The Bible in Australia: A Cultural History

by Meredith Lake

'STUNNING, REFRESHING AND ORIGINAL.' — JULIA BAIRDKoby Abberton emerges like a shark on to the sand at Maroubra Beach. Tattooed from shoulder to shoulder, his body bares letters like 'My brothers keeper'.In this surprising and revelatory history of the Bible in Australia, Meredith Lake gets under the skin of a text that's been read, wrestled with, preached and tattooed, and believed to be everything from a resented imposition to the very Word of God. The Bible in Australia explores how in the hands of Bible-bashers, immigrants, suffragists, evangelists, unionists, writers, artists and Indigenous Australians, the Bible has played a contested but defining role in this country.

539 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 13, 2020

Reviews

[Luke Watts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a title I anticipated much from, it delivers in the main, but by the end, something was lacking in its approach, I’m unsure what though. The author is certainly thorough and the topic is well researched and mostly well written and presented. It was possibly a little too long, and the authors obsession with ensuring that everyone know that a view of scripture that includes a literal view of interpretation of the Creation account especially is certainly NOT one real people these days hold to. It was off putting for one of “those” unscientific types, but it was also inconsistent as when dealing with indigenous cultures and stories or origins there was no such commentary on the real facts of science in relation to these things. Authority matters to this author in matters of science when convenient and politically correct to do so.