This book, unfortunately, does not live up to the title of my blog.
The subcaption of the title is The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible. As an archaeologist, it sounded like a very interesting thing to attempt. It was on my Amazon wishlist and was purchased for me by my sister as, I believe, a Christmas gift back a few years. I had several other books by the author on there too. Had.
This book divided me wholeheartedly. I would give it 2/5. The two stars are for some of the reflection that Jacobs did on religion and belief, and for some of his advisors along the way. One of the most interesting factoids that I took away from the book was the existence of the Jefferson Bible - here is how Jacobs described it, which has triggered enough interest in me to want to put this on my Amazon wishlist instead of Jacobs:
"[Jefferson] stripped away all the supernatural references [in the Bible]... Jefferson's idea was that Christ was a great moral philosopher. So Jefferson kept only Christ's moral teachings: forgiveness, loving thy neighbor, and striving for peace. He called them 'the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man.'" (p. 256)
Sounds like an awesome read.
The Year of Living Biblically also helped me to continue exploring two parallel issues in me. One is that I am not a religious person. The other is that I am fascinated by religious history and the history of the interaction of various belief systems. Jacobs, when discussing religion, keeps it legible for those of us who don't know it all, and makes it both interesting and relatable.
Jacobs' religious advisors along the way were all very wise and interesting to read about. I loved the perspective of Steven Greenberg, a gay rabbi that Jacobs chatted with. Here are his words, which I'd love for all of the people who use the Bible as an excuse for hate to read:
"Never blame a text from the Bible for your behavior. It's irresponsible. Anybody who says X, Y, and Z is in the Bible - it's as if one says 'I have no role in evaluating this.'" (p. 268)
Fantastic perspective, that people should really think, not just be sheep.
However.
He loses three stars for being a completely trite jerk, and for having one of the most unpleasant marriages I've ever had to read about . I'm shocked he wrote about it at all, to be honest.
My least favorite passage, one that still makes my skin crawl, is on pp. 273-275. He describes in detail how, in order to get back at his wife during spats, he keeps a damn list of her past mistakes on his phone. He literally says the following: "When I forgive, I file away the other person's wrongs for possible future use. It's forgiveness with an asterisk." There is no such thing as forgiveness with an asterisk, and it makes me want to stay ten feet away from him at all times, it's so slimy. His wife may laugh, as he states in the book, when he confesses about his list, but it just makes me squirm. Yuk.
His wife is no peach herself. While pregnant with twins, and her husband (our intrepid author) is interested in being intimate, her reply is "I can't think of anything I'd rather do less." (p. 285). Wow. I don't know if it's just my marriage, but I would never speak to my husband that way. She doesn't have to take him up on the offer, but being that mean about it? She also gags when Jacobs expresses how thankful he is for his family (p. 293). She just seems like the type of person that I would not want to be around.
Then there's her teary meltdown when she discovers that, in addition to her first son, she is pregnant with twin boys.
I have witnessed wonderful people struggle to conceive, despite their absolute desire to have children. They would be amazing parents, and it just won't happen for them. I've also known a woman who so wanted a girl that she would not hold her newborn second son. I am completely revolted by parents who are ungrateful for a healthy baby of either gender.
There's a lot here in this post. I had a lot of feelings around this book. I can say for sure that I don't want to read anymore of Jacobs' books, mostly because I find him and his wife to be such unsavoury people. But the religious part itself was enlightening, and enriching. So there you go - a very mixed review.
Title: The Year of Living Biblically - One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
Published: 2008
Pages: 332
Total Books Blogged: 19
Total Pages: 5846
