The Secular Bible: Why Nonbelievers Must Take Religion Seriously

By Jacques Berlinerblau

Book Overview

Today's secularists too often have very little accurate knowledge about religion, and even less desire to learn. This is problematic insofar as their sense of self is constructed in opposition to religion. Above all, the secularist is not a Jew, is not a Christian, not a Muslim, and so on. But is it intellectually responsible to define one's identity against something that one does not understand? And what happens when these secularists weigh in on contentious political issues, blind to the religious back-story or concerns that inevitably inform these debates? In The Secular Bible: Why Nonbelievers Must Take Religion Seriously Jacques Berlinerblau suggests that atheists and agnostics must take stock of that which they so adamantly oppose. Defiantly maintaining a shallow understanding of religion, he argues, is not a politically prudent strategy in this day and age. But this book is no less critical of many believers, who--Berlinerblau contends--need to emancipate themselves from ways of thinking about their faith that are dangerously simplistic, irrational and outdated. Exploring the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, from the perspective of a specialist, nonbeliever, and critic of the academic religious studies establishment, Berlinerblau begins by offering a provocative answer to the question of who wrote the Bible? The very peculiar way in which this text was composed provides a key to understanding its unique power (and vulnerability) in the modern public sphere. In separate chapters, he looks at how the sparse and contradictory words of Scripture are invoked in contemporary disputes about Jewish intermarriage and homosexuality in the Christian world. Finally, he examines ways in which the Qur'an might be subject to the types of secular interpretation advocated throughout this book. Cumulatively, this book is a first attempt to reinvigorate an estimable secular, intellectual tradition, albeit one that is currently experiencing a moment of crisis.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 052161824X
• ISBN13: 9780521618243
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

High brow discussion of religion.

Good book, author is clearly coming from a secular perspective and presents his ideas coherently and even humorously. From an academic perspective I was disappointed that Christianity's cornerstone, the New Testament, was not discussed. John Grieve.

Verily I Say Unto You, Read This Book...and Learn!

If you occasionally read the Bible, as I have, at some point it will dawn on you that there is just no clear meaning to be found. The language confuses, the stories are ambiguous and whatever meaning can be distilled from a story here or an admonishment there, will only be contradicted in the next chapter or book. The explanation for why this is, is provided for with such clarity of thought in Berlinerblau's The Secular Bible that it was a revelation for this reader. Once started, this book is difficult to put down. It is filled with such remarkable observations, presented in such erudite prose, infused with such impeckable logic that it disarms. If you ever wanted to make sense of the Bible or Koran or religion in general, read this book and as an added bonus you will walk away with much more than an understanding of the Bible. Inherent in the process of deconstructing the the Bible, are some fundamental lessons in human nature. Upon finishing this book, I felt as though a significant addition had been made to the sum total of my knowledge base. The view from the heights is a little clearer. I plan to go back and read everything this author has written.