The Good Book

[GeorgeW]

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

[Colleen]

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.

[glintofpewter]

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

[Nick the Nevermet]

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.

[Nick the Nevermet]

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.

[GeorgeW]

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

[glintofpewter]

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

[GeorgeW]

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

[glintofpewter]

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