The Bible Burners

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.

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.

The story of the translation of the Bible in America begins with the King James Version. In fact, many Americans thought of the KJV as the foundational text of the Republic, rather than a cultural inheritance from Anglican Britain. In the nineteenth century, however, as new editions of the Greek New Testament appeared, scholars increasingly recognized significant errors and inconsistencies in the KJV. This soon 1ed to the Bible revision movement, whose goal was the uniting of all English-speaking Protestants behind one new, improved version of the Bible. Ironically, as Peter Thuesen shows in this fascinating history, the revision movement in fact resulted in a vast proliferation of English scripture editions and an enduring polarization of American Christians over versions of Holy Writ. The recurrent controversies over Bible translations, he argues, tell us less about the linguistic issues dividing conservatives and liberals than about the theological assumptions they have long held in common.