The Bible Burners

The aim of this book is to explore antagonism towards, and acts of violence against, English Bibles in England and Scotland (and, to a lesser degree, Ireland) from the English Civil War to the end of the eighteenth century. In this period, English Bibles were burnt, torn apart, thrown away and desecrated in theatrical and highly offensive ways. Soldiers and rebels, clergymen and laymen, believers and doubters expressed their views and emotions regarding the English Bible (or a particular English Bible) through violent gestures. Often, Bibles of other people and other denominations were burnt and desecrated; sometimes people burnt and destroyed their own Bibles. By focusing on violent gestures which expressed resentment, rejection and hatred, this book furthers our understanding of what the Bible meant for early modern Christians. More specifically, it suggests that religious identities in this period were not formed simply by the pious reading, study and contemplation of Scripture, but also through antagonistic encounters with both Scripture itself and the Bible as a material object.

A “masterful and eminently readable” journey through the fascinating insights and revelations of Biblical archeology (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Many of our religious beliefs are based on faith alone, but archaeology gives us the opportunity to find evidence about what really happened in the distant past—evidence that can have a dramatic impact on what and how we believe. In Digging Through the Bible, archaeologist and rabbi Richard Freund takes readers through digs he has led in the Holy Land, searching for evidence about key biblical characters and events. Digging Through the Bible presents overviews of the evidence surrounding figures such as Moses, Kings David and Solomon, and Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as new information that can help us more fully understand the life and times in which these people would have lived. Freund also presents new evidence about finding the grave of the Teacher of Righteousness mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls, and gives a compelling argument about how the Exodus of the Israelites may have taken place in three separate waves over time, rather than in a single event as presented in the Bible.

The aim of this book is to explore antagonism towards, and acts of violence against, English Bibles in England and Scotland (and, to a lesser degree, Ireland) from the English Civil War to the end of the eighteenth century. In this period, English Bibles were burnt, torn apart, thrown away and desecrated in theatrical and highly offensive ways. Soldiers and rebels, clergymen and laymen, believers and doubters expressed their views and emotions regarding the English Bible (or a particular English Bible) through violent gestures. Often, Bibles of other people and other denominations were burnt and desecrated; sometimes people burnt and destroyed their own Bibles. By focusing on violent gestures which expressed resentment, rejection and hatred, this book furthers our understanding of what the Bible meant for early modern Christians. More specifically, it suggests that religious identities in this period were not formed simply by the pious reading, study and contemplation of Scripture, but also through antagonistic encounters with both Scripture itself and the Bible as a material object.

Excerpt from The Burning of the Bibles; A Defence of the Protestant Version of the Scriptures: Against the Attacks of Popish Apologists for the Champlain Bible Burners The Bible, also, gives a' detail of certain peculiarities of this enemy of God and man. It was to be the grand apostacy from the christian faith: it was to give heed to seducing spirits, false prophets, and saintly impostors, laying claims to miracles: it was to revive Demon-worship, in the worship of saints it would utter lies in hypocrisy, by palming a new religion on the world, in the name of God: it was to forbid marriage, and prohibit the use of meats, at certain seasons. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.