarily an evil force" silliness promoted by Dawkins, Hitchens, Harries, etc. I haven't read the book, so I can't comment on its content, but that framing is something I can support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick the Nevermet Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 I think the genius of the book may be that there are no attributions. Each verse can be read, naively , without the baggage of context and author. After the first encounter, then google, if you will. I would have welcomed a project to collect texts for a second canon but would never have thought to cut and paste without attribution. Dutch Now that is fascinating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeW Posted April 17, 2011 Author Share Posted April 17, 2011 I welcome the idea behind this book, which according to the author is the notion that humanity naturally has an ethical impulse and a desire to reflect upon it. By offering a positive argument, the author also does a service by not falling into the whole "religion is necessarily an evil force" silliness promoted by Dawkins, Hitchens, Harries, etc. I haven't read the book, so I can't comment on its content, but that framing is something I can support. Yes, I think that humanity does have a moral impulse. Without it, we could not exist in groups. And, the idea that religion is inherently an evil force is unfounded. George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glintofpewter Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Here is the Table of Contents from Amazon. Have to get over my infatuation before I make a purchase. I only looked briefly at the beginning of a couple chapters Genesis Wisdom Parables Concord Lamentations - I would have blues, blues, blues Consolations I would include Let it Be by the Beatles Sages Songs Histories (Grayling starts with a Greek-Persian conflict.) Proverbs The Lawgiver Acts Epistles The Good I would have of section entitled Prophets which would include some Bob Dylan Dutch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeW Posted April 17, 2011 Author Share Posted April 17, 2011 Here is the Table of Contents from Amazon. Have to get over my infatuation before I make a purchase. I would have of section entitled Prophets which would include some Bob Dylan Dutch Dutch, I like your comment about infatuation with books. In my Good Book, I would want to include some of Martin Luther Kings speeches. But, if I had to excise all Biblical verses, they would lose their character ("Let justice roll like the waters . . ."). George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glintofpewter Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 But, if I had to excise all Biblical verses, George, It's your Good Book and all great literature is resource material. I would keep a lot of Genesis. Write "Original Sin" out of the garden story without ignoring the pain of growing up. Like Allan Dyer's child development reading of the story. Dutch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.