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The Book of the People
Book of the People
224 pages, Paperback
First published May 7, 2015
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379 people want to read
About the author
A.N. Wilson
117 books242 followersAndrew Norman Wilson is an English writer and newspaper columnist, known for his critical biographies, novels, works of popular history and religious views. He is an occasional columnist for the Daily Mail and former columnist for the London Evening Standard, and has been an occasional contributor to the Times Literary Supplement, New Statesman, The Spectator and The Observer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
September 14, 2021
I really hated this book. I am seemingly alone in my criticism as there are nearly 100 other reviewers on Goodreads offering moderate to enthusiastic support - even when they acknowledge the title is misleading. Even supporters of the book were critical of Wilson saying the book is a joint effort with a deceased colleague. I read through to the end hoping that such a prolific author would reveal an amazing ending connecting the alternate storylines of biblical interpretation, personal travel, personal attachments, and lesser tangents. There is some effort; but I am only glad that I finished it.
The first obvious criticism is that this is not a book on how to read the Bible. The second chapter is a rambling narrative about how Martin Luther King, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, J.R.R. Tolkien, and lesser celebrities found inspiration from the Bible, rather than bumper-sticker slogans simplifying complex stories into a few words. The final chapter develops this further. Indeed, the last chapter has some redemptive value because Wilson actually focuses on the Bible. Although by the last chapter, most readers must have realized that the author has some strong anti-religious bias.
I think it is fair to say that Wilson is an atheist; not just an agnostic. During the few places he does discuss the Bible, he is positive. It is an amazing and impressive work of art. However, he argues time and again that men, not God wrote the texts. He demonstrates this through authority appeal. By name-dropping recognizable authors and scholars who question key aspects of the texts, he stops short of endorsing their positions. I have never read anything by William Blake or Northrup Frye. I have heard of them. I have no evidence apart from Wilson that they challenged dogma by questioning transubstantiation or the relationship between Easter and the Jewish Passover. In several places throughout the book, Wilson even goes so far as to question whether Jesus was a real human being or if he was just a literary creation.
When he begins the last chapter he asks rhetorically if someone who customarily reads the Bible literally learned anything from the book, he is not asking the average Baptist reader. His audience is obviously a small circle of highly educated intelligentsia, maybe even a personal clique. A lot of the book rests on the reader's interpretation of "L," the posthumous co-author. Judging by most reviews, most people find her inclusion mystifying. She pops up again and again in odd places usually as an eccentric scholar or homeless vagabond. She may be a literary creation in the same mold as Wilson's interpretation of Jesus Christ. The conclusion does draw some similarities between the two of them. The communication between "L" and Wilson resembles the stories of other intangible and semi-divine beings communicating with authors like Boethius and Philosophy, Moses and God, Job and God, and so-forth. It is like point-counterpoint.
Overall, I learned very little. What little I did learn was from the two chapters (seven total) discussing the Bible. It is interesting that the great humanitarians of the Twentieth Century drew inspiration from the Bible, specifically Psalms. It is interesting that there is some conversation about whether Jesus Christ was a historical person or a literary construct. It is interesting that analysis of the different books indicated multiple authors from diverse viewpoints. However, the overall book is more of a eulogy to "L" than anything else. It is more amazing that the people at Harper Collins thought this book would appeal to a mass audience. Do their editors only read the introduction and conclusion?
The first obvious criticism is that this is not a book on how to read the Bible. The second chapter is a rambling narrative about how Martin Luther King, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, J.R.R. Tolkien, and lesser celebrities found inspiration from the Bible, rather than bumper-sticker slogans simplifying complex stories into a few words. The final chapter develops this further. Indeed, the last chapter has some redemptive value because Wilson actually focuses on the Bible. Although by the last chapter, most readers must have realized that the author has some strong anti-religious bias.
I think it is fair to say that Wilson is an atheist; not just an agnostic. During the few places he does discuss the Bible, he is positive. It is an amazing and impressive work of art. However, he argues time and again that men, not God wrote the texts. He demonstrates this through authority appeal. By name-dropping recognizable authors and scholars who question key aspects of the texts, he stops short of endorsing their positions. I have never read anything by William Blake or Northrup Frye. I have heard of them. I have no evidence apart from Wilson that they challenged dogma by questioning transubstantiation or the relationship between Easter and the Jewish Passover. In several places throughout the book, Wilson even goes so far as to question whether Jesus was a real human being or if he was just a literary creation.
When he begins the last chapter he asks rhetorically if someone who customarily reads the Bible literally learned anything from the book, he is not asking the average Baptist reader. His audience is obviously a small circle of highly educated intelligentsia, maybe even a personal clique. A lot of the book rests on the reader's interpretation of "L," the posthumous co-author. Judging by most reviews, most people find her inclusion mystifying. She pops up again and again in odd places usually as an eccentric scholar or homeless vagabond. She may be a literary creation in the same mold as Wilson's interpretation of Jesus Christ. The conclusion does draw some similarities between the two of them. The communication between "L" and Wilson resembles the stories of other intangible and semi-divine beings communicating with authors like Boethius and Philosophy, Moses and God, Job and God, and so-forth. It is like point-counterpoint.
Overall, I learned very little. What little I did learn was from the two chapters (seven total) discussing the Bible. It is interesting that the great humanitarians of the Twentieth Century drew inspiration from the Bible, specifically Psalms. It is interesting that there is some conversation about whether Jesus Christ was a historical person or a literary construct. It is interesting that analysis of the different books indicated multiple authors from diverse viewpoints. However, the overall book is more of a eulogy to "L" than anything else. It is more amazing that the people at Harper Collins thought this book would appeal to a mass audience. Do their editors only read the introduction and conclusion?
July 12, 2015
Despite the subtitle of A N Wilson's The Book of the People: How to Read the Bible, this is not a book about how to read the Bible. A history of sorts telling us how various people (and peoples) have read it and how it helped causes like that of Martin Luther King (not to mention Martin Luther . . .), the book is really a kind of promise fulfilled to a friend, a woman friend called "L." A promise to look into who wrote the Bible and why the books that have become canonical were chosen.
Like all of Wilson's books, this one is about Wilson. But also like all of his books, it's entertaining, informative, and in some ways puzzling. I always come away wanting to read something else he has talked about. The author describes his short book thus: "It's a book, in part, about what we have done to ourselves, as a culture either by neglecting the Bible or by making it an offensive weapon with which to attack people with whom we disagree."
One of those is "H," whom Wilson visits in Washington, DC, a noted anti-religious debater, sent over the edge when his friend, Salman Rushdie, found himself with a bounty on his head and went into hiding for years. Without contradicting H's arguments, Wilson appeals to everyone to read the Bible because,
It is the text of all texts, the book which underlies almost all of the great works of Western literature from the time of its compilation, until the Enlightenment and beyond. Without a knowledge of it, the great portion of Western architecture is incomprehensible. It is the key which unlocks the work of nearly all the painters, from Giotto to Blake. It is the libretto of Bach and Hayden and Beethoven."
So who is "L"? We learn she is a composite, but surely that multiple character includes Wilson's early mentor, Iris Murdoch. "H" is obviously Christopher Hitchens.
Like all of Wilson's books, this one is about Wilson. But also like all of his books, it's entertaining, informative, and in some ways puzzling. I always come away wanting to read something else he has talked about. The author describes his short book thus: "It's a book, in part, about what we have done to ourselves, as a culture either by neglecting the Bible or by making it an offensive weapon with which to attack people with whom we disagree."
One of those is "H," whom Wilson visits in Washington, DC, a noted anti-religious debater, sent over the edge when his friend, Salman Rushdie, found himself with a bounty on his head and went into hiding for years. Without contradicting H's arguments, Wilson appeals to everyone to read the Bible because,
It is the text of all texts, the book which underlies almost all of the great works of Western literature from the time of its compilation, until the Enlightenment and beyond. Without a knowledge of it, the great portion of Western architecture is incomprehensible. It is the key which unlocks the work of nearly all the painters, from Giotto to Blake. It is the libretto of Bach and Hayden and Beethoven."
So who is "L"? We learn she is a composite, but surely that multiple character includes Wilson's early mentor, Iris Murdoch. "H" is obviously Christopher Hitchens.
April 6, 2021
I am a huge A N Wilson fan. I love the way he triumphs over scientific materialism, calling it ‘bleak and muddled’. I relish his insights into the complex incursions of faith into human history. The story of his journey from faith to atheism and back to faith (which I have read elsewhere) is inspirational yet humble.
But I struggled with this book and, consequently, took two months to finish it. I disagreed with many of Wilson’s conclusions about history and dates and the ordinary faith of ordinary Christians on ordinary streets, for whom I strongly suspect this book was not written. It is a very clever book indeed, and comes directly from the hallowed halls of universities whose modes of thought I struggle with. My level of academia lies on a plane much nearer to earth, I verily believe.
A N Wilson, however, has a friend he refers to as L. – whose book, he says, is as much hers as his– and I did relate to her. Like L., I don’t need definite answers. I am content to wonder about the Bible and I know that God breaks the rules. As one of my friends, recently gone to heaven, said, ‘He’s God, right? He can do what he likes.’
Perhaps Wilson’s book is a personal journey back to faith. Its complicated concepts may be very useful for people travelling that road. They would relate to Wilson’s search for answers about the nature of the Bible.
I confess to being baffled by Wilson’s need to muse at length about authors who query whether Jesus existed or not, when both author and reader must have read Tacitus, Suetonius, Pliny and Josephus who bear witness to Jesus’ historical presence. Likewise, I don’t agree that ‘the gospels do not yield up much in the way of historical evidence.’ My experience is the opposite. St Luke, to give one example of many, was known to be a perfectionist in dates and evidence, and something of an historical bloodhound.
I disagree as well with Wilson’s view that the Bible was written only half a dozen centuries before Christ, firstly because Exodus 24:4 reads, ‘Moses wrote all the words of the Lord’, and Moses led the Exodus from Egypt at least 700 years earlier, possibly more, depending on your interpretation of Egyptian chronology. But secondly, it irritates me when modern writers think ancient people weren’t as clever as they are. Willian Barclay is a case in point. His 1950’s (aka Science Can Explain Everything) rendering of the Conversion of St Paul reads like a physics textbook.
Likewise, I am baffled as to why Wilson would put this opinion in the mouth of poor Job: 10:22, death ‘is the end. There is nothing beyond it.’ In the Greek of my Septuagint, Job explains that, when he dies, he will go ‘to a land of eternal darkness.’ Why does Wilson interpret this so definitely as The End, particularly when the Greek verb refers to ‘travelling’ or ‘journeying’, and conveys the sense that Job is going somewhere? It is also worth noting that to the Old Testament writers, this ‘Sheol’ is often spoken of in gloomy terms – a place from which one wishes to escape, ‘therefore my heart rejoices… because you will not leave my soul in Sheol.’ Psalm 16:10.
Things that seem normal to me, Wilson finds strange. (Perhaps this is because he is literary and I have a science degree.) For instance, he explains at length how odd it is to him that the New Testament, which he believes reads like a literary construct from the Old, is allegedly based on the evidence of witnesses. ‘The Bible is itself a work of the imagination,’ he writes. (Strange that I have been reading the Bible for 50 years, and this has never once occurred to me.) It is very important, when reading Wilson’s book to remember that these are his opinions. On the other hand, I have read a Catholic complaint that low church Protestants treat the Bible like a meteor that fell to earth fully formed.
After all the debate and discussion, Wilson’s concluding chapter reminds us that knowledge of the Bible is the key to understanding Western art, music, literature and architecture, and I believe that this is of far greater significance to the present secular generation who have grown up without it. The Bible’s ‘well-known words have nourished and sustained countless human lives.’
Nevertheless, many inspirational moments uplift me, such as Wilson’s discourses on Martin Luther King and the African Americans who, cruelly enslaved, saw the Bible ‘as filled with symbolic and collective significance.’ ‘They are the ones who knew how to read the Bible.’
Finally, here’s something for your next Bible study. Wilson explains that the gods of the ancient world ‘are all proper nouns. The true God is a verb....Yahweh, the Great I AM.’ One can’t argue the nonexistence of a verb. ‘That is why conversations about whether God exists are always nonsensical.’
But I struggled with this book and, consequently, took two months to finish it. I disagreed with many of Wilson’s conclusions about history and dates and the ordinary faith of ordinary Christians on ordinary streets, for whom I strongly suspect this book was not written. It is a very clever book indeed, and comes directly from the hallowed halls of universities whose modes of thought I struggle with. My level of academia lies on a plane much nearer to earth, I verily believe.
A N Wilson, however, has a friend he refers to as L. – whose book, he says, is as much hers as his– and I did relate to her. Like L., I don’t need definite answers. I am content to wonder about the Bible and I know that God breaks the rules. As one of my friends, recently gone to heaven, said, ‘He’s God, right? He can do what he likes.’
Perhaps Wilson’s book is a personal journey back to faith. Its complicated concepts may be very useful for people travelling that road. They would relate to Wilson’s search for answers about the nature of the Bible.
I confess to being baffled by Wilson’s need to muse at length about authors who query whether Jesus existed or not, when both author and reader must have read Tacitus, Suetonius, Pliny and Josephus who bear witness to Jesus’ historical presence. Likewise, I don’t agree that ‘the gospels do not yield up much in the way of historical evidence.’ My experience is the opposite. St Luke, to give one example of many, was known to be a perfectionist in dates and evidence, and something of an historical bloodhound.
I disagree as well with Wilson’s view that the Bible was written only half a dozen centuries before Christ, firstly because Exodus 24:4 reads, ‘Moses wrote all the words of the Lord’, and Moses led the Exodus from Egypt at least 700 years earlier, possibly more, depending on your interpretation of Egyptian chronology. But secondly, it irritates me when modern writers think ancient people weren’t as clever as they are. Willian Barclay is a case in point. His 1950’s (aka Science Can Explain Everything) rendering of the Conversion of St Paul reads like a physics textbook.
Likewise, I am baffled as to why Wilson would put this opinion in the mouth of poor Job: 10:22, death ‘is the end. There is nothing beyond it.’ In the Greek of my Septuagint, Job explains that, when he dies, he will go ‘to a land of eternal darkness.’ Why does Wilson interpret this so definitely as The End, particularly when the Greek verb refers to ‘travelling’ or ‘journeying’, and conveys the sense that Job is going somewhere? It is also worth noting that to the Old Testament writers, this ‘Sheol’ is often spoken of in gloomy terms – a place from which one wishes to escape, ‘therefore my heart rejoices… because you will not leave my soul in Sheol.’ Psalm 16:10.
Things that seem normal to me, Wilson finds strange. (Perhaps this is because he is literary and I have a science degree.) For instance, he explains at length how odd it is to him that the New Testament, which he believes reads like a literary construct from the Old, is allegedly based on the evidence of witnesses. ‘The Bible is itself a work of the imagination,’ he writes. (Strange that I have been reading the Bible for 50 years, and this has never once occurred to me.) It is very important, when reading Wilson’s book to remember that these are his opinions. On the other hand, I have read a Catholic complaint that low church Protestants treat the Bible like a meteor that fell to earth fully formed.
After all the debate and discussion, Wilson’s concluding chapter reminds us that knowledge of the Bible is the key to understanding Western art, music, literature and architecture, and I believe that this is of far greater significance to the present secular generation who have grown up without it. The Bible’s ‘well-known words have nourished and sustained countless human lives.’
Nevertheless, many inspirational moments uplift me, such as Wilson’s discourses on Martin Luther King and the African Americans who, cruelly enslaved, saw the Bible ‘as filled with symbolic and collective significance.’ ‘They are the ones who knew how to read the Bible.’
Finally, here’s something for your next Bible study. Wilson explains that the gods of the ancient world ‘are all proper nouns. The true God is a verb....Yahweh, the Great I AM.’ One can’t argue the nonexistence of a verb. ‘That is why conversations about whether God exists are always nonsensical.’
June 16, 2020
This is a very interesting book that looks at the Bible from a number of perspectives. In some respects it's a meditation on what the author knows and doesn't know, with some some personal experiences and encounters.
Predominantly, the latter is with a composite figure he calls "L" who drops in and out of his life with her experiences and views on what the Bible is and how it should be understood.Here's also discussions with a person he calls "H", who appears to be the late Christopher Hitchens.
The author is critical of what he calls fundamentalists of any kind – believers or non-believers – considering both groups to be rigid in their views and not able to see past their judgements. I found this congenial, not being a believer but interested in the topic of religion in general and the beliefs surrounding this book. In fact, I think that readers need to have some knowledge in this area, so they can understand what Wilson is on about. In my view, his knowledge is impressive and he is aware of the controversies, and discusses them well.
There are several quotations from the Bible and also from other writers, poets usually and it seems that this area is where he wants to locate it, focusing on what people have done with it: music, singing, chanting, buildings and so on; political activism. There's some discussion on whether the characters in the Bible actually existed, an issue of personal interest and ultimately Wilson thinks that doesn't matter.
This was a predominantly easy read, quite emotional at times. The author has aimed to have a quiet discussion, not talking at the reader, or engaging in a rant on some issue or other. I think he succeeds, even though he asks a lot of tough questions, to homself and others.
Predominantly, the latter is with a composite figure he calls "L" who drops in and out of his life with her experiences and views on what the Bible is and how it should be understood.Here's also discussions with a person he calls "H", who appears to be the late Christopher Hitchens.
The author is critical of what he calls fundamentalists of any kind – believers or non-believers – considering both groups to be rigid in their views and not able to see past their judgements. I found this congenial, not being a believer but interested in the topic of religion in general and the beliefs surrounding this book. In fact, I think that readers need to have some knowledge in this area, so they can understand what Wilson is on about. In my view, his knowledge is impressive and he is aware of the controversies, and discusses them well.
There are several quotations from the Bible and also from other writers, poets usually and it seems that this area is where he wants to locate it, focusing on what people have done with it: music, singing, chanting, buildings and so on; political activism. There's some discussion on whether the characters in the Bible actually existed, an issue of personal interest and ultimately Wilson thinks that doesn't matter.
This was a predominantly easy read, quite emotional at times. The author has aimed to have a quiet discussion, not talking at the reader, or engaging in a rant on some issue or other. I think he succeeds, even though he asks a lot of tough questions, to homself and others.
February 4, 2021
Toward the end of the book, Wilson quotes Jeanette Winterson quoting her mother: "The trouble with a book is that you never know what's in it until it's too late." That quote summarizes Wilson's book for me. As many have already noted, the title it hideously misleading. I wish I would have put the book down as soon as I realized that this was in fact not a book on how to read the Bible. Instead, Wilson combines memoir, history, and [heretical depending on who you ask] religion into a treatise on why Christian fundamentalists and their atheist fundamentalist counterparts* should reject a literal reading of the Bible and instead focus on how the Bible can help people interpret art, create art, and make the world a better place where people aren't always fighting over religion.
If you reading this review think that the above is a good idea, then this book is for you. Beware, though, because as a Christian only moderately aware of the kind of theological arguments, figures, and vocabulary they teach in seminaries, I had difficulty understanding the points Wilson was trying to make due to my not being a theologically-trained academic. Therefore, I'm still not quite sure who Wilson thinks his audience is. Surely no fundamentalist atheist or Christian would know half the theological or artistic references he makes.
On the point of L--and the other people Wilson identifies with only an initial--I didn't mind that much. My favorite parts of the book were the the excerpts from L's notes and letters. At least from the picture Wilson paints of her, she seems to have had a way better grasp of the Bible than he does. In the end, I would have rather read the book L said she was trying to write than this one.
Once I got into the rhythm of Wilson's writing and at least partly understood what he was saying, I considered giving this book two stars. Indeed, perhaps this review sounds more like a two-star review. However, I cannot get over the misleading nature of the title, the pretentious writing, and the way I just couldn't seem to place the genre or audience. One star it is then.
*If there was one good idea I gleaned from the book, it was the idea of atheist fundamentalists who reject the Bible and Christianity for the same reasons that fundamentalist Christians hold to it (by reading the Bible as a literal rule book). I think there would be a lot fewer atheists in the world if more people considered the spectrum of interpreting the Bible, from literal fundamentalists to people like Wilson (though the book is fuzzy on whether he still considers himself Christian).
If you reading this review think that the above is a good idea, then this book is for you. Beware, though, because as a Christian only moderately aware of the kind of theological arguments, figures, and vocabulary they teach in seminaries, I had difficulty understanding the points Wilson was trying to make due to my not being a theologically-trained academic. Therefore, I'm still not quite sure who Wilson thinks his audience is. Surely no fundamentalist atheist or Christian would know half the theological or artistic references he makes.
On the point of L--and the other people Wilson identifies with only an initial--I didn't mind that much. My favorite parts of the book were the the excerpts from L's notes and letters. At least from the picture Wilson paints of her, she seems to have had a way better grasp of the Bible than he does. In the end, I would have rather read the book L said she was trying to write than this one.
Once I got into the rhythm of Wilson's writing and at least partly understood what he was saying, I considered giving this book two stars. Indeed, perhaps this review sounds more like a two-star review. However, I cannot get over the misleading nature of the title, the pretentious writing, and the way I just couldn't seem to place the genre or audience. One star it is then.
*If there was one good idea I gleaned from the book, it was the idea of atheist fundamentalists who reject the Bible and Christianity for the same reasons that fundamentalist Christians hold to it (by reading the Bible as a literal rule book). I think there would be a lot fewer atheists in the world if more people considered the spectrum of interpreting the Bible, from literal fundamentalists to people like Wilson (though the book is fuzzy on whether he still considers himself Christian).
November 25, 2023
Wilson believes that the Bible should be taken seriously in the 21st century. Making this argument interesting is that he argues from the perspective of someone who does not claim a faith tradition. Throughout the course of the book, he challenges the way fundamentalists interpret the Scripture. In doing so, he widens the definition of fundamentalism to incorporate both religious and irreligious. He critiques the way that both religious and irreligious people have misused the Bible. For the former, the mistake is to use it as a means of abuse and violence against enemies. For the latter, the mistake is to overlook the magnitude of Scripture's influence on significant historical movements and human achievements. Wilson gives several examples of modern "interpreters" of Scripture. Scripture inspired American civil rights leaders in the 1960s. Writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote from his Christian Orthodox background to speak sharply against the abuses of Communist Russia and Stalinist repression. Wilson also argues that in addition to human movements, cultural artifacts are interpretations of Scripture. The architecture of the Church of Holy Wisdom in Istanbul and Michelangelo's fresco contributions in the Sistine Chapel both represent interpretations of Scripture. Wilson's academic background in journalism helps the narrative flow well, credited to the way he weaves his argument alongside his personal narrative. Providing a background to his argument is his decades-long correspondence with a fellow student he meets in university whose book on "How to Read the Bible" remains chronically unfinished. His conversations with her over the decades primarily center on the nature of Scripture. Although Wilson's friend never finishes her book, Wilson credits much of his reflections on Scripture to his conversations with her. In short, Wilson argues that the Christian Scripture cannot be understood as fitting into a single genre. From the historical books, to the prophetic books, to the books of wisdom to the gospels - each large grouping of books represents multiple genres, from literature to myth to narrative to poetry. In his own way, Wilson is an apologist for Scripture while avoiding the evangelical tendency toward exaggerated and pushy apologetics. Wilson was short, quippy and refreshing. It was a good overview of Scripture who I would recommend to anyone.
April 18, 2018
A rambly, meditative memoir with a slightly misleading title.
But no less lovely for all that, if you're into religious memoirs. The story actually revolves around the author's friendship with a woman identified only as L., a university friend who popped in and out of his life at odd times to talk about the Bible. L wanted to write a book that would help people understand the Bible better; Wilson, for his part, was a skeptic when he first met L., and only became a believer later. Her thoughts and notes on faith -- she shared her drafts with Wilson from time to time -- were part of what convinced him, eventually, to believe.
So: this isn't so much a book about how to read the Bible as it is a book about how WILSON came to learn to read the Bible, courtesy of L. It's a bit dry in places and slightly snobby in others, but if you're a believing (or recovering) Christian, you may very well be charmed by it. An optional purchase, but fine for larger collections where demand for religious memoir is high.
But no less lovely for all that, if you're into religious memoirs. The story actually revolves around the author's friendship with a woman identified only as L., a university friend who popped in and out of his life at odd times to talk about the Bible. L wanted to write a book that would help people understand the Bible better; Wilson, for his part, was a skeptic when he first met L., and only became a believer later. Her thoughts and notes on faith -- she shared her drafts with Wilson from time to time -- were part of what convinced him, eventually, to believe.
So: this isn't so much a book about how to read the Bible as it is a book about how WILSON came to learn to read the Bible, courtesy of L. It's a bit dry in places and slightly snobby in others, but if you're a believing (or recovering) Christian, you may very well be charmed by it. An optional purchase, but fine for larger collections where demand for religious memoir is high.
May 12, 2018
I picked this up while scanning used books as a volunteer for our local library--looking for ones with monetary value. The title was intriguing to me. I will keep the book and look through parts of it again. The gimmick of Wilson's communicating with L was confusing and distracting but maybe that made it the narrative non-fiction --inserting his story. Actually his story would be interesting to read. I think he said he had a conversion to atheism like Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus and then had a conversion back to Christianity of a slower more deliberate kind.
I had not heard of A.N. Wilson and then today I picked up Barbara Pym's Excellent Women and see that he wrote the introduction to the recently published paperback.
Maybe his main point is that the Bible is a living book that has inspired art, writing, music--and it is not a work of archaeology to be torn apart.
I had not heard of A.N. Wilson and then today I picked up Barbara Pym's Excellent Women and see that he wrote the introduction to the recently published paperback.
Maybe his main point is that the Bible is a living book that has inspired art, writing, music--and it is not a work of archaeology to be torn apart.
September 11, 2020
I rate books based on my enjoyment of them and the quality of the writing. I don’t agree with Wilson on his “thesis” on how the Bible should be read (which is not new) but this was an interesting book written in quite a unique format. I didn’t understand why he had to use mystery Initials “L” and “H” for two individuals quoted in the book, particularly when it was abundantly clear who “H” was. I don’t know whether we are supposed to have an idea who L was - I certainly don’t! But she seemed to have the same ishy-squishy, “I’m too well read” approach to the Bible.
January 31, 2025
Wilson has a way of writing about a subject that is personal and grounded. It’s faith filled without being cheap or superficial. This book is more a testimonial of approaching the Bible than a primer on reading it. While he draws on various scholars it is not an overly bookish approach filled with footnotes or arcane minutiae.
I liked the whole book especially his treatment of Job. The use of L, Kia fleeting friend gives it an intriguing side story of interest. The whole thing just worked for me.
I liked the whole book especially his treatment of Job. The use of L, Kia fleeting friend gives it an intriguing side story of interest. The whole thing just worked for me.
December 26, 2016
That was a fairly inessential attempt to get ready to read the Bible this year. If you use it as a science book, it won't work. If you use it for a history book it mostly won't work. If you're excited to tell people you found justification for what you already believe, it won't work.
It's an obscure book that has a lot to offer if it's taken the right way,
yeah yeah yeah,
I'm reading it anyway. Mostly just to say I have, and to hit the parts believers never talk about.
It's an obscure book that has a lot to offer if it's taken the right way,
yeah yeah yeah,
I'm reading it anyway. Mostly just to say I have, and to hit the parts believers never talk about.
January 8, 2025
Reading this book, I gather A.N.Wilson does not believe that the Bible is the Word of God. Neither does he accept its authority. He also does not accept the divinity of Jesus or the supremacy of Jehovah.
Generally, I think he critically examines the Bible as a piece of politicised literature. His starting point is that it is a work of some men's imagination.
The book title is misleading, especially to those who intend to read the Bible with a view to live it out.
Generally, I think he critically examines the Bible as a piece of politicised literature. His starting point is that it is a work of some men's imagination.
The book title is misleading, especially to those who intend to read the Bible with a view to live it out.
January 3, 2020
Well worth reading, though it is an idiosyncratic book, it is a encouragement to read the Bible imaginatively, seeking the layers and the poetry of the text, rather than the dry pseudo-scientific approach of some (many?) modern biblical scholars. It is a call to read the Scriptures as ‘literary constructs and saving texts, aglow with living fire.’
January 19, 2018
Heavy book, I had to read it in installments. If you just read one chapter, read The Rebirth of Images. This was so insightful and refreshing, especially if you get easily bogged down with the inerrancy-dictatorial trope that permeates most Christian culture today.
November 30, 2020
Well written and intrigiung, demonstrates that to appreciate the Bible properly you shouldn't take it literally. Even those on the margins of the Christian faith should find something for them in this book.
July 22, 2023
I feel encouraged and hopeful. Delighted in the permission I have received from this author to be a more ‘imaginative’ reader of the Bible. A sort of pamphlet on what you might find if you wander i to open spaces.
Want to read
December 27, 2016I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14338062
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14338062
April 28, 2020
Brilliant read!!
December 25, 2016
Perhaps two stars is harsh. In terms of style, Wilson shines in this work; he effortlessly moves from history, literary theory, and theology to personal reflection and back. However, Wilson's content is largely unconvincing. I will limit my critique to a few brief points:
(1) The title and subtitle reveals the work's confused identity: the title rings true but the subtitle is misleading. This book is certainly no hermeneutic and is really a blend of hagiography, telling us about those who've used the Bible in the past, and history, both Wilson's personal journey with the Bible as well as its use throughout the years.
(2) Developing the above point. Wilson offers little help for reading and understanding the Bible. Essentially Wilson argues from experience, mysticism, imagination, and reader-response theory. At points Wilson appeals to an inner unity but his subjective emphasis doesn't really allow for and ultimately denies any coherent or clear message.
(3) Contradicting the above approach, one of Wilson's repeated ideas is that the Bible is an atheistic text, which pushes us past religion and manmade ideas about god. Being a theological student, I found this position laughable.
(4) Wilson tells us that the Gospels aren't reliable history because they were written by the believing community. It's an odd point to make, especially since Richard Bauckham is included in his list for further reading. But it's just poor historiography. Do we disbelieve anything Americans write about WW2 because they were the victors? I'm sure Wilson is aware that neutrality - in both writing and reading - is a myth. But no good historian thinks that denies the possibility of true history.
(5) Finally, Wilson boldly wields source criticism when dealing with the Old Testament (which boils down to little more than a guessing game, randomly assigning the letters J, E, D, and P to different parts of the text, barely distinguishable from the embarrassing faux scholarship of the Jesus Seminar) yet pleads ignorance or purports impossibility concerning the historical Jesus of the Gospels. The former claims something akin to omniscience regarding what's behind the Old Testament texts while the latter denies seeing anything behind the New.
This is a rushed review, written on my phone late at night so please forgive me for inadequately developed points. I'm always happy for further discussion
(1) The title and subtitle reveals the work's confused identity: the title rings true but the subtitle is misleading. This book is certainly no hermeneutic and is really a blend of hagiography, telling us about those who've used the Bible in the past, and history, both Wilson's personal journey with the Bible as well as its use throughout the years.
(2) Developing the above point. Wilson offers little help for reading and understanding the Bible. Essentially Wilson argues from experience, mysticism, imagination, and reader-response theory. At points Wilson appeals to an inner unity but his subjective emphasis doesn't really allow for and ultimately denies any coherent or clear message.
(3) Contradicting the above approach, one of Wilson's repeated ideas is that the Bible is an atheistic text, which pushes us past religion and manmade ideas about god. Being a theological student, I found this position laughable.
(4) Wilson tells us that the Gospels aren't reliable history because they were written by the believing community. It's an odd point to make, especially since Richard Bauckham is included in his list for further reading. But it's just poor historiography. Do we disbelieve anything Americans write about WW2 because they were the victors? I'm sure Wilson is aware that neutrality - in both writing and reading - is a myth. But no good historian thinks that denies the possibility of true history.
(5) Finally, Wilson boldly wields source criticism when dealing with the Old Testament (which boils down to little more than a guessing game, randomly assigning the letters J, E, D, and P to different parts of the text, barely distinguishable from the embarrassing faux scholarship of the Jesus Seminar) yet pleads ignorance or purports impossibility concerning the historical Jesus of the Gospels. The former claims something akin to omniscience regarding what's behind the Old Testament texts while the latter denies seeing anything behind the New.
This is a rushed review, written on my phone late at night so please forgive me for inadequately developed points. I'm always happy for further discussion
November 2, 2016
Today's nonfiction post is on The Book of the People: How to Read the Bible by A. N. Wilson. It is 244 pages long including notes and is published by Harper Collins. The cover is red fresco of Saints. The intended reader is someone interested in a casual history of the Bible. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.
From the back of the book - From renowned historian, biographer and novelist, A.N. Wilson, a deep personal, literary, and historical exploration of the Bible.
In The Book of the People, A. N. Wilson explores how readers and thinkers have approached the Bible, and how it might be read today. Charting his own relationship with the Bible over a lifetime of writing, Wilson argues that it remains relevant even in a largely secular society, as a philosophical work, a work of literature, and a cultural touchstone that the western world has answered to for nearly two thousand years: Martin Luther King was "reading the Bible" when he started the Civil Rights movement, and when Michelangelo painted the fresco cycles in the Sistine Chapel, he was "reading the Bible." Wilson challenges the way fundamentalists—whether believers or non-believers—have misused the Bible, either by neglecting and failing to recognize its cultural significance, or by using it as a weapon against those with whom they disagree.
Erudite, witty and accessible, The Book of the People seeks to reclaim the Good Book as our seminal work of literature, and a book for the imagination.
Review- This was a strange book about the author, a friend of his, and where the Bible met between them. Wilson takes the reader from the beginning of the Bible and his friendship with the mysterious L all the way to end the gospels. Now Wilson does not go from a to b but jumps around from book to book and story to story. You would think that would make it interesting but it is not. The only parts of this book that I enjoyed were the parts with L. She was interesting but the rest of this book was boring. I was bored reading about Wilson's personal interpretations of the Bible and it's stories. I was bored reading about all the travel that Wilson has done. I look forward to seeing L, reading her words, and I was sad when I read of her death. If the above sounds interesting or fun to you then try this book. If not then do not read it.
I give this books Two out of Five stars. I was given this book to review by Harper Collins.
From the back of the book - From renowned historian, biographer and novelist, A.N. Wilson, a deep personal, literary, and historical exploration of the Bible.
In The Book of the People, A. N. Wilson explores how readers and thinkers have approached the Bible, and how it might be read today. Charting his own relationship with the Bible over a lifetime of writing, Wilson argues that it remains relevant even in a largely secular society, as a philosophical work, a work of literature, and a cultural touchstone that the western world has answered to for nearly two thousand years: Martin Luther King was "reading the Bible" when he started the Civil Rights movement, and when Michelangelo painted the fresco cycles in the Sistine Chapel, he was "reading the Bible." Wilson challenges the way fundamentalists—whether believers or non-believers—have misused the Bible, either by neglecting and failing to recognize its cultural significance, or by using it as a weapon against those with whom they disagree.
Erudite, witty and accessible, The Book of the People seeks to reclaim the Good Book as our seminal work of literature, and a book for the imagination.
Review- This was a strange book about the author, a friend of his, and where the Bible met between them. Wilson takes the reader from the beginning of the Bible and his friendship with the mysterious L all the way to end the gospels. Now Wilson does not go from a to b but jumps around from book to book and story to story. You would think that would make it interesting but it is not. The only parts of this book that I enjoyed were the parts with L. She was interesting but the rest of this book was boring. I was bored reading about Wilson's personal interpretations of the Bible and it's stories. I was bored reading about all the travel that Wilson has done. I look forward to seeing L, reading her words, and I was sad when I read of her death. If the above sounds interesting or fun to you then try this book. If not then do not read it.
I give this books Two out of Five stars. I was given this book to review by Harper Collins.
April 1, 2016
The master story-teller is deliberately oblique and conversational here, adamant not to seem to harangue or preach. His use of an old friend, the late ‘L.’, who provided for him the pretext to write the book and many of his ideas, works very well. I think I have been taught something about the nature of the Bible even though I needed no encouragement to take it seriously. The Bible is the ‘book of the people’ in that it is a living document, or set of documents that chronicle not facts but belief, and mankind’s sense of itself in relation to God. It’s mythology, poetry, metaphor cannot be proven or disproven, much like the search for the historical Jesus is a wild goose chase. It is humanity in all its diversity. The readers over the ages have been the writers as ancient themes are taken up for instance in the depiction of Jesus. ‘L’ writes to the author p 174 that the Bible is ‘partly the gift of God to his people, but also the gift of the people to God. They have fashioned it. They have read it.’ A.N.Wilson does a good job making fundamentalists of both the religious and secular variety look pretty stupid treating the Bible as a once-off precept as opposed to the mosaic rich with meaning that it is. I’m encouraged to read he finds in his own spirituality more to Jesus than Tolstoy tried to reduce him to. The more I think about the way the central claims of the Christian church — the living church that preceded the writing of the Gospels — have remained held together by the testimony of two millennia, it seems to me folly to conclude they all weren't really onto something from the very beginning.
April 17, 2016
An unexpected and idiosyncratic approach to writing about the Bible that works very well once you adapt to the fact that this is as much a memoir about A.N. Wilson's faith journey and friendship with a somewhat mythologised figure called 'L.', as it is an exposition of his thinking about the Bible. The structure and tone is therefore unique and clever. Wilson's more profound passages are often framed inside a singular descriptions involving travel, dialogues with L, encounters with art and music. and consumption of French champagne. This approach works surprisingly well and keeps the reader engaged as Wilson progresses through broardly themed discussions of the various genres of biblical writing.
Of course, questions remained unanswered, loose ends are not necessarily tied up, but that seems to be how Wilson has decided he likes it. He is up front about how his own views on religion and the Bible have changed significantly over time and one suspects, will continue to change and develop, which is part of the point of the Bible as inspired and inspiring.
The last chapter is something of an exception to this rule and is where Wilson is most transparent about where his thinking about the Bible now sits. All together, this is a very stimulating read. Not for everyone, but honest and thought-provoking.
Of course, questions remained unanswered, loose ends are not necessarily tied up, but that seems to be how Wilson has decided he likes it. He is up front about how his own views on religion and the Bible have changed significantly over time and one suspects, will continue to change and develop, which is part of the point of the Bible as inspired and inspiring.
The last chapter is something of an exception to this rule and is where Wilson is most transparent about where his thinking about the Bible now sits. All together, this is a very stimulating read. Not for everyone, but honest and thought-provoking.
July 10, 2016
Transformative and enjoyable to read.
Personally, reading A.N. Wilson's book occurred at the right time when I was at a spiritual and intellectual crossroads about how to read and understand the Bible. As a queer woman, I am alive at an interesting place and time in which the Bible has been used to devalue my identity, which I am advocating to make equal in regard with men and heterosexuals. I was wondering if I had to go to seminary to figure out if God really did love gays and women, but reading this put me at ease somewhat about the existential crisis I had about the "truth" of the Bible.
Wilson is witty and writes with British humor. His main point is a timely one, in that the 'mainstream' literal (American Protestant/Catholic) way we read the Bible today is not really how people have absorbed and understood the Bible throughout history. This does not mean that Jesus is solely a literary construct, but that the way we analyze history is not necessarily the way people have analyzed the words of the Bible.
Genuinely fun, highly recommend if you are in a similar state of spiritual/intellectual confusion as I was.
Personally, reading A.N. Wilson's book occurred at the right time when I was at a spiritual and intellectual crossroads about how to read and understand the Bible. As a queer woman, I am alive at an interesting place and time in which the Bible has been used to devalue my identity, which I am advocating to make equal in regard with men and heterosexuals. I was wondering if I had to go to seminary to figure out if God really did love gays and women, but reading this put me at ease somewhat about the existential crisis I had about the "truth" of the Bible.
Wilson is witty and writes with British humor. His main point is a timely one, in that the 'mainstream' literal (American Protestant/Catholic) way we read the Bible today is not really how people have absorbed and understood the Bible throughout history. This does not mean that Jesus is solely a literary construct, but that the way we analyze history is not necessarily the way people have analyzed the words of the Bible.
Genuinely fun, highly recommend if you are in a similar state of spiritual/intellectual confusion as I was.
June 17, 2016
This book by Wilson was a joy to read. He takes you through his growth in learning how to read the Bible, what is in it, how to understand it. It is not a technical book at all and is interspersed with stories of life. He basically says that the Bible is not to be read with our preconceived notions, like a cookie cutter, and brushing off everything else that might argue with that position. He shows knowledge of recent studies in Biblical scholarship and understanding. I would say that he wants us to read the Bible with open eyes and minds and let the stories, the situations the "Myths" so to speak, speak to you. Interesting.
J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the Isms" "Wesley's Wars" "To Whom It May Concern" and "Tell Me About the United Methodist Church"
J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the Isms" "Wesley's Wars" "To Whom It May Concern" and "Tell Me About the United Methodist Church"
June 16, 2015
This is not a book which pushes religion at the reader at all.It treats the Bible more as a founding work of great literature It explains how the books of the Bible probably came to be written and collated,how the prophets embody a struggle common to all people, how the personality of Jesus could have come to be. It traces textual connections and themes between New and Old testaments and argues for everyone to read at least some of the Bible because so much of its stories and language lie at the roots of our culture- painting, stories, architecture, poetry and famous speeches eg Martin Luther King.
PLENTY OF FOOD FOR THOUGHT WITHIN ITS PAGES.
PLENTY OF FOOD FOR THOUGHT WITHIN ITS PAGES.
August 18, 2016
I gave this book two stars for false advertising as much as anything. This book is a literary memoir rather than a book about reading the Bible. A.N. Wilson may have had something interesting to say about the Bible but he couldn't get out of his own way. And giving people initials rather than names was just pretentious, especially when it was pretty obvious who they were supposed to be.
If you would actually like to read a book that is actually about reading the Bible I recommend How to Read the Bible by Harvey Cox.
If you would actually like to read a book that is actually about reading the Bible I recommend How to Read the Bible by Harvey Cox.
November 10, 2015
An interesting overview of the Bible and its place in our culture, especially in terms of influence on people like Martin Luther King, architecture like the church of Hagia Sophia and etc. The only thing I find odd is that, although Wilson is attacking how both religious fundamentalists and the New Atheists have "missed" the Bible by taking it literally, and that he went through a period of disbelief, there was some kind of ambiguity towards the character of Jesus and treating the Bible "literally" and treating the Bible as a kind of "fiction". But it is an interesting read.
December 26, 2016
I found this rather small book with a large subject to have great impact. The major starting point of this work is that the Bible is not to read as a work of literal meaning. It goes on to discuss the major parts of the Bible and several different ways to "read" it. The author uses Martin Luther King Jr.'s civil rights movement activism as an example of how one can read and live the Bible.
There is so much material here that was new to me. I really liked reading it and pondering its many messages.
There is so much material here that was new to me. I really liked reading it and pondering its many messages.
June 26, 2015
An intriguing book, about how the bible has been read & interpreted during the 1,500 (+) years of its existence.
Various chapters discuss different books of the bible. Through this though, is threaded the story of an unusual friendship.
And - I am grateful for having being introduced to the Gelineau Psalmody, which I'd never heard of before.
I have to agree with Wilson's conclusion that knowledge of the Bible is vital for our understanding of Western literature and art.
Various chapters discuss different books of the bible. Through this though, is threaded the story of an unusual friendship.
And - I am grateful for having being introduced to the Gelineau Psalmody, which I'd never heard of before.
I have to agree with Wilson's conclusion that knowledge of the Bible is vital for our understanding of Western literature and art.
July 21, 2020
A strange book and not exactly what the title led me to expect. It's almost as much a tribute to Wilson's friend "L" as it is about the Bible. But along the way, Wilson presents a compelling vision of the Bible as an imaginative and transformative work that is more powerful than the fundamentalist vision of the Bible as literally true. I also appreciated his point that both Christians and atheists (at least some of them) read the Bible in a fundamentalist way and end up missing the point.
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