The Complete Bible Handbook [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION NTRODUCTION WHY is the Bible important? The immediate answer is simple: about three-quarters of the entire population of the world today believe that the Bible is the Word of Cod. Or if not that exactly, then they accept that it is a word from God, That seems obvious in the case of Jews and Christians. But many others, including Muslims, Bahais, Hindus, and Sikhs, have no doubt that the Bible comes from Cod. Muslims, it's true, think that Jews and Christians have muddled human words with the Word of Cod, but even so, they believe that the Bible, in origin, came from Cod. It's no surprise, therefore, to find the Bible at the heart of human lives in much of human history in many parts of the world: "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Ps. 119:105). Those words have been true for a countless multitude of people. The Bible has been an encouragement in times of hope, and a consolation in times of sorrow. It has inspired men and women to works of service in the world, and of generosity to each other. It has been a guide in times of perplexity and a direct line to Cod. THE BIBLE IN L1TER_ATLIR-E AND AR.T_ The Bible has also been a major source of language, and an inspiration for literature, music, and art. No other text has had so great an influence. Many writers in the past could assume a wide knowledge of the Bible, so that the Bible was used as a kind of common language. The result is that books and poems of the past, even those which seem to have little to do with religion, often cannot fully be understood without a knowledge of the Bible. Even the ways of writing were affected. The writers of biblical books, long before the Creek Herodotus {c. fifth century ECE), the so- called "father of history", realized that events belong to each other and tell a continuous story: time is not just one thing after another, but a story with meaning; in this way, they invented history. They realized also that, like Adam and Eve in the Garden, there is no point trying to hide from God (Gen. 3:8-9). "'Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?' declares the Lord" üer. 23:24). They therefore wrote the stories of even their greatest and godliest heroes with all their faults as well as their virtues. In doing this, they made certain that art and literature would be realistic. Not just the novel, but even soap operas on television and the in-depth, scandal-seeking biographies of the modern world, were born from the womb of the Bible. The same is true of art. The illustrations in this book alone show how deeply, and for how long a period, the Bible has been a challenge and an inspiration for artists around the world. Few direct illustrations of the time survive from so long ago, but this has simply set free the human imagination. A DANGEROUS BOOK_ So even for those who have no belief in God, the Bible remains an important book. That is why this Handbook is offered as a guide {see f.542). We need to understand the Bible, because the Bible did so much to form the world we live in. Not least because the Bible is also a very dangerous book. On the basis of the Bible, Christians have been murdering Jews for nearly two thousand years, and those who became the Jews have killed others in pursuit of a promised land. Of course, that has to be qualified: some Christians and some Jews. Even so, on the basis of the Bible, witches have been burned alive, homosexuals executed, children beaten, Africans shipped to slavery, women treated Ttie Judean Desert.